What The Cast Of Talladega Nights Looks Like Today
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The world learned a new meaning for shake and bake in 2006 with the release of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, an instantly quotable comedy that expertly honored and skewered racing culture. While many of the movie's big stars have continued to dominate the big screen, some have fallen behind in the race to the A-list. Here's where the cast of Talladega Nights is now.
Will Ferrell - Ricky Bobby
Will Ferrell was already an established star when he led Talladega Nights, having appeared on Saturday Night Live and in movies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Elf, the Austin Powers franchise, and Zoolander. His star power hasn't dimmed any since he got behind the wheel for the film, either, with Ferrell continuing to lead huge comedies like Step Brothers (with Talladega Nights co-star John C. Reilly), Blades of Glory, Megamind, and Get Hard.
Ferrell's upcoming projects include The House, a raunchy comedy opposite Amy Poehler, and Daddy's Home 2, the sequel to his 2015 hit Daddy's Home. The actor has also been quite busy behind-the-scenes with his production company Gary Sanchez Productions, which he runs alongside Talladega Nights director and co-writer Adam McKay. The studio has been behind movies like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Tammy, and Ferrell's upcoming movie Holmes and Watson.
While Ferrell's current whereabouts are fairly obvious, McKay made an interesting reveal recently about where he thinks Ricky Bobby would have ended up. According to McKay, Ricky's racing career went downhill fast after the Talladega 500, with his sponsors getting progressively worse. He finally put the kibosh on his career by giving a misunderstood tribute to a fellow racer, leaving him and Cal out of the racing game and working as the co-owners of a Smoke and Toke shop in Kentucky. At least he still has his best friend, though.
John C. Reilly - Cal Naughton Jr.
John C. Reilly was already an Oscar nominee for his role in Chicago when he took on the part of Ricky Bobby's right-hand man Cal in Talladega Nights. While the actor has shown off his affinity for serious roles over the years, most of his parts have erred on the comedic side, with Reilly notably reuniting with Ferrell for Step Brothers and then starring in films like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Cedar Rapids.
More recently, Reilly voiced the title character in Wreck-It Ralph, alongside his Talladega Nights co-stars Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer, and popped up in a cameo alongside Ferrell in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. The actor also made his MCU debut in Guardians of the Galaxy, although his character was unfortunately left out of the recent sequel. (Hey, there's always the third movie!)
Reilly's upcoming roles include the Jake Gyllenhaal western The Sisters Brothers and the Laurel and Hardy biopic Stan and Ollie. The actor is also set to reunite with Ferrell in the upcoming comedy Holmes and Watson, with Ferrell playing the legendary detective Holmes and Reilly once again playing his sidekick in Watson. Considering everything the pair does together is an instant classic, get excited for the comedy—which doesn't have a release date yet—to blow you away.
Sacha Baron Cohen - Jean Girard
Sacha Baron Cohen was already well-known for Da Ali G show when he appeared in Talladega Nights, but the movie was his first major big screen part, aside from his voice role as Julien in Madagascar. He would go on to take over the box office later that year, though, with Borat, which won him a Golden Globe (along with an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay) and immediately catapulted him to the A-list. Baron Cohen would go on to play characters he created in films like Bruno and The Dictator.
Aside from being just a comedic force of nature, Baron Cohen is also a talented singer, showing off his voice in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Les Miserables. His more recent appearances include Grimsby and Alice Through the Looking Glass, along with a reunion with Will Ferrell on screen in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
Off screen, Baron Cohen has also had a busy few years since Talladega Nights. He married actress Isla Fisher in 2016 and the pair have three children, two daughters and a son. His upcoming roles include Greed, in which he will introduce his newest character, based on a disgraced retail billionaire, and Mandrake the Musician, an action comedy based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name.
Leslie Bibb - Carley Bobby
Leslie Bibb played Ricky's disloyal wife in Talladega Nights, but fortunately, the actress seems like a much more pleasant person in real life. Bibb, who has been dating actor Sam Rockwell since 2007, followed up Talladega Nights with a recurring guest starring role on Crossing Jordan and appearances in Entourage and CSI: Miami before landing the coveted role of journalist Christine Everhart in Iron Man. She would later go on to reprise the role in Iron Man 2.
