What The Cast Of The Starsky & Hutch Movie Are Doing Now
The formula for a lot of comedies from the early 2000s was pretty similar: "Let's stick some combination of Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Ben Stiller together and see what happens." One such comedy that came from this particular strategy was 2004's "Starsky & Hutch," inspired by the '70s detective series of the same name.
The film version of "Starsky & Hutch" is actually a lot better than you would guess a stoner comedy based on an old cop show would be. It's got some clever jokes hidden among the rapid-fire punchlines, and it plays as a loving homage rather than an outright mocking of its source material. Even critic Roger Ebert, who never found a nit too little to pick, grudgingly enjoyed this little detective romp.
It helps that the cast of "Starsky & Hutch" has some serious comedy chops, with the film boasting an impressive list of major actors and solid role players from almost top to bottom. And if you're wondering, here's what the cast has been up to since the film was released in 2004.
Ben Stiller - David Starsky
There was a period where Ben Stiller seemingly appeared in every comedy released and for good reason — nearly everything he was in was a massive hit. And during 2004, Stiller was part of the titular duo in "Starsky & Hutch," playing the tightly wound, car-obsessed Detective David Starsky.
Stiller continued to find years of success as an actor after "Starsky & Hutch," though his output has slowed down in recent years. He made new fans with the "Night at the Museum" franchise, playing security guard Larry Daley, and also had major appearances in films like "Tropic Thunder" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Some of his more recent notable roles include a small part in "Hubie Halloween" and returning as ridiculous magician Tony Wonder in the latest season of "Arrested Development."
However, Stiller seems more interested in the production side of things at this stage in his career. He directs a number of projects, both in television and film, including the upcoming "Bag Man" and "Super Sad True Love Story." He hasn't forgotten his roots either, and he's serving as a producer for the long-gestating sequel to "Dodgeball."
Owen Wilson - Ken Hutchinson
The other half of the lead duo is Ken Hutchinson, better known as "Hutch." Unlike his driven and tightly wound partner, Hutch is much more laidback and relaxed in his approach to crime fighting — perfect for the charming and languid delivery of actor Owen Wilson.
Like his counterpart, Ben Stiller, Wilson had a decade or so where he was practically oversaturating theaters, playing roles in both goofball comedies and the ensemble works of Wes Anderson. Since "Starsky & Hutch," he's found plenty more meaty roles to play. His voice work as Lightning McQueen in the "Cars" franchise is a favorite with kids, and he continues to work with Anderson, including more recent roles in films like "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "The French Dispatch."
Wilson has also joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's one of the stars of "Loki," appearing alongside Tom Hiddleston's titular trickster as the mysterious Mobius M. Mobius.
Snoop Dogg - Huggy Bear
Calvin Broadus Jr., known almost universally by his stage name of Snoop Dogg, is one of the most recognizable public figures out there. He was already a major star in the hip-hop world before "Starsky & Hutch," and like many rappers at the time, he'd dabbled in acting a bit. However, his role as police informant Huggy Bear in "Starsky & Hutch" was a pretty big deal for the superstar, and it helped him make the leap to even more mainstream success.
Snoop is enough of a celebrity that he often plays himself — or at least somewhat exaggerated versions of himself — in many of his roles. You may have seen him in a part like this in "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run" or "Pitch Perfect 2," among many others. Even when he plays other roles, it's pretty hard to separate Snoop from the character, whether appearing in award-winners like "Dolemite Is My Name" or more goofball comedies like "Scary Movie 5."
Snoop also continues to rap, and he even released a gospel album in 2018. He still tours, advertises products like Corona, and maintains his friendship with Martha Stewart.
Fred Williamson - Captain Doby
Captain Doby, who initially punishes our duo by sticking them together while knowing they'll be a terrible fit, needed to be a believable hardass in "Starsky & Hutch." So who better to cast in the role than Fred Williamson? After all, he more than earned a reputation as a bruiser with his original career as a professional football player. After retiring from the game, he used his stardom to help leverage himself into acting, appearing in a number of Blaxploitation films during the 1970s.
Williamson has had a prolific career as an actor. His first credited appearance came in 1968, and he's got more than 125 roles to his name (including "From Dusk Till Dawn"). He pops up in tons of movies and television shows, although he rarely has a major part or appears in any blockbusters. Since "Starsky & Hutch," you may have caught him in guest roles on series like BET's "Being Mary Jane," ABC's "Pushing Daises," or IFC's "Comedy Bang! Bang!" Otherwise, he mostly appears in low budget and under-the-radar works, such as the action-horror flick "VFW," one of the most underrated movies of 2020.
Vince Vaughn - Reese Feldman
Vince Vaughn is perfectly suited to play skeezy bad guys, and it's surprising he hasn't gotten more opportunities like he did with "Starsky & Hutch." He plays the fast-talking drug dealer Reese Feldman in the film, and all that charm he normally uses plays just as well when you know there's a sinister killer working underneath it all.
Of course, Vaughn has slowed down quite a bit from his comedy heyday. He still appears in a number of films and series, but he seems a bit more selective in the roles he chooses. He's also moved away somewhat from true "frat comedy," as many of his most notable roles were back in the day. Recently, he had a starring role on the second season of HBO's "True Detective," appearing alongside Colin Farrell. He went on to appear in films like "Hacksaw Ridge" and series like "F Is for Family," where he plays Chet Stevenson.
And while Vaughn might not make as many appearances as he once did, but you can still find him in plenty of relevant work. He appeared in the body-swapping horror-comedy "Freaky," a vastly underappreciated piece of film, and also as Marty Funkhouser's half-brother, Freddy, on a few episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Juliette Lewis - Kitty
Actor Juliette Lewis has proven herself to be one of the most versatile in the business time and time again. Whether she's appearing in silly comedies, terrifying horror movies, or emotional dramas, she's bringing her A-game. And in "Starsky & Hutch," Lewis plays Kitty, girlfriend to Vince Vaughn's big bad, Reese Feldman.
