‘Scream’ Movies Cast: Where Are They Now?

Directed by Wes Craven, Scream (1996) breathed new life in the cult horror film genre in its satirization of slasher flicks. Starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette (and a small but memorable role by Drew Barrymore), Scream made over $600 million at the box office and spawned three additional films — Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011). Filling its cast with a multitude of teen idols, the Scream franchise became a pop-cultural phenomenon and extended itself into a television series from 2015 to 2019.

Check out what some of the most memorable cast members have been doing since Ghostface terrorized their lives:

Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott)

No matter who played Ghostface in the Scream franchise, they all wanted to kill poor protagonist Sidney Prescott (all because her mother had an affair)! Played by Party of Five‘s Campbell, Sidney found her grit and butt-kicking power as she was being pursued and taunted by Ghostface, who made a point of killing those closest to her throughout the course of the series. While the Scream films were being made as well as afterward, Campbell found time to star in other notable roles including Wild Things (1998), 54 (1998), The Company (2003) and Skyscraper (2018). On television, Campbell earned a juicy role as political consultant LeAnn Harvey on House of Cards. She will also star in the fifth Scream movie, set to premiere in 2022.

Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers)

As a pushy, fame-seeking reporter, Gale Weathers (later Gale Riley), nosed her way into Sidney Prescott’s life after a couple of teens were killed in Sidney’s Woodsboro neighborhood. But throughout the films, Gale wasn’t just focused on herself; she helped prevent further murders from happening by three of the Ghostfaces and also found time to fall for Sheriff Dewey Riley, whom she’d marry by the time Scream 4 rolled around. Of course, before Cox played Gale, there was her most famous role as Monica Gellar on Friends. With art imitating life, Cox married her Scream costar David Arquette (Sheriff Riley) and together, they produced the network sitcom Cougar Town (2009-2015). After having a daughter, Coco, the couple split in 2013. Like Campbell, Cox will reunite with the cast for Scream 5.

David Arquette (Sheriff Dewey Riley)

Sheriff Dewey Riley was a hero throughout the series as he continued to save Sidney Prescott’s life as well as his sister Tatum, played by Rose McGowan. In the end, he also found love, marrying reporter Gale (Courteney Cox). Arquette had a nice string of credits before and after Scream. He starred in the films Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and Never Been Kissed (1999), produced TV shows like Cougar Town and established a production company, Coquette, with his now ex-wife Cox and even tried his hand in the pro-wrestling circuit. He is slated to appear in 2022’s Scream 5.

Roger L. Jackson (Ghostface)

With his almost superhuman strength and inability to incur physical harm, Ghostface was a malleable entity in the Scream franchise. Depending on which Scream flick you were watching, the character had a variety of motivations — revenge, celebrity, peer pressure — but through it all, it was Roger L. Jackson’s voice behind the screaming white mask. Besides Scream, Jackson also voiced the Powerpuff’s mad scientist chimpanzee Mojo Jojo and Rowdyruff Boy Butch. In the video game world, he’s voiced characters in Star Trek and Star Wars titles, Final Fantasy X and Zone of the Enders among many others. He also voiced the New York-accented Mr. Mucus in Mucinex commercials for a decade. Jackson reprised his role for the Scream TV series in its third season.

Skeet Ulrich (Billy Loomis)

Billy Loomis was pretty much a shoo-in as the killer, but strangely, it still came as a surprise to audiences when he claimed it. Played by Skeet Ulrich, Billy deceptively romanced Sidney with his good looks and charm, but the horror film fanatic was a pure psycho underneath, aiming to get revenge on Sidney for her mother’s affair with his married father. Although Sidney ended up shooting Billy to death at the end of Scream, actor Skeet Ulrich still had some life left in him to do more projects. While he continues to work in film, Ulrich has found more success on the small screen these days. He has starred on shows like Jehrico, Law & Order and more recently as Jughead’s elusive father on Riverdale.

Matthew Lillard (Stu Macher)

You could say Stu Macher suffered from a deadly case of people-pleasing. Feeling pressure from buddy Billy to help murder Sidney’s mom and others, Stu went along with Billy’s plan and also assisted him in framing Cotton Weary. With a weirdness that only Matthew Lillard could play, Stu became a memorable sidekick in Scream. Lillard continued playing comedic, eccentric characters in films like Summer Catch (2001) and as Shaggy in the live-action Scooby-Doo (2002, 2004) franchise. Other roles include The Descendants (2011) and Trouble with the Curve (2012). He also played the spouse of Christina Hendrick’s character on Good Girls.

Scott Foley (Roman Bridger)

Little did we know but there was a mastermind that pushed Billy and Stu to ignite a killing spree in Woodsboro! And that would be Roman Bridger, whom we would only come to meet in Scream 3. Played by Scott Foley, Bridger was Sidney’s half-brother, who was rejected by their mother, Maureen Prescott. Feeling Sidney’s life turned out picture-perfect while he had to suffer as the unwanted bastard child (a product of a gang rape that traumatized Maureen), Bridger tried to kill his sister to get his revenge. But Sheriff Riley saved the day by putting a bullet in his head. Post-Scream, Foley found notable success in television, starring in shows like Scrubs, Felicity, True Blood, Scandal and Insecure.

Liev Schreiber (Cotton Weary)

Portrayed by Liev Schreiber, Cotton Weary was surely weary of being accused of crimes he didn’t commit. Despite being innocent of the rape and murder of Sidney’s mother, Maureen Prescott, Weary was forced to do prison time. After he became a free man, he became rich and famous after saving Sidney’s life, but ultimately became a victim of Ghostface in the franchise’s third installment. Despite Cotton’s fall, Schreiber had a long list of impressive film, TV and theater projects after Scream, including The Sum of All Fears (2002), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Spotlight (2015) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). In 2005 he won a Tony for his performance in Glengarry Glen Ross, and on the small screen, Schreiber is best known for his playing the eponymous lead role on Ray Donovan.

Jamie Kennedy (Randy Meeks)

Randy Meeks was a geeky teen who was a horror fanatic with a major crush on his friend Sidney. Unfortunately, Randy met his demise in Scream 2 while helping Gale and Dewey search for Ghostface, who ended up killing him on videotape. (In Scream 3, Meeks had a small cameo via film footage.) Post-Scream, actor Jamie Kennedy launched his own practical joke reality show called The Jamie Kennedy Experiment and appeared in comedies like Malibu’s Most Wanted (2003). As a voiceover actor, Kennedy has contributed to projects like King of the Hill and The Cleveland Show.