Bibb's other notable roles include Confessions of a Shopaholic, Law Abiding Citizen, Zookeeper, American Housewife, and a recurring part on the Bachelor parody webseries Burning Love. Most recently, she can be seen on the TV Land series Nobodies, which follows a group of friends who sell their TV show by lying and saying Melissa McCarthy is on board, and the mystery horror movie Awakening the Zodiac.
Amy Adams - Susan
Amy Adams first showed off her dramatic chops in her inspiring speech to Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, and she has since used those skills to her advantage, quickly going from bit parts in comedies and TV shows to being a five-time Oscar nominee. Her first nomination actually came the same year that Talladega Nights hit theaters, with the actress earning a best supporting actress nod for Junebug.
Adams' real mainstream breakout, though, came when she landed the lead role in Disney's Enchanted, playing the singing princess Giselle. Soon after the film was released, Adams earned her second Oscar nomination for Doubt, earning a third, fourth, and fifth in the coming years for The Fighter, The Master, and American Hustle. Her other notable roles include Nocturnal Animals, Arrival, and Her.
In 2013, Adams joined the DCEU as Lois Lane in Man of Steel, a role which she reprised in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017's Justice League. Her other upcoming projects include playing Lynne Cheney in a Dick Cheney biopic from Talladega Nights director Adam McKay and eventually reprising her Enchanted role for a long awaited sequel.
Jane Lynch - Lucy Bobby
Jane Lynch's Talladega Nights character was like a early, Southern version of her most famous character to date: Coach Sue Sylvester on the Fox musical Glee. Sue taught everyone the proper way to rock a track suit and was consistently the best part of the series, earning her a Golden Globe and Emmy win on the way. Although Lynch rarely showed off her pipes on the series, she has used her singing voice to her advantage outside of the series, starring in Annie on Broadway, touring her own musical comedy show and releasing a Christmas album, complete with songs from her show, in 2016.
Since Glee, Lynch has kept busy by inviting her favorite celebrity friends over to her Hollywood Hills mansion for Hollywood Game Night, a show which has earned her two more Emmys for her upbeat and fun hosting. Lynch tried her hand at launching her own series with Angel From Hell, but the show was canceled after just one season on CBS.
Lynch has rejoined her Talladega Nights co-stars John C. Reilly and Jack McBrayer for a voice part in Wreck-It Ralph, and appeared in Julie and Julia, Rio, The Three Stooges, Criminal Minds, Two and a Half Men, and Party Down. Lynch will get more serious for her upcoming role in the Discovery limited series Manhunt: Unabomber, starring Paul Bettany as Ted Kaczynski.
Gary Cole - Reese Bobby
Gary Cole played Ricky's deadbeat dad in Talladega Nights, and he has returned to the slacker persona quite a few times since for movies like Pineapple Express, Tammy, and The Bronze. While Cole has had a vibrant big screen career, he has been even more prolific on the small screen, guest starring on everything from Supernatural and Psych to Chuck and 30 Rock. He has had longer, recurring roles on shows like Entourage, The Good Wife, and Suits.
Nowadays, Cole can be seen on the HBO comedy Veep, which earned him his first Emmy nomination for his 2014 guest starring turn. The actor, who can also be heard in quite a few animated movies and TV shows, including Family Guy and Bob's Burgers, is next set to appear in the mid-life crisis-themed romantic drama Under the Eiffel Tower and in the comedy Married Young.
Grayson Russell - Texas Ranger Bobby
Ricky's two kids Walker Bobby and Texas Ranger Bobby stole the show every time they were on screen with their profanity and rudeness. While Houston Tumlin, who played Walker, stopped acting after the movie (he is currently in the army, according to a local newspaper), his on-screen younger brother, played by Grayson Russell, stuck around in Hollywood and has had a successful career in kids' movies.
After Russell made his acting debut in Talladega Nights, he played a role in the family comedy The Rainbow Tribe before landing the part of Fregley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise. His appearances in the first and third films in the franchise earned him a Young Artist Award for best young ensemble cast; he also appeared in the second, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. His other notable roles include voicing Marley in Marley & Me: The Puppy Years and a bit part in Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts' Mother's Day.
