The Cast of ‘Independence Day’: Where Are They 30 Years Later?

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In honor of the sci-fi blockbuster’s 30th anniversary, THR checks in on the all-star cast, including Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum and Vivica A. Fox.

July 2, 2026 11:00am

Published on July 2, 2026

Fireworks, backyard barbecues … the Fourth of July has plenty of great traditions. But sitting in a dark, air-conditioned theater while watching a blockbuster movie that’s stuffed to the brim with explosions? It doesn’t get much better than that.

Independence Day was released on July 3, 1996, and it had everything you could ask for in a July 4 movie: patriotism, international cooperation, spaceships, an exploding White House and more movie stars than you could count. It even had the name of the holiday in the title.

With all that going for it, it’s not surprising that Independence Day became top-grossing film of that year, earning $817.4 million at the global box office. As the enduring sci-fi classic celebrates its 30th anniversary, THR looks back at the cast and what they’ve been up to in the years since Will Smith knocked out a nasty-looking alien and declared: “Welcome to Earth.”

Will Smith as Capt. Steven Hiller

As hard as it may be to believe now, director Roland Emmerich had to convince the studio to cast Will Smith in the part of the Marine captain who has first contact with the genocidal alien race and plays a key role in destroying them. Known at the time primarily as a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith was in Bad Boys the year before Independence Day came out, but his draw at the international box office was somehow still considered an open question.

The July 4th favorite cemented Smith’s movie-star status, and in its wake, he headlined 1997’s Men in Black with Tommy Lee Jones. The same year, he released his Big Willie Style album, whose breakout singles included the M.I.B. theme song, along with “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and “Just the Two of Us.” He went on to star opposite Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State (1998), followed by the deliciously campy Wild Wild West (1999), with that film’s catchy title theme being featured on his Willennium album.

The new millennium brought Smith continued success with the title roles in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) and Ali (2001), followed by the sequels Men in Black II (2002) and Bad Boys II (2003). His hot streak continued with the action sci-fi I, Robot (2004) and rom-com Hitch (2005), and he was ubiquitous in the zeitgeist by the time he starred in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), I Am Legend (2007) and Hancock (2008). Smith once again donned “the last suit you’ll ever wear” in the time-traveling Men in Black 3 (2012), with other highlights including the live-action version of Aladdin (2019) as Genie. He’s also been a producer on numerous projects, including ones in which he did not star, like the 2010 Karate Kid reboot featuring his son, Jaden, and Jackie Chan.

Smith won an Oscar for his lead performance in King Richard (2021), playing the father of Venus and Serena Williams. Famously, however, minutes before his name was announced, the A-lister slapped Chris Rock onstage after the comedian made a joke referencing Smith’s wife. He apologized for his behavior and resigned from the Academy, but was banned from the Oscars for a decade, and the fallout reverberated into the reception of his follow-up project, Emancipation (2022). More recently, he executive produced Bel-Air, the dramatic reimagining of Fresh Prince, and in 2025 released his first musical album in two decades, Based on a True Story.

Bill Pullman as President Whitmore

Who knew that the actor who played Lone Starr in Spaceballs could produce the gravitas needed to deliver one of the most memorable presidential speeches in film history? Although, really, it should be no surprise since Bill Pullman already had a long résumé that included Newsies (1992), A League of Their Own (1992) and While You Were Sleeping (1995) when he was cast as President Whitmore, the dashing but besieged U.S. president forced to reckon with an extraterrestrial invasion in Independence Day.

He went on to star in David Lynch’s psychological thriller Lost Highway (1997), which also featured Independence Day co-star Robert Loggia. Pullman also played a police detective in Nora Ephron’s Lucky Numbers (2000), starring John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow. Among his numerous other roles, he appeared in the horror flick The Grudge (2004), starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, and played a Napa Valley winery owner in Bottle Shock (2008), which cast Chris Pine as his son.

Pullman has appeared on Broadway in The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, which won the 2002 Tony for best play, as well as a production of David Mamet’s Oleanna, opposite Julia Styles.

He played a small-screen U.S. president in the short-lived series 1600 Penn, and returned to the Independence Day fold for the 2016 sequel Resurgence, which included much of the original cast (except Will Smith, who opted to focus on other projects, and Mae Whitman, whose role was taken over by Maika Monroe). In The Equalizer (2014) and its 2018 sequel, Pullman played a CIA operative and confidant of Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall.

