What The Cast Of Friday Looks Like Today
Even if you've never seen 1995's "Friday," there's a good chance you've come across one of the film's most famous lines, the highly-memed "Bye, Felicia." It's just one of the many quotable quips found in this cult comedy, the story of two friends who have an eventful day in South Central Los Angeles. The pair end up on the wrong side of a drug dealer, leading to a series of bizarre and hilarious events. They need to get some money together by the end of the day, or things will get messy. In the end, they're forced to take a stand against the neighborhood bully.
While the film wasn't exactly a huge hit at the box office, positive reviews and word-of-mouth popularity turned "Friday" into a firm fan favorite. It proved so popular that it even spawned two sequels, "Next Friday" (2000) and "Friday After Next" (2002). Sadly, some of the cast of the original film are no longer with us: John Witherspoon, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bernie Mac, Tom Lister Jr., and Anthony Johnson have all passed away. The death of Witherspoon in 2019 derailed a belated fourth installment in the franchise.
Most of the original "Friday" cast are still alive and remain active in Hollywood to this day, though they look a lot different now. Take a look.
Ice Cube - Craig
The main protagonist of "Friday" is Craig Jones, a recently unemployed man who gets tangled up in his friend Smokey's drug-related problems. Rapper Ice Cube (real name O'Shea Jackson) stars as Craig, and he also co-wrote the film's script. Ice Cube dipped his toe into acting prior to "Friday," making his film debut in the critically acclaimed "Boyz n the Hood" and appearing in the likes of "Higher Learning" and "Trespass." He also established an impressive solo music career after leaving the rap group N.W.A.
Ice Cube wrote and starred in the next two "Friday" films and would also star in the "Barbershop" film series. His other movies include "XXX: State of the Union," "21 Jump Street," and "Ride Along." He was also a producer on the N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton," with his son O'Shea Jackson Jr. playing him. Ice Cube continues to act and make music, and he still loves talking about "Friday," one of his biggest career achievements.
"It's morphed into this big thing, and it started off as this little, cool idea," he told Rolling Stone on the 20th anniversary of the film. "To me, that's what I'm most proud about: It's become part of not only just American culture, but there's people all over the world that really love it. That's how movies should be."
DJ Pooh - Red
Ice Cube co-wrote the screenplay for "Friday" with DJ Pooh, the stage name of Mark Jordan. He appears in the film as Red, a delivery man and one of the locals in Craig's neighborhood. Red has a bad run in with neighborhood villain Deebo (Tom Lister Jr.), who steals his bike and gives him a black eye when he dares to ask for it back. He's well known for his part in the cult movie, but DJ Pooh is a producer by trade, having worked with some of the biggest rap stars of his day. Sadly, his relationship with Ice Cube deteriorated following the release of "Friday."
"Cube and I had our differences about our movie 'Friday,' which was the first movie that we had co-written together," DJ Pooh told AllHipHop. "I felt that I was wronged on the 'Friday' movie and we were young guys so I took it personal. I put the blame on Cube and that's something that I probably shouldn't have done." In the aftermath, DJ Pooh struck out on his own. He wrote and directed the films "3 Strikes" and "The Wash," and he provided several voices for the Adult Swim series "The Boondocks." He has also turned his attention to video games, working as a co-writer on "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and as a creative consultant on "Grand Theft Auto V."
Chris Tucker - Smokey
The root of Craig's terrible Friday, Smokey gets himself and his friend into trouble by encouraging them to smoke the marijuana he's supposed to be selling. The part is played to perfection by Chris Tucker, but he declined to reprise his role in the sequels. Years later, he revealed that he made this decision "because of the weed." The actor told the podcast Flix Talk: "I don't want everybody smoking weed. I never really told people this because I kinda forgot about it, but it was one of the reasons why I didn't do [the sequels]."
Instead, Tucker made more film appearances in the likes of "Jackie Brown" and "The Fifth Element." He became best known for playing Detective James Carter opposite Jackie Chan in the "Rush Hour" trilogy. Since then, Tucker hasn't appeared in many films. He played Danny in David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" and Albert in Ang Lee's "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," but they were rare outings. A fourth "Rush Hour" film has been rumored for a while, but there has been no official confirmation from Tucker, Chan, or anybody who might be working on the film.
Faizon Love - Big Worm
The drug dealer that gives Craig and Smokey such a hard time is Big Worm, who will put a price on their heads if they don't pay him by the end of the day. The man who played him, Faizon Love, made an early appearance in "Fear of a Black Hat" (a cult mockumentary film about a rap group called N.W.H.), but "Friday" was his big break. He got paid $2,500 for the film. "It wasn't about the money then," Love told Comedy Hype. "It wasn't iconic when we did it." That wasn't the case when the sequels came around, however.
Love revealed that he was offered $5,000 to reprise the role of Big Worm in "Next Friday," which was nowhere near enough to lure him back. "The day after I said no, I got called to do a film from Warner Bros. called 'The Replacements,' and they paid me $100,000." He went on to appear in the likes of "Elf," "The Perfect Holiday," and "Couples Retreat." He has also appeared as himself on television shows like "Wild 'N Out" and "Def Comedy Jam." And, like DJ Pooh, he was involved in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," voicing the character Sean "Sweet" Johnson.
