The cast of Independence Day were already big stars, and they’ve only gone from strength to strength in the intervening years. Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi epic made a huge cultural impact on its release in 1996, due to some truly iconic set pieces and an incredible cast that included Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, and Vivica A. Fox. Independence Day tells the story of humanity’s attempts to prevent an alien invasion of Earth, culminating in a daring, multipronged attack against the extra-terrestrial invaders on July 4th.

Independence Day is unabashed American patriotism, but it still made a massive impact outside the United States. The iconic White House explosion is an astonishing movie moment that modern blockbuster movies, and Roland Emmerich himself, still struggle to top. Roland Emmerich returned to some of the characters 20 years after the ending of Independence Day in the 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence. However, not every member of the movie’s cast returned.

Will Smith as Captain Steve Hiller

Born: 25 September 1968

• Active since 1990

Will Smith became a household name by playing Will in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air between 1990 and 1996. Independence Day had its premiere screening in Westwood, California, exactly 7 days after the Fresh Prince finale aired, launching Will Smith’s Hollywood career in earnest. Smith played Captain Steve Hiller in the movie, a pilot and rejected NASA astronaut who finally achieved his dream of space travel when he played a crucial role in defeating the alien invaders. Independence Day was the first of many Will Smith sci-fi movies released over the past 28 years.

Although Will Smith didn’t return for Independence Day: Resurgence, he continues to play Mike Lowery in the Bad Boys franchise, and played Agent J in the three Men in Black movies released between 1997 and 2012. In 2022, Will Smith won an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as tennis coach Richard Williams in King Richard. However, the event was slightly marred by his physical attack on host Chris Rock, following a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson

Born: 22 October 1952

• Active since 1974

After a decade of guest roles on TV and parts in larger ensemble movies, Jeff Goldblum’s breakthrough role was as Seth Brundle in David Cronenberg’s The Fly. Goldblum’s list of credits is eclectic, taking in big Hollywood studio pictures and smaller indie movies. As chaos theorist Ian Malcom in Jurassic Park and satellite technician David Levinson in Independence Day, Jeff Goldblum was the star of two of the most influential blockbusters of the 1990s. Goldblum has since reprised both those roles in Jurassic World: Dominion and Independence Day: Resurgence, respectively.

In the years since Independence Day, Jeff Goldblum has become part of Wes Anderson’s rolling ensemble, appearing in four of the director’s movies. Most recently, Jeff Goldblum played an alien in Asteroid City. As well as working with Wes Anderson, Goldblum has also worked with fringe comedy icons Tim & Eric, appearing as Chef Goldblum in Tim and Eric‘s Billion Dollar Movie and voicing Bill Joel in their animated series Tom Goes to the Mayor. Later in 2024, Jeff Goldblum will play Zeus in the upcoming Netflix series Kaos and The Wizard of Oz in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.

Bill Pullman as President Thomas J. Whitmore

Born: 17 December 1953

• Active since 1986

Bill Pullman’s breakthrough role was Lone Starr in Mel Brooks’ classic Star Wars spoof, Spaceballs, so he was no stranger to Independence Day‘s sci-fi hyperbole. As President Whitmore in Independence Day, Pullman is given the iconic speech that inspires a nation of Americans to fight back against their alien invaders. Pullman later reprised the role of Whitmore for Independence Day: Resurgence, who provides a stark warning of the second invasion. In the years between both ID movies, Pullman appeared in films as diverse as David Lynch’s Lost Highway and David Zucker’s Scary Movie 4.

Bill Pullman’s best-known role since Independence Day was Detective Harry Ambrose in The Sinner. Across four seasons, Pullman played the unorthodox but empathetic detective to critical acclaim, earning a 2018 nomination for Best Actor In A Movie Made for Television or Limited Series at the Critic’s Choice Awards. Bill Pullman also appeared in another celebrated 1990s monster movie, 1999’s Lake Placid, in which he played Jack Wells.

Mary McDonnell as Marilyn Whitmore

Born: 28 April 1952

• Active since 1980

Playing the First Lady in Independence Day, Mary McDonnell upgraded to Presidential status with her best-known role as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica. BSG was also about humanity banding together to fight an alien threat, this time from the Cylons. However, BSG‘s political commentary was a lot more nuanced and considered than Independence Day. McDonnell’s movie career following ID saw her play Rose Darko in Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. Mary McDonnell recently played another matriarch in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher.

Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson

Born: 15 March 1935

• Active since 1971

Judd Hirsch became a household name thanks to his role as Alex Reiger in the classic sitcom, Taxi. Decades after playing Jeff Goldblum’s overly supportive father, Julius, in Independence Day, Judd Hirsch returned to sitcoms, appearing as ‘Pop-Pop’ in The Goldbergs, Arthur Przybyszewski in Superior Donuts, and Dr. Alfred Hofstedter in The Big Bang Theory. As well as reprising the role of Julius Levinson in Independence Day: Resurgence, Hirsch has recently been working with acclaimed filmmakers like Noah Baumbach, Benny and Josh Safdie, and Steven Spielberg in The Meyerowitz Stories, Uncut Gems, and The Fabelmans, respectively.

Randy Quaid as Russell Casse

Born: 1 October 1950

• Active since 1971

Prior to playing heroic Vietnam veteran Russell Casse in Independence Day, Randy Quaid was best known for his Academy Award nominated performance as Meadows in The Last Detail. Following the success of Independence Day, Quaid appeared in a string of comic and dramatic roles in movies as diverse as Kingpin, Disney’s Home on the Range, and Eddie Murphy’s Pluto Nash. His role as Joe Aguirre in Brokeback Mountain led to a legal dispute with the movie’s producers that was only compounded by other legal issues involving Randy Quaid and his wife between 2009 and 2015. These legal disputes largely prevented Quaid from working in Hollywood for over a decade.

Vivica A. Fox as Jasmine Dubrow

Born: 30 July 1964

• Active since 1985

Jasmine Dubrow in Independence Day was one of two major breakthrough roles for Vivica A. Fox in 1996, coupled with Frankie in the F. Gary Gray movie, Set It Off. Jasmine was the wife of Will Smith’s Steve Hiller, and Fox reprised the role for Independence Day: Resurgence, this time as Steve’s widow. Since Independence Day, Vivica A. Fox has had a prolific career in film and television, starring in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill as Vernita Green and having a recurring role in Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons 5 and 6 as Larry David’s girlfriend, Loretta Black.

Brent Spiner as Dr. Brakish Okun

Born: 2 February 1949

Thanks to Brent Spiner’s breakthrough role as Lt. Commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the actor was a household name when he was cast as Dr. Brakish Okun in Independence Day. After Independence Day, Brent Spiner continued to play Data, and various members of the Soong family in the Star Trek movies and TV shows. Compared to the likes of Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman, Brent Spiner had a small role in the finished movie, but Okun’s role was expanded greatly in Independence Day: Resurgence, giving Spiner much more to do in the Independence Day sequel.