Lewis made her name with some daring, extreme roles at an early age. Films like "Cape Fear," "Natural Born Killers," and "From Dusk Till Dawn" showed that she was going to be a force for a long time. She continues to work in a wide assortment of film and television projects, including fascinating indie roles and major blockbusters. On the TV side of things, some of her recent appearances include a short arc on the HBO series "I Know This Much Is True" and an inclusion in the ensemble cast of "Camping." She also starred on the short-lived ABC series "Secrets and Lies."
Lewis still appears in plenty of films, though you never know where she'll pop up. Some recent, notable performances include roles in the Octavia Spencer horror flick "Ma" and the quirky comedy "Breaking News in Yuba County."
Jason Bateman - Kevin
Smarmy, talkative bad guys need some equally compelling henchmen, and "Starsky & Hutch" fills that role with actor Jason Bateman. Bateman plays Kevin Jutsum in the film, co-conspirator to Vince Vaughn's baddie and just as charmingly nasty as his boss.
Like many of his "Starsky & Hutch" castmates, actor Jason Bateman still does plenty of comedy, but he's branched into several other areas, including production and direction. Though he'd acted for a long time before being cast as Michael Bluth on "Arrested Development," that series' longevity has definitely kept Bateman as a desirable lead in smart comedies. However, plenty of other roles have moved him up the ladder. He voiced Nick Wilde in "Zootopia," starred in raunchy comedies like "Game Night" and "Horrible Bosses," and has even jumped to dramatic fare with the HBO series "The Outsider" and Netflix's "Ozark."
Bateman also does plenty of behind the scenes work as a producer and director. He has his hands in the production of all the series we've already mentioned, and he's also worked on projects like "Florida Man" and "A Teacher."
Amy Smart - Holly
Amy Smart first became a well-known actress in the late 1990s, with roles in films like "Varsity Blues" and the TV series "Felicity." She plays a relatively small role in "Starsky & Hutch" as Holly the cheerleader, but she's pivotal to the plot and helps point our heroes in the right direction towards tracking down Reese.
The mid-2000s were when Smart was landing serious A-list roles. In just a few years after "Starsky & Hutch," she starred in movies like "Just Friends" with Ryan Reynolds, as well as "Crank" and its sequel with Jason Statham. She also appeared in several independent films during this period.
Smart has continued to appear in movies, but most of her more recent notable work comes in television. She had a short but memorable run as Jasmine Hollander on "Shameless," and a few years later, she had a multi-episode run as Alison on the fifth season of "Justified." More recently, you may have caught her on the DC series "Stargirl," where she plays Barbara, the mother of the main character.
Molly Sims - Mrs. Feldman
Molly Sims is probably better known as a model than an actress, though she does have some notable roles to her credit. She played Reese Feldman's wife in "Starsky & Hutch," whose anger at her philandering husband pushes her to tip off the detectives to how they might stop him.
Sims most notable role started before "Starsky & Hutch" released, but she continued showing up on television for several years afterward. She starred as Delinda Deline on the NBC series "Las Vegas" across all five seasons of the show, and she's one of the handful of actors who's credited on every episode. She also had a run of comedies after "Starsky & Hutch," including appearances in "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey and "The Benchwarmers." She also recently appeared in a small role in Netflix's "Yes Day."
Sims also uses her celebrity to help with a number of charitable organizations. The Alzheimer's Association, March of Dimes, UNICEF, and Operation Smile are just some of the many organizations she's given her support to.
Carmen Electra - Staci
Much like fellow castmate Snoop Dogg, Carmen Electra is just as likely to show up in film and television roles as "Carmen Electra" as she is an actual character. She's obviously not as big a cultural force as the D-O-Double-G, but there was a point when Electra was one of the most well-known models in the world. She plays Staci in "Starsky & Hutch," one of the cheerleaders who hooks up with the lead duo to help them catch Reese Feldman.
Electra has never really taken off as an actor, and her film and television credits reflect that. Her most notable appearances probably come from her run in several of the fart-joke farce movies of the 2000s. "Scary Movie" and its fourth sequel definitely made a cultural impact, but Electra also appeared in films like "Epic Movie," "Meet the Spartans," and the like.
More recently, Electra occasionally appears in guest spots on television series. She played herself in an episode of "Jane the Virgin" and Tia in an episode of "Alone Together." You may also have caught her in the Netflix documentary series "The Last Dance," where she was interviewed about her past relationship with Dennis Rodman.
Todd Phillips - Director
Todd Phillips directed "Starsky & Hutch," but he didn't act in it. Still, his journey in film is interesting enough to warrant an inclusion here. Phillips made his name in Hollywood with a pretty notable list of comedies in the same vein as the Stiller/Wilson buddy cop flick. He directed movies like "Road Trip," "Old School," "The Hangover" trilogy, and more. However, it's what he's been up to recently that makes him a fascinating case study.
In 2016, Phillips tested the waters outside of his goofy frat-comedy realm with "War Dogs." The film was still funny, but it definitely leaned more into dark comedy than most of what he'd done to that point.
Speaking of dark comedy, Phillips made a giant splash in 2019 with "Joker." That's right. The dude who did "Starsky & Hutch" also directed the Clown Prince of Crime's origin story that took the box office by storm. Phillips said he'd always wanted to do a Scorsese-style drama, but his past successes in silly comedy made that tough. So, he disguised the film he'd wanted to make as a superhero movie ... to massive success. Phillips is currently working on a Hulk Hogan biopic, and unsurprisingly, there are plenty of rumors of a "Joker" sequel in development.