‘Donnie Darko’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore and More

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‘Donnie Darko’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore and More

Since the 2001 release of Donnie Darko, fans have been trying to figure out the meaning behind the mysterious film — and so has the cast. In the cult classic, a troubled teen named Donnie Darko (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) narrowly survives a freak accident and is left with disturbing visions of a giant rabbit named Frank (James Duval), who tells him the world will end in 28 days. For many, the psychological thriller, which takes place in the late ‘80s, was their introduction to Gyllenhaal, who had only appeared in five movies before starring in Donnie Darko. It was a standout for the Zodiac star, who was 20 at the time of filming the early aughts indie. [jwplayer aFRP3cIM-zhNYySv2] “Auditioning at a young age, I was always like, ‘What are these movies about? My high school experience wasn’t like this at all,'” Gyllenhaal told Entertainment Weekly in April 2016. “And then Donnie Darko came up and I was like, ‘Oh, this feels like my high school experience. … There are a lot of things in there that I believe about the world.” The Richard Kelly-directed film, which featured other young up-and-coming stars such as Seth Rogen, Ashley Tisdale and Jake’s big sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, left its audience trying to make sense of the doomsday message. It's no easy task — especially since the movie’s director once admitted that Donnie Darko “kind of does need Cliffs Notes." Over the years, Jake has said that the film, which also starred Noah Wyle, Drew Barrymore and the late Patrick Swayze, was also a bit of a mystery to him. In the foreword to Kelly’s 2003 Donnie Darko book, the Brokeback Mountain actor wrote, "What is 'Donnie Darko' about? I have no idea.” In his opinion, that is what makes it so compelling On the movie's 20th anniversary in January 2021, the End of Watch star thanked “all the fans who’ve come up to me over the years with that confused look on their faces and asked me: ‘What the f--k is Donnie Darko about??’” He added via Instagram at the time, “Let’s keep confusing people.” That same month, Kelly teased that he was interested in returning to the world of Donnie Darko for another film. It would be the third movie in the series following the 2007 sequel, S. Darko, which focused on Donnie’s little sister, Samantha. “Well, I’m probably not allowed to say anything more than there has been an enormous amount of work completed,” the Southland Tales director, who was not involved in the second installment, told ComingSoon.net in January 2021. “I’m hopeful that we might get to explore that world in a very big and exciting way. But we’ll see what happens.” Keep scrolling to see where the stars of Donnie Darko are now: [podcast_block]

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Jake Gyllenhaal

After playing the titular role in Donnie Darko, Gyllenhaal quickly became known for his range, starring in Bubble Boy, The Good Girl, Jarhead, Zodiac, End of Watch, Nightcrawler, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Brokeback Mountain, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination in 2006. He also appeared on Broadway in Sunday in the Park With George and Sea Wall/A Life, the latter of which earned him his first Tony nomination. Music fans might also remember him popping up in music videos for Jamie Foxx, Vampire Weekend and Jay-Z. He cofounded the production company Nine Stories in 2015.

The actor was in a relationship with Kirsten Dunst from 2002 to 2004 before he moved on with Reese Witherspoon. Gyllenhaal and the Legally Blonde actress were together for three years until they parted ways in 2009. The following year, he briefly dated Taylor Swift. He has been seeing model Jeanne Cadieu since late 2018.

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Jena Malone

The former child actress played Donnie’s girlfriend, Gretchen Ross. She went on to star in Saved!, Pride & Prejudice, Into the Wild, Sucker Punch, The Neon Demon and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay: Parts 1 and 2. She is a series regular on the Amazon Prime Video show Goliath.

In May 2016, the Nevada native gave birth to a son, Ode Mountain, with her boyfriend, photographer Ethan DeLorenzo. The couple announced their engagement in August 2016 before ending things nearly three years later in February 2019.

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Drew Barrymore

The Scream star played teacher Karen Pomeroy in Donnie Darko — and was also a producer on the film. She went on to star in Riding in Cars With the Boys, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Fever Pitch and Music and Lyrics. She also reunited with her Wedding Singer costar Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates and Blended. The former child star made her directorial debut with 2009’s Whip It! and later starred in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet. She became the host of The Drew Barrymore Show in 2020.

After finalizing her divorce from Tom Green in 2002, Barrymore dated the drummer of The Strokes, Fabrizio Moretti, from 2002 to 2007. She later moved on with Justin Long, from whom she split in 2009 after one year together. She married third husband, art consultant Will Kopelman, in June 2012. The pair welcomed daughters Olive and Frankie in 2012 and 2014, respectively before finalizing their divorce in August 2016. 

