What The Cast Of The Faculty Is Doing Today
A couple of decades ago, director Robert Rodriguez helmed two entries in the '90s horror movie catalog, the first of which being the Quentin Tarantino-penned vampire flick "From Dusk 'TIl Dawn" in 1996, which nabbed the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film (via IMDb). "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" enjoys a 62% critics score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus calling the film "a pulpy crime drama/vampire film hybrid" that's a "deliriously enjoyable B-movie."
Two years later, Rodriguez looked to replicate that success by directing 1998's sci-fi horror mashup "The Faculty," written by Kevin Williamson — who created "Dawson's Creek" and the "Scream" franchise, in addition to writing "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Williamson's screenplay looked to blend his two smash successes from the years prior — '90s horror and teen drama. "The Faculty" sports a middling 55% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with its detractors saying it ripped off other sci-i thrillers and its champions calling it a smart and stylish movie that pays homage to the genre. Given that part of the narrative involves actually discussing how the events unfolding mirrors Philip Kaufman's 1978 classic, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," we're not sure "ripoff" is a fair take.
In addition to pedigreed filmmakers like Rodriguez and Williamson, "The Faculty" sports an impressive soundtrack, including one of the best-ever covers of a Pink Floyd song in "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" by the one-off supergroup Class of 99 — which featured Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello. Perhaps more on topic, the film also featured an ensemble cast of young stars who've gone on to enjoy tons of success. Here's what the cast of "The Faculty" is doing today.
Josh Hartnett played Zeke Tyler
Actor Josh Hartnett took on the role of smartass slacker-genius and proprietor of high school chemistry-grade stimulants Zeke Tyler in"The Faculty." He's the cool, edgy outsider who's always got something snappy to say and who has the ability to get along with absolutely anyone but often chooses not to. Self-imposed outcast Zeke has an oddly flirtatious relationship with Mrs. Burke (Famke Janssen) and his popular caffeine-based speed turns out to be the secret weapon capable of killing the alien hive, courtesy of its diuretic properties.
"The Faculty" was Hartnett's second feature film role, following his appearance in "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" a few months prior, which means nearly all of the success he's enjoyed in his career came after. Over several years following, he appeared in movies like "The Virgin Suicides," "Pearl Harbor," "O," "Black Hawk Down," and "Hollywood Homicide" before reuniting with director Robert Rodriguez as part of the cast of "Sin City," 2005's critically acclaimed noir graphic novel adaptation. Hartnett appeared as an assassin called The Salesman, providing the intro to the movie. As ScreenRant details, this opening scene was Rodriguez's "proof of concept" to convince creator Frank Miller to go ahead with the adaptation.
Hartnett has gone on to star in plenty of big projects, including Brian De Palma's crime thriller "The Black Dahlia," the vampire horror movie "30 Days of Night," and the horror drama series "Penny Dreadful." In 2020 he starred in the Spectrum Original series "Paradise Lost" and in 2021 appeared in the documentary miniseries "Exterminate All the Brutes."
Clea DuVall played Stokely Mitchell
Clea DuVall took on the role of Stokely Mitchell, a social outcast who's not super interested in fitting in. She's also the subject of bullying from Delilah Profitt (Jordana Brewster), who insists Stokely is a lesbian in a scene that has really aged poorly in the years since. It's Stokely, of course, who first draws the parallels to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," helping the crew figure out that there's actually a vast alien conspiracy taking over their high school.
"The Faculty" was one of a number of teen movies in which DuVall appeared in the late '90s, including "Can't Hardly Wait," "Girl," "She's All That," and "But I'm a Cheerleader." In 1999, she appeared in director James Mangold's gripping psychological drama "Girl, Interrupted." Two years later, DuVall worked with master horror filmmaker John Carpenter for "Ghost of Mars" and in 2003 she reunited with Mangold for the underrated slasher thriller "Identity."
