‘Heroes’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

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'Heroes' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Save the cheerleader, save the world. NBC’s Heroes was packed with shocking twists and turns that still have fans reeling, years after the show’s 2010 finale. Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, Ali Larter and more starred as seemingly ordinary people who discover that they have supernatural abilities and are forced to band together to prevent life changing disasters. The first of Heroes’ four seasons aired in September 2006 and saw an average of 14.3 million viewers, making it one of the most successful NBC debuts in years. The sci-fi series wasn’t just a fan-favorite — it also earned recognition within the industry, including multiple nominations for Emmy Awards and Golden Globes. Despite the show’s popularity, Ventimiglia admitted to struggling to find his next step once Heroes came to an end. “I’ve had moments where I’ve had to pick myself up. Probably in my early 30s, I couldn’t get hired in town. I really couldn’t,” the This Is Us star recalled during a 2018 interview with Access. “That was back in the Heroes days. I did not work for one calendar year. One entire year, I couldn’t get a job. … I was really having to re-evaluate what I was going to be doing because, you know, it’s a profession. You need to feed yourself and clothe yourself and have a roof over your head. I was starting to see those things minimize.” [jwplayer tV7N8JYT-l3ahXupL] At the time, the California native came “pretty close” to leaving the entertainment world entirely — and he wasn’t the only one. In December 2020, Leonard Roberts opened up about his post-Heroes experience and described “tension” between him and Larter, his onscreen wife. “I was tarnishing her brand,” Roberts alleged in a lengthy Variety essay, recalling the day he found out he was being written off the show. “In a short voicemail message, [creator Tim Kring] said that due to ‘the Ali Larter situation,’ when the show returned for Season 2, audiences would learn that [my character] had died, and that I was free to call him if I wanted to talk. I was stunned.” Larter later issued a statement in response to Roberts’ allegations, noting that she was “deeply saddened” and “heartbroken” by his description of their working relationship. “I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family the very best,” she told TV Line at the time. Keep scrolling to find out what Panettiere, Ventimiglia and more Heroes alums are doing now. [podcast_block]

Credit: Shutterstock (3)

'Heroes' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Save the cheerleader, save the world. NBC’s Heroes was packed with shocking twists and turns that still have fans reeling, years after the show’s 2010 finale. Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, Ali Larter and more starred as seemingly ordinary people who discover that they have supernatural abilities and are forced to band together to prevent life changing disasters. The first of Heroes’ four seasons aired in September 2006 and saw an average of 14.3 million viewers, making it one of the most successful NBC debuts in years. The sci-fi series wasn’t just a fan-favorite — it also earned recognition within the industry, including multiple nominations for Emmy Awards and Golden Globes. Despite the show’s popularity, Ventimiglia admitted to struggling to find his next step once Heroes came to an end. “I’ve had moments where I’ve had to pick myself up. Probably in my early 30s, I couldn’t get hired in town. I really couldn’t,” the This Is Us star recalled during a 2018 interview with Access. “That was back in the Heroes days. I did not work for one calendar year. One entire year, I couldn’t get a job. … I was really having to re-evaluate what I was going to be doing because, you know, it’s a profession. You need to feed yourself and clothe yourself and have a roof over your head. I was starting to see those things minimize.” [jwplayer tV7N8JYT-l3ahXupL] At the time, the California native came “pretty close” to leaving the entertainment world entirely — and he wasn’t the only one. In December 2020, Leonard Roberts opened up about his post-Heroes experience and described “tension” between him and Larter, his onscreen wife. “I was tarnishing her brand,” Roberts alleged in a lengthy Variety essay, recalling the day he found out he was being written off the show. “In a short voicemail message, [creator Tim Kring] said that due to ‘the Ali Larter situation,’ when the show returned for Season 2, audiences would learn that [my character] had died, and that I was free to call him if I wanted to talk. I was stunned.” Larter later issued a statement in response to Roberts’ allegations, noting that she was “deeply saddened” and “heartbroken” by his description of their working relationship. “I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family the very best,” she told TV Line at the time. Keep scrolling to find out what Panettiere, Ventimiglia and more Heroes alums are doing now. [podcast_block]

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Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet)

Following her four seasons on Heroes, the New York native went on to star as Juliette Barnes in the ABC/CMT drama Nashville from 2012 to 2018. She is also known for her roles in Remember the Titans (2000), Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009) and Scream 4 (2011). While working on Heroes, Panettiere sparked a two-year romance with costar Milo Ventimiglia until they called it quits in 2009. She later moved on with Wladimir Klitschko, who proposed in October 2013. They welcomed daughter Kaya in October 2014 and ended their engagement four years later.