Paula Jai Parker - Joi
"Friday" was the first theatrical film that Paula Jai Parker featured in, and she made a big impression. She plays Craig's jealous girlfriend Joi, one of the people Craig tries to borrow money from unsuccessfully. The character became known for her attitude and her long braids, the only style the film's hairdresser was offering. "I requested blond twists," Parker told Page Six. "She was like, 'Look, this is all I know how to do. So sit your a** still, because we got to be taking these in and out for like four months."
Parker would later appear in "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood," which was written by the Wayans brothers and parodies films such as "Friday." Her other film credits include "Ray," "Phone Booth," and "Hustle & Flow." On television, Parker has had recurring roles on the likes of "True Blood," "Ray Donovan," "Family Time," and "Queen Sugar." She's been playing Headmistress Merriweather in the Brat TV series "Crown Lake" since 2019.
Anna Maria Horsford - Mrs. Jones
The role of Craig's mother is played by Anna Maria Horsford, who, unlike many of her "Friday" castmates, was already a veteran of the industry when she signed on for the film. She made her debut in the late '70s and established herself in Hollywood the following decade, appearing in movies like "St. Elmo's Fire." She often gets recognized from that film, but not as much as she does for "Friday." She told GetTV: "'Friday' is the most popular movie that I've ever been in. I have gotten more upgrades on planes. I think I've been fortunate to have reached three generations of people."
Other films that Horsford is known for include "Along Came A Spider," "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps," "Minority Report," and "A Madea Christmas." In terms of television, her standout credits include "Amen," the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful," and the police drama "The Shield." She was also a main cast member on "The Wayans Bros." for a time. Horsford has been playing Mrs. Ludlum on the critically acclaimed CBS series "B Positive" since 2021.
Nia Long - Debbie
Craig does not get along with his girlfriend Joi, especially when he acts friendly towards his neighbor Debbie, played by Nia Long. "Friday" was Long's fourth theatrical film: She made her big screen debut in 1989's "Buried Alive" and later landed the role of Brandi in "Boyz n the Hood." You may also recognize her from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," on which she played two different characters, Claudia Prescott and Lisa Wilkes. The latter became a recurring character in the fifth season of the hit sitcom.
Speaking to Insider in 2020, Long said that she was turned down for a role in 2000's "Charlie's Angels" because she "looked too old" for the part. "I think that was just a nice way to say you're a little too Black," she added. Nowadays, she produces her own projects (like the Netflix film "Fatal Affair") and refuses to play characters defined by their skin color. "I don't want to be any part of a project where I feel like I'm the token Black," Long said. "I've been there and done that and I'm not doing that anymore."
Regina King - Dana
Regina King made her film debut in "Boyz n the Hood" before appearing in "Friday" as Craig's younger sister Dana Jones. King's career has evolved considerably since then. She's turned in numerous acclaimed performances and even won an Academy Award for her role as Sharon Rivers in "If Beale Street Could Talk." Elsewhere, she's known for hit films like "Ray" and "Jerry Maguire." In 2020, King directed her first feature film: "One Night in Miami" garnered critical acclaim and three Oscar nominations.
King is also very prominent in the world of television. She was the voice of both Huey and Riley Freeman in "The Boondocks" and would later ply her trade on acclaimed shows like "The Leftovers," "American Crime," and HBO's "Watchmen" miniseries. Her performances keep on improving, and she's never felt more comfortable in her craft. "I feel like I'm so much more interesting now," she told Vogue. "You may not have the stamina that you had at 25, but what you know now? So much better."
Tony Cox - Mr. Parker
There is a minor plotline in "Friday" involving a scantily-clad woman named Mrs. Parker (Kathleen Bradley), who gets plenty of glances as she waters her plants. As it turns out, Mrs. Parker is having an affair with Pastor Clever (Bernie Mac). Things come to a head when Mr. Parker comes home early and chases the startled pastor out of his home, throwing a brick through the rear window of his car as he drives away. Mr. Parker is played by Tony Cox, whom many people will remember as Marcus Skidmore from the "Bad Santa" films, which reunited him with Mac.
At the time of this writing, 2016's "Bad Santa 2" is the last theatrical film Cox has starred in, but he was previously part of movies like "Spaceballs," "Beetlejuice," "Willow," "Me, Myself & Irene," and "Oz the Great and Powerful." He was also in several parody pictures like "Date Movie" and "Disaster Movie." On television, he has guest starred on the likes of "Frasier," "Rescue Me," and "Instant Def." His most recent role was actually a voice one — he played Chuck E. Duck in Pixar's "Toy Story Toons," a series of shorts.
Meagan Good - Neighborhood Kid
Meagan Good has been acting since 1991, but "Friday" marked her feature film debut. She was one of the little kids in Craig and Smokey's neighborhood. It was a very small role, but it helped launch her into a very successful career. Good went on to become one of the stars of the Nickelodeon sitcom "Cousin Skeeter" before landing both main and recurring roles in other television shows. These include the likes of "Deception," "Californication," "My Wife and Kids," the television adaptation of "Minority Report," and "Star." Nowadays, Good stars in the Amazon comedy series "Harlem."
Good has also had a prominent film career. She's plied her trade on movies like "Eve's Bayou," "Don Jon," "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," and both "Think Like a Man" films. DC fans will no doubt recognize her as the superhero version of Darla from 2019's "Shazam!," a role she's reprising in the upcoming sequel. "I love that I get to be a little girl," she told CinemaBlend. "I love that I get to show the goofy side of myself because I don't get to show that in most of the characters that I play."