DuVall has consistently found work in film and on the small screen as well. In 2006, she appeared as FBI Agent Audrey Hanson in seven episodes of the popular super-powered drama series "Heroes," tasked with tracking down the villainous Syler (Zachary Quinto). DuVall's other TV credits read like a who's-who of primetime television, including appearances on "Private Practice," "Bones," "CSI: Miami," "American Horror Story," "Better Call Saul," "Veep," "Numb3rs," "Bones," more than one iteration of "Law & Order" and the smash-hit post-apocalyptic streaming drama "The Handmaid's Tale." She's most recently lent her voice to Elsa the Corgi on the adult animated sitcom "Housebroken."
Elijah Wood played Casey Connor
Elijah Wood played everyone's favorite nerdy outcast Casey Connor in "The Faculty." He's the recipient of many a swirly and quotably quips to Coach Willis (Robert Patrick) that he doesn't think that a person should run unless they're being chased. Casey serves as the warm, gooey center who holds the oddly matched group of high school students together and ultimately saves the day.
A few years after his turn in "The Faculty," Wood achieved international superstardom for his role as Frodo Baggins in the "Lord of the Rings" movies. For his performance in the first film, "The Fellowship of the Ring," he received the Empire Award for Best Actor (via IMDb). The second installment, "The Two Towers," brought him a share of the MTV Movie Award for Best Onscreen Duo with Sean Astin. For "The Return of the King," the trilogy's third movie, he earned the Saturn Award for Best Actor and a share of multiple Best Cast awards. Wood reprised the role for an appearance in the 2012 Middle-Earth prequel "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."
Since his rise to greatness, Wood has had his pick of projects and has chosen a memorable roster of whimsical titles on which to work. Notably, he too reunited with Robert Rodriguez for 2005's "Sin City," though his role as vicious cannibal ninja Kevin had a much larger impact than Josh Hartnett's character. Wood played protagonist Ryan Newman for four seasons of the quirky comedy series "Wilfred" and reluctant sidekick Todd Brotzman in the sci-fi detective series "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency." His most recently completed film, "No Man of God," premieres on August 27.
Jordana Brewster played Delilah Profitt
Actor Jordana Brewster played the snobby bully Delilah Profitt, whose popularity stems from being head cheerleader, a role that somehow protects her from the derision one would expect her to receive as editor of the school newspaper. Despite seemingly serving as the school's it girl, Delilah has an odd need to clash with Stokely and gets particularly possessive of her lapdog boyfriend, Stan (Shawn Hatosy) when she sees him in Stokely's company.
"The Faculty" was Brewster's first feature film role, though fans of the "Fast and Furious" films know it certainly wasn't her last. She went on to appear as Mia Toretto, sister to Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto and love interest of Paul Walker's Brian O'Connor in the franchise's first installment, "The Fast and the Furious." She reprised her role in the series in its canonical sequel, 2009's "Fast & Furious," 2011's "Fast Five," and 2013's "Fast & Furious 6" but appeared in photo from only for the seventh and eight installments.
Brewster has enjoyed small screen success as well, including appearing in four episodes of the popular action comedy "Chuck" as the title character's ex-girlfriend, Jill. She appeared as Elena Ramos on TNT's revival of "Dallas" for its two seasons and took on the role of Dr. Maureen Cahill in the series adaptation of "Lethal Weapon" franchise. Most recently, Brewster returned to the "Fast Saga" for "F9" in 2021 and is due to reprise her role as Mia Toretto for the final two films of the series.
Shawn Hatosy played Stan Rosado
Shawn Hatosy took on the role of reformed jock Stan Rosado, Stokely's unlikely love interest who's doing his best not to be a teen movie cliche. He's protective of his girlfriend Delilah, though weary of her abuse and doesn't take too kindly to her reaction when he informs her he's considering quitting football to put his brain to use. Naturally, the jock clashes with the bad boy Zeke, as is customary in teen melodrama. Ironically, he doesn't seem to see Casey — with whom Delilah ends up — as much of a threat.
Since his role in "The Faculty," Hatosy has built a solid career as a character actor, including notable roles in films from writer and director Nick Cassavetes. His first came in the form of the smug Mitch Quigley, a rich jerk who beats his girlfriend in 2002's thriller "John Q" starring Denzel Washington. Hatosy also appeared as Elvis Schmidt in Cassavetes' 2006 crime drama "Alpha Dog," which was based on the real-life murder of Nicholas Markowitz.