Panettiere started dating Brian Hickerson in August 2018 but the pair split two years later after a dispute led to Hickerson’s second arrest for domestic violence charges. A source told Us shortly after their breakup that the actress was “in a good place” and “on the path to recovery.”

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Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet)

Previously known for a six-year stint on Dynasty in the 1980s, Coleman portrayed Claire Bennet’s father, Noah, on the supernatural NBC series. He later secured recurring roles as State Senator Robert Lipton on The Office (2010 to 2013) and as United States Senator William Bracken on Castle (2012 to 2015). The Pennsylvania native continued to find success on the small screen, appearing on Criminal Minds, Burn Notice, Scandal and The Vampire Diaries.

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Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli)

Ventimiglia was a major teen heartthrob in the mid-2000s after playing Rory Gilmore’s misunderstood love interest Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls, a role he reprised in Netflix’s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in 2016. After Heroes introduced him to a broader audience, the California native appeared in horror films Pathology (2008) and Kiss of the Damned (2013). More recently, he became known as Jack Pearson, the swoon-worthy father of the “Big Three” on NBC’s This Is Us, which premiered in 2016. 

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Leonard Roberts (D.L. Hawkins)

Apart from Heroes, the Missouri-born actor is known for playing Sean Taylor in Drumline (2002) and Forrest Gates in season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which aired in 1999. He also had a small role in The CW’s Smallville from 2005 to 2006 and landed a recurring gig on CBS’ Mom from 2017 to 2018. In December 2020, Roberts made headlines after claiming that he felt singled out as a Black actor on Heroes and tension with costar Ali Larter resulted in him being fired from the series.

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Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura)

The Japanese actor is also recognized for his time on CBS's Hawaii Five-0 remake as Doctor Max Bergman. In 2015, he reprised his role as Hiro Nakamura in NBC’s miniseries Heroes Reborn, a continuation of the original sci-fi drama. The spin-off only lasted for one season. Oka was also cast in 2008’s Get Smart with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway and appeared in 2011’s Friends With Benefits with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.

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Ali Larter (Niki Sanders/Tracy Strauss)

Larter was dubbed one of Hollywood’s notorious “scream queens” after appearing in Final Destination and its sequel in 2000 and 2003, respectively. She later transitioned to romantic comedies, including Legally Blonde (2001) and A Lot Like Love (2005). The New Jersey native starred alongside Idris Elba and Beyoncé Knowles in Obsessed (2009). In December 2020, she issued a public apology to former Heroes costar Leonard Roberts following his accusations of racial tension on-set.

“I am deeply saddened to hear about Leonard Roberts’ experience on Heroes and I am heartbroken reading his perception of our relationship, which absolutely doesn’t match my memory nor experience on the show,” she said in a statement at the time. “I respect Leonard as an artist and I applaud him or anyone using their voice and platform. I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family the very best.”

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Zachary Quinto (Gabriel Gray)

In 2009, Quinto took over the role of Spock from the late Leonard Nimoy in J.J. Abrams’ modern Star Trek adaptation, which also starred Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana. He reprised the role in sequels Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond in 2013 and 2016, respectively. The Pennsylvania native earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Asylum, which aired in 2012. Quinto, an openly gay actor, appeared off-Broadway in Angels in America in 2010 and starred alongside Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells in the 2018 Broadway adaptation of The Boys in the Band.

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Kristen Bell (Elle Bishop)

Bell joined the cast of Heroes for its second and third seasons in 2007 and 2008, shortly after UPN’s Veronica Mars came to an end. She also lent her voice to the title character of Gossip Girl, which ran on The CW for six seasons from 2007 to 2012. The New York University alum is also known for performances in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), When in Rome (2010), Frozen (2013), Bad Moms (2016) and Frozen II (2019). She shares two daughters — Lincoln and Delta — with husband Dax Shepard. Following his September 2020 relapse story, Bell promised to “stand by” the Parenthood alum.

“I mean, look, everybody is up against their own demons — sometimes it’s anxiety and depression, sometimes it’s substance abuse,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at the time. “The thing I love most about Dax is that he was able to tell me and tell us and say, ‘We need a different plan.’”

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Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli)

Pasdar got his big break as the title character in Fox’s Profit, which originally aired in 1996. He played David McClaren in the final two seasons of the CBS drama Judging Amy from 2003 through 2005 and had a recurring role on Desperate Housewives. More recently, he appeared on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and The CW’s Supergirl.