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Patrick Swayze

The Dirty Dancing star played Jim Cunnigham, a local motivational speaker with a terrible secret. After Donnie Darko, Swayze appeared in Waking Up in Reno, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and Powder Blue, which would be his final role. Swayze died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 57. He was married to wife Lisa Niemi for 34 years before his death.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal

Jake’s older sister fittingly played Donnie’s older sister, Elizabeth Darko. She has since appeared in Secretary, Mona Lisa Smile, Sherrybaby, Stranger Than Fiction, The Dark Knight and Crazy Heart, which helped her earn her first Oscar nomination in 2010. She went on to star on The Deuce from 2017 to 2019 and made her directorial debut with Netflix’s The Lost Daughter in 2021.

The actress has been married to Peter Sarsgaard since 2009. The couple share two children: Ramona, born 2006, and Gloria Ray, born in 2012.

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Mary McDonnell

McDonnell played Donnie’s mom, Rose Darko, and is known for her work on TV shows including Battlestar Galactica, The Closer and Major Crimes. She has also appeared in Scream 4 and Netflix’s The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

In 1984, the actress married actor Randle Mell, with whom she shares two children, Michael and Olivia.

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Seth Rogen

Blink and you might miss the Freaks and Geeks alum playing Donnie’s bully, Ricky Danforth, in his first movie role. Now, he’s known as the star of comedies such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express, Funny People and Neighbors. He also lent his voice to the Kung Fu Panda series, Sausage Party and the live-action version of The Lion King. He cofounded Point Grey Pictures in 2011 with partner Evan Goldberg. He is the author of 2021’s Yearbook and hosts the "Storytime With Seth Rogen" podcast.

The actor married actress Lauren Miller in 2004.

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Noah Wyle

Wyle played Professor Kenneth Monnitoff, Donnie’s science teacher, who gives him an important lesson on time travel. He’s best known for playing Dr. John Carter on ER, but has also starred in other TV shows including Falling Skies, The Librarians, The Red Line and Leverage: Redemption.

The actor was married to Tracy Warbin from 2000 to 2010. The former couple share two children: Owen, born in 2002, and Auden, born in 2005. He married Sara Wells in June 2014 and the duo welcome daughter Frances Harper one year later.

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James Duval

Duval played Frank Anderson, a mysterious figure in a rabbit suit who encourages Donnie to commit several crimes. The Independence Day actor later appeared in Gone in 60 Seconds, May, Noirland and the Starz series Now Apocalypse.

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Holmes Osborne

The character actor, who played Donnie’s dad, may be best known for playing another dad in 1996’s That Thing You Do! He went on to work with Kelly again in 2006’s Southland Tales and 2009’s The Box.

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Daveigh Chase

The former child actor played Samantha Darko, Donnie’s younger sister and a member of the Sparkle Motion dance troupe. Horror fans might know her best as Samara in The Ring, but she also starred in Lilo & Stitch, Rings and HBO’s Big Love.

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Katharine Ross

The Graduate star played Donnie’s therapist, Dr. Lillian Thurman, which was her first role in four years. Since 2001, she has appeared in six films including Don’t Let Go, Eye of the Dolphin and The Hero, which stars her husband, Sam Elliott. The Hollywood couple have been married since 1984.

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Jolene Purdy

Purdy made her film debut as Cherita Chen, a bullied classmate of Donnie’s, but would go on to appear in the 10 Things I Hate About You TV show, Glee, Under the Dome, Orange is the New Black, WandaVision and HBO’s White Lotus.

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Beth Grant

No one will question her commitment to Sparkle Motion — or really anything else she does. Since 2001, Grant — who played Jim Cunnigham follower Kitty Farmer in Donnie Darko — has popped up in TV shows including The Office, The Mindy Project and Jericho. She has also appeared in films such as No Country for Old Men, Jackie and The Artist.

The actress married actor Michael Chieffo in 1985. The couple share a daughter, Mary Chieffo, who is also an actress.

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Alex Greenwald

Greenwald played Seth Devlin, another one of Donnie’s bullies. He only appeared in one other movie, 2005’s Bad News Bears remake, but was the composer on Brie Larson’s 2017 directorial debut, Unicorn Store. He is best known as the singer of Phantom Planet.

Greenwald and Larson got engaged in 2016 after nearly three years of dating. The former couple called it quits in January 2019. The musician began seeing actress Phoebe Tonkin the following year.

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Ashley Tisdale

Tisdale makes a memorable cameo in the film as Kim, a concerned sister who attends Jim Cunnigham’s motivational speaking event — but she is best known for playing Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical films. She also starred in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Merry Happy Whatever and Carol’s Second Act. She began judging The Masked Dancer in 2020 and has been an executive producer on Picture This, Cloud 9 and the reality show Miss Advised.

Tisdale got engaged to musician Christopher French in 2013 after one year of dating and they tied the knot the following year. The couple welcomed their daughter, Jupiter, in March 2021.