In 2009, Hatosy joined the main cast of "Southland," a gritty crime drama set in Los Angeles, California. He appeared as Detective Sammy Bryant in 43 episodes across the series' five seasons. In 2010, Hatosy appeared in two episodes of "Dexter" as murderous roadkill disposal technician Boyd Fowler, a devotee of the season's big bad Jordan Chase (Jonny Lee Miller). Since 2016, he's portrayed Pope Cody on the TNT drama series "Animal Kingdom."
Laura Harris played Marybeth Louise Hutchinson
Taking on the role of Marybeth Louise Hutchinson, the fish-out-of-water — pun obviously intended — new student at Herrington High School, Laura Harris actually portrayed an actor herself, given that Marybeth was the big bad in disguide the entire time. She infects the school's faculty and then infiltrates the student body, ingratiating herself with members of the eventually triumphant gang of students as a seeming country bumpkin with a good heart and a lot of allergies.
After "The Faculty," Harris starred as Kristie St. Clair in the direct-to-video horror film "The Calling." Despite her seemingly ideal life, Kristie comes to realize she's become the unwitting mother to the Antichrist. The following year she appeared as Paige Forrester, love interest of the protagonist in the sophomoric college comedy "Going Greek."
Harris has found more consistent work and success on television, including a 14-episode recurring episode in Season 2 of "24." She took on the role of Marie Warner, the younger sister of Kate Warner (Sarah Wynter) who was transferring money from Warner Enterprises to Syed Ali (Francesco Quinn), chief terrorist of Second Wave. Harris also enjoyed success in the role of promiscuous actress Daisy Adair on the Showtime comedy drama series "Dead Like Me." Her most recent credited role came in 2021's Lifetime movie "Gone Mom" about the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos (via IMDb).
Jon Stewart played Professor Edward Furlong
Comedian and actor Jon Stewart made a memorable appearance as science teacher Edward Furlong, one of multiple potential loose connections to the "Terminator" franchise — actor Edward Furlong played John Connor in "T2." He's super inquisitive and enthusiastic about the specimen the kids bring in from the football field — given the implications of helping discover a new species — right up until the point that it bites him, which results in him turning to the dark side. Mr. Furlong was notably the first alien to be killed using Zeke's drug when he is stabbed in the eye.
Much like Elijah Wood and Jordana Brewster, Stewart landed his breakthrough role shortly after "The Faculty" was released in 1998. The next year, he took over hosting duties on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" from Craig Kilborn and was instrumental in transforming the program from a show with jokes about the day's events to addressing serious news stories and issues in a comedic fashion. Stewart also served as a writer and executive producer on the show and it's doubtless the role for which he's best known.
Following his departure from the "Daily Show" anchor desk, Stewart has had only limited appearances onscreen, including a cameo as himself in the Ultimate Edition of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." He's served as the executive producer on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and in September will appear on "The Problem with Jon Stewart," a late-night current affairs series on Apple TV+ (via TVLine).
Robert Patrick played Coach Joe Willis
As one of the other potential "Terminator" connections — Elijah Wood's character's name Casey Connor name being the third — T1000 actor Robert Patrick portrayed Coach Willis, who's seemingly just as much of a hardass whether he's been made a part of the alien hivemind or is simply serving as a human high school football coach. He's one of the first aliens seens at the beginning of the film, attacking Principal Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) with Mrs. Olson (Piper Laurie).
A year after "The Faculty" was released, Patrick teamed up with director Robert Rodriguez again as the lead star of the direct-to-video sequel "From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money." After appearing in 2000's "All the Pretty Horses," an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel by the same name, he once again appeared worked with Rodriguez, appearing as Mr. Lisp in 2001's action comedy "Spy Kids."
Patrick's had his fair share of television success as well, including his work on popular sci-fi show "The X-Files" as Agent John Doggett, Dana Scully's (Gillian Anderson) new partner after Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) disappeared. He had a short but memorable role as the gambling-addicted sporting goods store owner Dave Scatino in "The Sopranos." In 2014, Patrick reunited with Rodriguez once more as part of the main cast for Season 1 of "From Dusk till Dawn: The Series" before joining the cast of "Scorpion" the same year. He'll appear alongside Elijah Wood in "No Man of God" in August (via IMDb) and is slated to be a part of the main cast for James Gunn's "Peacemaker" series.