The Massachusetts native married Natalie Maines of The Chicks in June 2000 after starring in the band’s “Goodbye Earl” music video. The pair share two sons, Jackson and Beckett. In July 2017, Maines announced that she and Pasdar were calling it quits and their divorce was finalized two years later. When The Chicks released their 2020 album, Gaslighter, Maines claimed that the title was inspired by personal themes, including gaslighting and infidelity in relationships.

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Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder Suresh)

The Texas-born actor guest starred in USA Network’s Psych and NBC’s The Office before reprising his role as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the Heroes Reborn spin-off in 2015. In 2020, he appeared in the Mindy Kaling-created Netflix series, Never Have I Ever. Ramamurthy is married to actress Olga Sosnovska, with whom he shares daughter Halina and son Alex.

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Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman)

Before starring in Heroes, Grunberg appeared alongside Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper in ABC’s Alias from 2001 to 2006. He later portrayed Temmin "Snap" Wexley in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which featured Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac. In 2013, Grunberg joined the cast of Showtime’s Masters of Sex. He shares three children — Jake, Ben and Sam — with wife Elizabeth Dawn Wershow, whom he wed in 1992. The Lost alum is a vocal advocate for raising awareness for epilepsy research in honor of his son Jake, who lives with the neurological disorder.

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James Kyson (Ando Masahashi)

Since Heroes concluded in 2010, the Korean-born actor has taken guest roles on Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sleepy Hollow, Elementary and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. He has been married to singer and neuroscientist Jamee Kyson (née Berg) since 2015. In 2020, he appeared in one episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country starring Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors.

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Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli)

The California native got her start in the 1970s and has since guest starred on 7th Heaven, Friends, The Wonder Years, NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, Charmed and Two and a Half Men, among other popular TV shows. Rose appeared in the 2005 Disney Channel Original Movie Go Figure and in 2009’s He's Just Not That Into You.

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Noah Gray-Cabey (Micah Sanders)

Following the end of Heroes, Gray-Cabey went on to pursue higher education at Harvard University. He had small appearances on Grey’s Anatomy and CSI: Miami before reprising his role of Micah in 2015’s Heroes Reborn miniseries. From 2016 to 2018, he played Dr. Eliot Dixon on CBS’ Code Black and has since nabbed a recurring role on The CW’s All American.

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Malcolm McDowell (Daniel Linderman)

The decorated British actor — best known for his work in 1971’s A Clockwork Orange and 2007’s Halloween — has also appeared on HBO’s Entourage and Amazon Prime’s Mozart in the Jungle. In 2012, McDowell was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has been married three times: to Margot Bennett from 1975 to 1980, to Mary Steenburgen from 1980 to 1990 and to Kelley Kuhr, whom he wed in 1991. The Easy A star is a father of five children, including filmmaker Charlie McDowell, who proposed to Lily Collins in September 2020.

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Stephen Tobolowsky (Bob Bishop)

Before Heroes, the character actor was known for playing Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day (1993) and Sammy Jenkins in Memento (2000). He has also appeared on Glee, Deadwood, Silicon Valley, Californication and One Day at a Time. The Tony nominee hosts a monthly podcast called “The Tobolowsky Files,” which features stories from his personal life and acting career.

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George Takei (Kaito Nakamura)

The Star Trek alum has been a fixture in the entertainment industry for decades, making guest appearances on shows like The Big Bang Theory, Psych, Scrubs and Will & Grace. In 2008, three years after publicly coming out as gay, he married longtime partner Brad Altman. Takei uses his platform to advocate for several social causes, including LGBTQ and immigrants’ rights.

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Dania Ramirez (Maya Herrera)

Known for her work on Entourage and The Sopranos, Ramirez joined Heroes in season 2 and made her last appearance in season 3. Her next major role was on Lifetime’s Devious Maids from 2013 to 2016. She married director John Beverly "Bev" Land in February 2013 and the pair welcomed fraternal twins — son John and daughter Gaia — later that year.

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Eric Roberts (Agent Thompson)

Julia Roberts’ brother only appeared briefly on the NBC series but his career spans decades in both television and film, including 2008’s The Dark Knight and 2014’s Inherent Vice. He shares daughter Emma Roberts with ex Kelly Cunningham and has two stepchildren: Keaton Simons and Morgan Simons. The Oscar nominee has been married to Eliza Garrett since 1992.