The 1996 disaster film Twister featured an iconic leading cast. The action movie follows the story of two almost-divorced storm chasers who are attempting to track down extremely violent tornadoes. Though it has a somewhat goofy and over-the-top premise, Twister has remained one of the ‘90s classic action movies to this day.

Twister became such a cult classic that it inspired the upcoming sequel film Twisters. Set for release on July 19, Twisters ups the stakes of the original Twister film by adding tornadoes that are bigger and more threatening than ever. Twisters features a leading cast including Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, and Katy O’Brian. As the sequel prepares for release, it is fascinating to look back on the original Twister team and where they are now.

Helen Hunt As Dr. Jo Harding

Date Of Birth: June 15, 1963

Actor: Helen Hunt played the female lead role of Dr. Jo Harding in Twister, who is a meteorologist who becomes obsessed with tracking down tornadoes. Paired up with her estranged husband, Bill, with whom she is on the precipice of divorce, it is hard to say whether it’s her crumbling marriage or the horrors of tornado-induced destruction that plague Jo most throughout the film. It is Hunt’s performance that grounds Twister in some form of emotion, and the film stands out as one of the actor’s most iconic roles.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: The year after Twister, Hunt went on to play Carol Connelly in As Good As It Gets, for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1998. Hunt was later nominated for another Oscar for The Sessions in 2012. Hunt is still working as an actress today, with her most recent work including a few episodes of Hacks as well as episodes of the show Blindspotting.

Bill Paxton As Bill Harding

Date of Birth: May 17, 1955

Actor: Playing opposite Hunt, Bill Paxton stepped in to play Jo’s estranged husband, Bill. Like Jo, Bill is fascinated with storm chasing, and in fact is a TV weatherman himself. Coming to Oklahoma, he brings with him both meteorological knowledge and a host of drama as he brings his new fiance with him while he returns to Jo’s farm to serve her divorce papers. As Jo chases the storm, Paxton’s Bill takes Melissa in tow to chase after him.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Paxton tragically passed away from a stroke at the age of 61 on February 25, 2017. In addition to Twister, Paxton will be remembered for his roles Aliens, Frailty, and Apollo 13. Paxton’s final on-screen roles came in 2017’s The Circle as well as the TV series Training Day. Training Day only had one season, as it was a Paxton-led series that was intended to have the late actor in the main role.

Cary Elwes As Dr. Jonas Miller

Date of Birth: October 26, 1962

Actor: Bill and Jo are not the only avid storm chasers in the Oklahoma area. Elwes steps in to play Dr. Jonas Miller, who is a rival storm chaser who is also trying to track down raucous twisters. It is Jonas who attempts to steal the storm-warning system that Bill and Jo have named “Dorothy” in honor of Wizard of Oz. While Melissa’s role serves to heat up the interpersonal drama in Twister, Dr. Miller creates much more of a professional tension as he claims ownership over a design he didn’t create.

Notable Movie & TV Roles: By the time he was in Twister, Elwes was better known for playing the swoon-worthy prince Westley in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride. He also played the lead in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and has gone on to be in films such as Saw. Though he is less of a household name today than he was in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Elwes is still acting, with his recent work including Knuckles, both Rebel Moon films, Sweetwater, and BlackBerry.

Jami Gertz As Dr. Melissa Reeves

Date Of Birth: October 28, 1965

Actor: Played by Jami Gertz, Melissa is the fiancé of Paxton’s Bill Harding. Like Jo, she is well-educated, but her profession is starkly different from that of the original Harding couple, as she is a therapist. Despite her supposed calm-inducing field, Melissa ends up whipping up problems on the Oklahoma farm as she causes tensions with the former Harding couple as the wife-to-be of Bill. Despite her distance from the field, Melissa still gets quickly wrapped up in the winds of storm-chasing chaos.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Twister remains Gertz’s most notable role to date. Prior to this film, she acted in ‘80s classics such as The Lost Boys and Sixteen Candles. Now 58 years old, Gertz seems to have largely retired from acting, as the rate at which she has been taking on roles has been significantly slowed. Since 2010, she has only had a handful of parts, including five episodes of Entourage, an episode of Modern Family, an episode of This Is Us, and a role in the 2022 Prime Video film I Want You Back.

Philip Seymour Hoffman As Dustin Davis

Date Of Birth: July 23, 1967

Actor: Referred to as “Dusty,” Dustin Davis is a recurring character in Twister. Like many of the leads, Dusty is fascinated with tornadoes and will do anything to help track them down and also to help the residents of Wakita. In what was Phillip Seymor Hoffman’s typical fashion, Dusty is a scene stealer, alluring audiences with his likable and goofy personality.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Hoffman tragically passed away from a drug overdose in 2014, a few years before co-star Paxton died. Hoffmann had struggled with drug addiction in his young adult years and had been sober for an extended time before relapsing in 2012 and eventually passing away. After his death, Hoffman’s career and best movies are still recognized as the most prolific of his era. He won an Oscar in 2006 for his starring role in Capote, and was nominated three more times — for Charlie Wilson’s War, Doubt, and The Master.

Lois Smith As Meg Greene

Date Of Birth: November 30, 1930

Actor: Also known as Aunt Meg, Smith plays protagonist Jo’s aunt in Twister. She is involved in somewhat meddling in Bill and Jo’s relationship, as she heavily implies that the pair still have feelings for each other. She is also nearly a victim of a major tornado, as a storm headed towards Wakita eventually flattens her house, and she is just barely saved by Bill, Jo, and their team.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Born in 1930, Smith has now been in the acting business for over six decades. In addition to Twister, her notable work includes roles in Minority Report and Lady Bird. Now 93 years old, Smith is still acting, with her most recent work including three episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime and the film The Uninvited. In 2025, Smith is also set to star in the film The Gettysburg Address, an upcoming biographical drama.

Alan Ruck As Robert “Rabbit” Nurick

Date of Birth: July 1, 1956

Actor: Alan Ruck steps in to play Robert Nurick, the Harding’s navigator, who is better known as “Rabbit.” He is another tornado-obsessed individual, as he is a storm chaser in the area of Oklahoma. He helps Jo and Bill with trying to deploy their “Dorothy” technology to track storms.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Acting since he was a teen, Ruck has been in the business for years at this point. He is perhaps best known for playing the sidekick character Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when he was 20 years old. He is also known for his work in Speed and Star Trek: Generations, and most recently, for playing Connor Roy in the hit HBO series Succession.

Jeremy Davies As Brian Laurence

Date of Birth: October 28, 1969

Actor: Like Ruck, Jeremy Davies plays another storm chaser in Twister. Brian Laurence is a student at Muskogee State College in Oklahoma. He assists the team in running Dorothy, and is seen when Bill first arrives in Wakita with Melissa.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Born in 1969, Davies has been acting for just over three decades. He got his breakout role in 1998, when he had a supporting role in Saving Private Ryan. Since then, he has appeared in a number of other notable roles, including in Solaris, Secretary, and the television series Lost.