What The Wet Hot American Summer Cast Looks Like Today

Years before its cast became Hollywood mainstays, a small independent comedy called Wet Hot American Summer was released to little acclaim in just 27 cities throughout North America. Set in 1981, the film unfolds on the last day of the summer at Camp Firewood, and parodies the teen-centric sex comedies that populated the multiplexes a few decades ago — Bill Murray's 1979 film Meatballs comes to mind. Armed with a budget of under $2 million, the production team filled most of the cast out with unknown and up-and-coming actors to keep costs down. Paul Rudd, who played Andy in the film, has said that he isn't even sure he got paid at all for his appearance.

Since that low-profile debut, Wet Hot American Summer has developed a serious cult following, inspired both a prequel and sequel series, and been the subject of a Netflix documentary. In addition to the film's reappraisal as an essential 2000s comedy, many members of the cast have gone on to become high-profile A-listers, which has boosted the popularity of the film to new heights. But what exactly has each member of the principal cast been up to since 2001? Here's what the stars of Wet Hot American Summer look like (and are up to) today.

David Hyde Pierce is undoubtedly most famous for his 11-year run on outrageously popular Cheers spinoff Frasier. In the role that earned him four Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Pierce played neurotic psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane from 1993-2004. In the years since Wet Hot American Summer's theatrical release, Pierce has mostly stayed away from the Hollywood limelight outside of a few television and film appearances. Instead of toiling away as a character actor, the Yale-trained thespian returned to the stage and has found nothing but plaudits since.

In 2005, Pierce was a part of the original Broadway cast of Monty Python's Spamalot, which would go on to be nominated for 14 Tony awards, winning Best Musical. Never one to rest on his laurels, Pierce would flex his considerable comedy muscles again in 2007's Broadway hit Curtains as a musical theatre-obsessed Boston detective. This role earned Pierce a deserved Tony for Best Actor in a Musical and he continued to act on stage for the next few years before moving into the director's chair in 2015 for It Shoulda Been You and Ripcord. More recently, Pierce returned to Broadway for the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly! garnering another Best Actor Tony nomination in the process. 

Yes, those two photos of Paul Rudd were taken almost 20 years apart — the fact that he seemingly never ages is one of the internet's favorite ongoing jokes — and in the years since playing doofus bad boy Andy in Wet Hot American Summer, Rudd has evolved from the kid who got his start in a totally rad Nintendo commercial into a major Hollywood star. Rudd's big break came when he was cast in a recurring role on Friends, giving him mainstream notoriety leading to roles in major mid-2000s comedy films like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Spending the next decade in numerous pictures, Rudd hit the A-list in 2015 when he became Ant-Man for Marvel Studios. 

Rudd has done more than just act, though — he co-created the short-lived but much beloved comedy Party Down for Starz in 2009. Outside of the entertainment realm, Rudd co-owns Samuel's Sweet Shop, a candy store in the town of Rhinebeck, New York, with fellow actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The duo saved the store from being closed after the previous owner, a friend of theirs, died suddenly in 2014. Rudd is also involved in non-profit work as an avid supporter of the Stuttering Association for the Young — he hosted their 6th Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit in 2018 — and as a founder of The Big Slick charity in Kansas City.

A former child star who appeared in the Mighty Ducks trilogy and television shows like Boy Meets World and The Secret World of Alex Mack, Marguerite Moreau earned her first major role after graduating from Vassar with a BA in political science in 1999 when she signed on for Wet Hot American Summer. While Moreau has not had the same amount of stardom or cult fandom enjoyed by many of her summer camp cohorts, she has appeared in dozens upon dozens of projects in the years after the film's release. As far as film goes, Moreau's most successful years in Hollywood came immediately after her summer at Camp Firewood, when she had roles in major films like 2002's Queen of the Damned and 2003's Runaway Jury. 

Moreau's steadiest work has come on the small screen, as a series regular on ABC's teen drama Life as We Know It and through recurring roles on shows like What About Brian and Shameless. With more than 90 credits on her IMDb page, it's safe to assume Moreau's acting career will continue for years to come.

Though he's continued to have a solid acting career in the years since Wet Hot American Summer, Michael Ian Black has done more than just appear in sitcoms and films. Indeed, he's appeared in movies like This is 40 and Wanderlust and has acted in shows like Ed and The Jim Gaffigan Show, but acting is just one facet of what Michael Ian Black does with his time. 

A popular comedian, Black has released three stand-up albums in addition to being a prolific commentator in many versions of VH1's beloved pop culture series I Love the... Black has also created and hosted numerous podcasts, from the sublimely weird (Mike and Tom Eat Snacks) to the straightforward and informative (How to Be Amazing). Black has also written several books for adults and children, the two most notable being America, You Sexy B***: A Love Letter to Freedom (which he co-wrote with John McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain) and A Child's First Book of Trump. No matter the outlet, Black's talent and verve for the creative process seem to shine through.

Wet Hot American Summer provided Bradley Cooper with his first professional film role and, after a few years of struggling following the film's release, he hasn't looked back. In the nearly two decades since his debut, Cooper has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, appeared in the Forbes Celebrity 100 on three separate occasions as well as Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. Cooper's films have grossed $11 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful actors on the planet... but this wasn't always a sure thing.

Cooper has described his debilitating use of drugs and alcohol during his early career in great detail, attributing his current good fortune to his decision to kick the habit. During a 2012 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper spoke on his former substance abuse, "I always felt like an outsider. I just lived in my head. I realized I wasn't going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, 'Wow, I'm actually gonna ruin my life; I'm really gonna ruin it.'" Thankfully, he gave up the drugs, and the rest has been history.

Unlike the majority of his Wet Hot American Summer co-stars who've branched out into different artistic mediums or different genres of television and film, Joe Lo Truglio is a comedic actor through and through. Lo Truglio's most notable film roles have all come in major 2000s comedies like Superbad, Role Models, and I Love You, Man. However, it's Lo Truglio's role as weird klutz Charles Boyle on popular long-running sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine that's been most notable. 

Playing oddball Boyle lets Lo Truglio's comedic timing and penchant for playing lovable eccentrics shine. Lo Truglio's genuine joy for the mere fact that he gets to bring Boyle to life is evident in his performance. When speaking with Who in 2019, Lo Truglio said he likes the way "Boyle bounces back from nearly anything. He never stays down very long, and when he is depressed, he commits to it and is out of it a day later." Hopefully, Lo Truglio and the rest of the Nine-Nine gang will continue to have fun on our television sets for years to come.