Pullman was also the only person to star in all four seasons of the anthology series The Sinner, as police Detective Harry Ambrose. More recently, he was one of the stars of the gone-too-soon Netflix series The Boroughs. Among his upcoming projects, Pullman will reprise his role as Lone Starr in Spaceballs: The New One, due out in 2027, with his son Lewis (Top Gun: Maverick) set to play his onscreen progeny.

Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson

Jeff Goldblum, who had already played an iconic role as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park (1993), played David Levinson — the brains to Will Smith’s brawn — in Independence Day. A bike-riding environmental activist who was previously married to the White House communications director, David decodes the aliens’ communications signal and later has the genius idea that allows humankind to fight back by giving the aliens’ spaceships a computer virus.

Goldblum would go on to star in the 1997 Jurassic Park sequel, The Lost World, then took a break from the franchise before reappearing in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World: Dominion (2022). He also broke into the Marvel universe as Grandmaster, the overseer of a gladiator competition on a faraway planet in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) — following a teaser appearance in the credits of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017) — as well as the series What If …?

The actor, known for his quirky choices, is a regular collaborator of Wes Anderson, with roles in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and Asteroid City (2023). The busy Goldblum made time to return to the Independence Day franchise for the 2016 sequel and has guested on TV shows from Friends to Will & Grace, Glee and Portlandia. He’s also had memorable turns in commercials, including for Apple in the ‘90s and lately as the spokesman for Apartments.com.

More recently, he played the Wizard in the acclaimed movie adaptation of Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025). This year, he voiced Henry David Thoreau in Ken Burns’ miniseries on the writer-philosopher. When he’s not acting, Goldblum has become well known as a jazz musician, releasing his first album, The Capitol Studios Sessions, in 2018. He’s released several other albums since, including Night Blooms, a collaboration with The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, and regularly performs both in Los Angeles and worldwide.

Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson

Judd Hirsch, a two-time Tony winner best known for playing Alex on the classic sitcom Taxi, played the overprotective father of Goldblum’s character in Independence Day.

In addition to Taxi, Hirsch has starred in several other TV series. Among them, he starred in Dear John (1988-92) as a man who joins a support group after his wife suddenly leaves him; was a regular on Numb3rs (2005-10) as the father of the two main characters, Charlie and Don; played an antiques specialist on ABC’s Forever (2014-15), about an immortal medical examiner; starred as an old-school donut shop proprietor in CBS’ Superior Donuts (2017-18); and had a recurring role as Pop-Pop in The Goldbergs (2015-23).

On the big screen, Hirsch appeared in 2001’s Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind as Professor Helinger. Other notable film roles include Tower Heist (2011), in which he played the tower’s general manager; The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), as Harold Meyerowitz’s old friend L.J. Shapiro; Uncut Gems (2019), as Adam Sandler’s father-in-law, Gooey; and The Fabelmans (2022), as Uncle Boris.

Now over 90 years old (he was born in 1935), Hirsch is still going strong: He appeared in four separate film projects in 2025. In the past few years, he’s also popped up in guest starring roles on shows like Hulu’s Mid-Century Modern, Fox’s Doc and Adult Swim’s Bob’s Burgers.

Vivica A. Fox as Jasmine

Vivica A. Fox’s early credits included a four-episode run on Days of our Lives and a small part in Born on the Fourth of July. For Independence Day, she played Will Smith’s girlfriend (and eventual wife), who works as an exotic dancer to provide for her son.

Later in 1996, Fox starred alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah and Kimberly Elise in Set It Off, about four women whose circumstances lead them to attempt a bank robbery. It grossed $41.6 million worldwide, with its soundtrack hitting No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

The next year, she starred in Soul Food, a family drama that also featured Vanessa Williams and Nia Long. She later appeared alongside Halle Berry and Lela Rochon in Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998) and starred in the sitcom Getting Personal, which lasted two seasons on Fox. That was followed by a stint on City of Angels, a medical drama that featured Blair Underwood and Viola Davis among its cast.

Another career highlight was Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004), in which Fox played Vernita Green, one of the Deadly Vipers the Bride has sworn to kill. Since then, she’s built a niche for herself in TV movies and holiday fare, becoming known as the queen of Lifetime movies. She also returned as Jasmine in the Independence Day sequel, played Candace on Empire and starred in the 2021 miniseries Keeping Up With the Jonses.

This year, she was one of the stars of Is God Is, which earned a 97 percent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes despite a tepid box office performance. She also returned to The Young and the Restless as Dr. Stephanie Simmons, a role she last played in 1995.

