With a new film, Twisters, hitting theaters July, we're checking in with the stars of the original film -- see who's no longer with us, with they look like now and what they've been up to since 1996.
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Helen Hunt, who played Dr. Jo Harding, continued her career momentum by starring in Cast Away, What Women Want, and Pay It Forward. She has an Academy Award for As Good as It Gets, four Golden Globes, and four Primetime Emmy Awards for Mad About You. She's directed a number of TV episodes, including Mad About You and its 2019 revival -- on which she also starred. Her most recent role was on HBO drama series Hacks in 2024. Hunt was married to Hank Azaria for 17 months and shares a daughter born in 2004 with ex Matthew Carnahan.
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Bill Paxton, who played Dr. Bill 'The Extreme' Harding, went on to search for for the Heart of the Ocean in Titanic the following year. He earned Golden Globe nominations for his work on Big Love and Emmy noms for Hatfields & McCoys. He also starred on the Training Day TV series and appeared on six episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Paxton tragically passed away in 2017 at the age of 61, after undergoing open-heart surgery to repair a damaged aortic heart valve and an emergency second surgery to repair his damaged coronary artery. His family ultimately settled a wrongful death lawsuit against a Los Angeles hospital and the surgeon who performed his initial surgery. The actor's son James makes a cameo in the new Twisters movie.
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Cary Elwes, who played Dr. Jonas Miller, went on to star in the Saw series as Dr. Lawrence Gordon. He also had roles in Ella Enchanted, No Strings Attached, The X Files and Family Guy. Recently, he played Mayor Larry Kline in Stranger Things, Gavin Hawk in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Pistol in Knuckles.
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Jami Gertz, who played Dr. Melissa Reeves, was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance as Kimmy Bishop in Ally McBeal in 2001, was co-nominated for the Young Artist Award for Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series for her performance as Judy Miller in Still Standing in 2004 and starred on The Neighbors . She and her husband Tony Ressler became owners of the Atlanta Hawks NBA team in 2015; they have four children. Her most recent roles were in Difficult People and I Want You Back.
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Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played Dustin "Dusty" Davis, later won an Oscar for playing Truman Capote in the 2005 Capote film and won acclaim for work in Charlie Wilson's War, Doubt and The Master. Hoffman also played Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 and starred in films including Mission: Impossible III, A Most Wanted Man and The Ides of March. In 2014, Hoffman passed away at the age of 46 due to mixed drug intoxication. He's survived by wife Mimi O'Donnell and their three children, including actor son Cooper Hoffman.
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Lois Smith, who played Meg Greene, has went on to play Betsy Cramer in One Life to Live and Adele Stackhouse in True Blood. She has had a successful on and Off Broadway theatre career – winning a Tony Award in 2020 for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Margaret in Broadway’s The Inheritance - Part II -- and was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2007. Most recently, she appeared in French Dispatch, Lady Bird and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
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Alan Ruck, who played Robert 'Rabbit' Nurick, played Stewart Bondek in Spin City for 140 episodes and booked roles in Cheaper by the Dozen, The Bronx Is Burning, and The Exorcist TV series. Notably, he played Connor Roy in Succession for which he and his cast won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2022 and 2024. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy for his performance in the show in 2024. He shares two children with ex-wife Claudia Stefany and two with actress Mireille Enos, to whom he's been married since 2008.
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Joey Slotnick, who played Joey, voiced several characters in Family Guy and is also known for playing Dr. Merril Bobolit in the medical drama Nip/Tuck. He has played roles on Intelligence, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Blue Bloods, The Office, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Curb Your Enthusiasm, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Nanny. He has starred in several films and on-stage productions.
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Sean Whalen, who played Allan Sanders, had roles in Rob Zombie's Halloween II, Jersey Boys, Scrubs and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. He played Carl Ferret in The Bold and the Beautiful, Sal Kalaukas in Superstore and Coach Pearson in Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous. Recently, he worked on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s 2023 video game as The Hitchhiker.
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Jeremy Davies, who played Biran Laurence, later played Dickie Bennett in the FX crime drama Justified -- which won him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2012. He played Charles Manson in the 2004 Helter Skelter film. He also had critically acclaimed roles in Saving Private Ryan, Solaris, The Laramie Project, Lost and Sleepy Hollow. He plays the role of Baldur in video games God of War (2018) which won him a BAFTA Games Award for Best Performer and God of War Ragnarök (2022).