Russell, who also plays guitar and sings, currently attends Lee University, but he's still made time throughout his studies to continue acting. He is next set to appear in the horror movie Apparition opposite Mena Suvari.
Greg Germann - Larry Dennit Jr.
Greg Germann played the villain of Talladega Nights, starring as Larry Dennit, Jr., the race car owner who doesn't quite have faith in Ricky's genius. Despite his evil turn, Germann hasn't had any trouble finding roles since the film was released, soon after lending his voice to the animated movie Bolt and appearing on TV shows like Raising Hope, Hawaii Five-0, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
Germann got a lot of buzz for his appearance as Hades on Once Upon a Time, with the actor bringing the Hercules villain to the small screen with a ton of zeal and excitement. He hasn't always stuck to the small screen in recent years, though—he also appeared in the comedy Quitters and reunited with Ferrell for Get Hard. He's even moved over to the stage, starring opposite Jenna Fischer in Steve Martin's play Meteor Shower. The former Ally McBeal star recently starred in the NBC action drama pilot Redliners, but that appears to have been passed over.
Jack McBrayer - Glenn
Jack McBrayer showed off his ability to deliver some pretty morbid lines with an impeccably peppy delivery in Talladega Nights, a skill that would become very important for his most notable role to date, as NBC page Kenneth Parcell on Tina Fey's sitcom 30 Rock. McBrayer earned three Emmy nominations for the role of Kenneth, with two for his web series 30 Rock: Kenneth the Webpage. He later earned a fourth Emmy nomination for his guest starring appearance in the short Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell.
McBrayer has also had an impressive big screen career, voicing Fix It Felix in the hit animated film Wreck It Ralph and its upcoming sequel Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet. He's also lent his distinctive pipes to Smurfs: The Lost Village, Phineas and Ferb, and Despicable Me, in addition to making appearances on movies and shows like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Campaign (again opposite Ferrell), The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Drunk History, and The Middle.
McBrayer is next set to appear in the rom-com We Love You, Sally Carmichael!, the directorial debut of Covert Affairs star Christopher Gorham. You can also see the actor frequently pop up as a guest on Conan, recently gaining attention for entering a "Trump-off" with his former 30 Rock co-star Alec Baldwin.
David Koechner - Hershell
David Koechner, a former Saturday Night Live cast member, had a small role in Talladega Nights as one of Ricky's crew members, an appearance that came a few years after his much bigger role in Ferrell and McKay's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Since then, Koechner has become a huge name in comedy, accruing over 150 credits in both small and big roles in big screen laughs, including Balls of Fury, Get Smart, Extract, Krampus, CHIPS, and Paul.
Koechner has also had a prolific career in television, starring on shows like The Office, American Dad, Hank, The Goldbergs, and Twin Peaks. He also currently holds series regular roles on the Comedy Central Kardashian parody Another Period and the CBS sitcom Superior Donuts. Koechner is balancing those with upcoming projects including the comedies Dying: 101, opposite Jeffrey Donovan, and How to Get Girls, opposite Chris Elliott, and the dramas All Creatures Here Below, with Karen Gillan, I'm Not Here, alongside J.K. Simmons, and Departures, with Asa Butterfield.
Koecher is clearly one of the busiest guys in Hollywood, and the actor says that's on purpose. Koechner, who is married and has five kids, says that he keeps taking on roles because he's never sure of what the future will bring. The actor is also a stand-up comedian, and goes touring and performs shows in his spare time.
Michael Clarke Duncan - Lucius Washington
Michael Clarke Duncan played the head of Ricky Bobby's crew in Talladega Nights, earning viewers' love for his memorable lines and hilarious delivery. In the years following, Duncan—already an Academy Award nominee for The Green Mile when he appeared in Talladega Nights—appeared in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Green Lantern, along with TV shows like the short-lived Bones spin-off The Finder and Ultimate Spider-Man. However, his promising career was unfortunately cut short when he passed away due to a heart attack in 2012. He was survived by his fiancee, Omarosa Manigault.