Mary McDonnell as First Lady Marilyn Whitmore

In Independence Day, two-time Oscar nominee May McDonnell played the first lady, who is gravely injured in the aliens’ initial attack. She is cared for by Vivica A. Fox’s Jasmine but dies of her wounds after being reunited with her family.

The year after the blockbuster film’s release, McDonnell played the judge in a made-for-TV remake of courtroom drama 12 Angry Men directed by William Friedkin, whose star-studded cast also included Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Courtney B. Vance, James Gandolfini and Tony Danza. Then in 2001, she played Rose, the mother of the titular character in the cult sci-fi movie Donnie Darko, reuniting with fellow Independence Day castmember James Duval. Later film roles include Scream 4 (2011) and Margin Call (2011), about the 2008 financial crisis.

She was Emmy-nominated after a multi-episode arc on ER and received another guest acting nom in 2011 for playing Capt. Sharon Raydor on The Closer. She reprised that part on the show’s spinoff Major Crimes, then went on to play President Laura Roslin on Battlestar Galactica (2004-09).

More recently, McDonnell played Madeline Usher in Netflix’s 2023 miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher and had a guest role on Netflix’s The Boroughs. Upcoming projects in which she is expected to appear include Marvel TV’s VisionQuest and the Baywatch reboot.

Margaret Colin as Communications Director Constance Spano

Margaret Colin, who got her start on the soap The Edge of Night, had a memorable role in Independence Day as the White House communications director, who’s also the ex-wife of Jeff Goldblum’s David.

After the patriotic blockbuster, the actress starred opposite Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt in The Devil’s Own (1997). Later, in the short-lived CBS sci-fi series Now and Again, she played the wife of a man whose brain is implanted into a new body after a train accident, as part of a government experiment. She went on to appear in movies like Unfaithful (2002), with Richard Gere and Diane Lane; First Daughter (2004), with Katie Holmes; and Deception (2008), with Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams.

On Gossip Girl, on the wildly popular CW teen drama that ran from 2007-12, Colin played Blair Waldorf’s (Leighton Meester) mother, a successful fashion designer. She also appeared in the show’s HBO Max revival. Her most recent film credit is Tox, a psychological drama about cosmetic surgery that has yet to have a wide release. She appeared on Broadway earlier this year in the one-act original comedy The Balusters, which was nominated for the Tony for best play.

Randy Quaid as Pilot Russell Casse

Randy Quaid, known by many as Cousin Eddie from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, provided some comic relief in Independence Day as a Vietnam veteran who was kidnapped by aliens — though no one believes him, even after spaceships assemble over the planet’s major cities — and is out for revenge.

In the summer of ‘96, Quaid also co-starred with Woody Harrelson in Kingpin, a Farrelly brothers comedy about competitive bowling. He went on to appear in a range of movies including Vegas Vacation (1997); Hard Rain (1998), a disaster-crime film starring Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater; and the parody Not Another Teen Movie (2001). He also played Elvis’ manager “Colonel” Tom Parker in a CBS miniseries about the King in 2005, earning an Emmy nomination, and that same year was in the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain as Joe Aguirre, the rancher who hires Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall’s characters, leading to their romantic liaison.

In the subsequent decade, Randy and his wife, Evi Quaid, became involved in several legal issues, including a burglary charge after allegedly breaking into the guest house of a property they once owned, which they claimed had been fraudulently transferred to another person. The couple sought asylum in Canada in 2010, but returned in 2015 and relocated to Vermont, where a judge dismissed the charges that they were fugitives from justice. Randy has since become a vocal supporter of President Trump, and he’s reportedly a castmember in Meemaw, a TV series starring Roseanne Barr that has yet to find a home.

Brent Spiner as Dr. Brakish Okun

Brent Spiner is synonymous with Star Trek’s Data to this day, but only two years after The Next Generation wrapped back in 1994, he portrayed a wild-haired Area 51 scientist who meets an unfortunate mishap while trying to dissect an alien in Independence Day. (It is revealed in Independence Day: Resurgence that he was not killed in the attack, but instead spent 20 years in a coma.)

In 1997, Spiner appeared on Broadway in 1776, which was nominated for the best revival of a musical Tony. The actor also would go on to reprise the part of Data in Star Trek films including First Contact (1996), Insurrection (1998) and Nemesis (2002). He also recently returned to the role in the well-received Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard (in which he also played the android’s creator).