Famke Janssen played Miss Burke
Actor Famke Janssen took on the role of the nervous and bookish English teacher Mrs. Burke in "The Faculty," with whom Zeke maintains an oddly flirtatious relationship. Of course, Mrs. Burke, once infected, turns into a total tigress and returns the odd advances before kicking Zeke's butt in the parking lot. When she's clear of the parasite, there appears to be a did-they, didn't-they vibe between the two characters, leaving audiences to wonder.
Two years removed from her turn as Mrs. Burke, Janssen took on the role of Jean Grey in the first "X-Men" movie, one which she'd reprise through the first three films of the franchise. She also appeared as Jean in "The Wolverine" and made a cameo in "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
Janssen had a recurring role as transgender sexual predator Ava Moore on the FX medical drama "Nip/Tuck." More recently, she appeared as Olivia Godfrey in 33 episodes of the Netflix original horror series "Hemlock Grove" before landing a recurring role as Eve Rothlow on "How to Get Away with Murder." In 2016, Janssen began a recurring role as Susan Hargrave on "The Blacklist" and its ill-fated spinoff, "The Blacklist: Redemption." In 2020, she starred as Valerie Kanon in "The Postcard Killings" alongside Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Most recently, Janssen appeared in the Netflix film "The Vault."
Salma Hayek played Nurse Rosa Harper
Legendary actor Salma Hayek played the perennially ill school nurse Rosa Harper, whose affliction seemed to be the logical result of her chosen vocation. Of course, she's all better once she's attacked in the teacher' lounge and becomes a part of the alien menace. Given the choice of being a little under the weather or taking one of those parasites in the ear, we'd opt for the sniffles, please and thank you.
Hayek appeared as Rita Escobar in the film adaptation of the popular Western series "Wild Wild West" alongside Will Smith and Kevin Kline in 1999. Despite their collective star power, the film as a critical and commercial disappointment and has the dubious distinction of winning the Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture (via IMDb). Hayek's 2002 turn in the title role of "Frida" — playing Mexican artist Frida Kahlo — garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Having already appeared in Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado" and "From Dusk 'Til Dawn," Hayek went on to reprise her role as Carolina in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" — the final installment in the director's "El Mariachi" trilogy — in addition to appearing in "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" in 2003.
Beginning in 2006, Hayek appeared in sporadic episodes of "Ugly Betty," a series she produced. She appeared in "The Hitman's Bodyguard" in 2017 and reprised her role as Sonia Kincaid in 2021's "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard." In November 2021, Hayek will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ajak, the leader of the title group of ancient super-powered beings in "Eternals."
Christopher McDonald played Frank Connor
Prolific character actor Christopher McDonald brought Casey's doubting father Frank Connor to life in "The Faculty." In fact, Casey's folks are so annoyed with what they think is his shenanigans that they ground him. We would have loved to have seen a deleted scene in which his dad ate crow after Casey became the film's triumphant hero.
McDonald is so busy it might be easier to consider what he hasn't been doing since his turn in "The Faculty" — he's got more than 200 credited roles on his IMDb entry, after all. Starting in 1999, he appeared in 63 episodes of the legal drama "Family Law" as attorney Rex Weller. In 2000, McDonald appeared as the oddly inspirational Tappy Tibbons in Darren Aronofsky's disturbing psychological drama "Requiem for a Dream." Like several of his costars on "The Faculty," he teamed up with director Robert Rodriguez later on for "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," appearing as the president of the United States.
McDonald appeared as the Dallas Cowboys Owner in 13 episodes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's hit sports comedy drama "Ballers" and once again played the president for Rodriguez with his appearance in 2020's "We Can Be Heroes," the Netflix sequel to the director's 2005 film "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D." Like Hayek, McDonald will be joining the MCU as part of the cast of Marvel Studios' "Secret Invasion" series, as reported by Deadline.