Spiner has appeared in films like Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000), I Am Sam (2001) and The Aviator (2004) and played LAPD captain Ned Vanderhoff in the 2020 Showtime miniseries Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. His most recent credit was on the reboot of Night Court, where he played Bob Wheeler, a recurring character he portrayed on the original show in the 1980s. In 2021, he released a novel, Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events.

Robert Loggia as General Grey

An acting legend who appeared in films like An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Scarface (1983), Jagged Edge (1985) and Big (1988), along with the Pink Panther franchise, Robert Loggia brought authority to his role as General William Grey in Independence Day. Even Bill Pullman admitted to being starstruck on set, going so far as to ask the veteran actor to call his brother on the phone. Pullman had another chance to act opposite Loggia in 1997’s Lost Highway, a surrealist horror film directed by David Lynch.

In later years, Loggia went on to appear in The Proposition (1998), Holy Man (1998), Funny Money (2006), Shrink (2009) and other lesser-known movies, and made guest appearances on numerous popular TV shows like Fraiser, Dharma & Greg, The Sopranos, Monk and Hawaii Five-0. He continued to work until his death in 2015, including a cameo in Independence Day: Resurgence.

James Duval as Miguel

James Duval, who played fighter pilot Russell’s (Randy Quaid) oldest son in Independence Day, has a whopping 200 acting credits on his IMDb page, so it’s hard to pick just a few to highlight. The actor is a frequent collaborator with Gregg Araki, including the director’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy (Totally Fucked Up, Doom Generation and Nowhere), a working relationship that has continued to the present day with an appearance in the upcoming Olivia Wilde starrer I Want Your Sex (due out July 31).

He had a memorable turn in the cult favorite Donnie Darko (2001) as Frank, the man in a rabbit costume around whom the twisted plot revolves. Other notable credits include Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), as a member of the car-theft ring; Wild Horses (1998), starring Angelyne; May (2002), a horror film that also featured Angela Bettis and Anna Faris; and the horror-comedy Beast Mode (2020). When he’s not acting, Duval is a musician and trained yoga instructor.

Mae Whitman as Patricia Whitmore

Whitman, who played the president’s daughter, made her big-screen debut in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), as Meg Ryan’s daughter. She would go on to play the daughter of other A-listers in the years that followed, including George Clooney in One Fine Day (1996) and Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats (1998). She also starred in the coming-of-age comedy State of Grace, which ran from 2001-04, and was the voice of Little Suzy on Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravo.

Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender was another highlight, in which Whitman voiced Katara, one of protagonist Aang’s friends. Other credits include The Jungle Book 2 (2003), as Shanti; Tinker Bell (2008), voicing the iconic Disney fairy; Nights in Rodanthe (2008), as the daughter of Richard Gere and Diane Lane; Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010), as Ramona’s fourth ex, the bisexual ninja Roxy; and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) as Mary Elizabeth.

She also starred in teen comedy The DUFF (2015), as Bianca, who becomes aware that she is her friends’ Designated Ugly Fat Friend. On television, she played Amber Holt in NBC’s Parenthood (2010-15) and starred with Retta and Christina Hendricks in NBC’s Good Girls (2018-21). More recently, she starred in the 2025 Hallmark Channel miniseries The Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas, which also featured Mary McDonnell.

Harry Connick Jr. as Capt. Jimmy Wilder

Harry Connick Jr. may be better known as a multiplatinum, Grammy-winning musician, but in Independence Day, he stepped in front of the camera as fighter pilot Jimmy Wilder, the best friend to whom Will Smith’s Steven Hiller confides that he’s planning to propose to Jasmine.

The jazz and big band singer’s other film credits include Copycat (1995), Excess Baggage (1997), Hope Floats (1998), William Friedkin’s Bug (2005) and Dolphin Tale (2011). He also notably played Grace’s (Debra Messing) husband, Leo, on Will & Grace. He’s even starred on Broadway, including in a 2011-12 revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and 2019’s Harry Connick Jr. — A Celebration of Cole Porter, and hosted the daytime talk show Harry from 2016-18.

More recently, in 2021 he performed as Daddy Warbucks in NBC’s production of Annie Live! The same year, he released his album Alone With My Faith, which was Grammy nominated for best roots gospel album, followed by 2022’s holiday album Make It Merry. He’s currently on tour, with numerous upcoming shows.

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If you have more time to kill before the fireworks start, check out this behind-the-scenes oral history that THR published for Independence Day’s 25th anniversary, in which the creators and cast reveal memorable moments that weren’t in the script, what happened when the Clintons screened the film at the White House and much more.

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