‘Walk the Line’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Credit: Suzanne Tenner/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

'Walk the Line' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Love is a burning thing. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon earned widespread acclaim for their performances as Johnny Cash and June Carter, respectively, in Walk the Line. The biopic hit theaters in November 2005, following the early life and career of the late “Ring of Fire” crooner, who died two years prior at the age of 71. With more than 90 million records sold worldwide, Cash is widely recognized as being one of the most successful artists of all time — but his path to stardom wasn’t easy. Phoenix and Witherspoon both earned Academy Award nominations for their leading roles, with the Hello Sunshine exec taking home the win in March 2006. The film also nabbed a trophy for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. Ahead of his death, Cash was “thrilled” that Phoenix would be playing him on the big screen, according to the movie’s director, James Mangold. “Cash loved Gladiator,” the filmmaker told MTV in 2005 about the singer's fondness for Phoenix's 2000 film. “He knew all the lines.” Mangold continued, “John was a very trusting man. He was very easygoing, a very cool guy. When you've got someone like Joaquin who, frankly, is very similar, a very cool actor, John knew that we were moving in the right direction.” While promoting the film, the Inherent Vice actor reflected on meeting the late folk legend during an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien. “I was invited to dinner at his friend’s house and went over and it was an amazing experience,” Phoenix recalled. “I can’t tell you — like, no words can describe what it was [like] there. John and June were just beautiful people. And they sang this song together and looked [into] each other’s eyes. It was just beautiful [and] spiritual.” The Oscar winner remembered saying goodbye to Cash at the end of the night, adding, “John stopped me as I was walking out. And he was a real fan of the movie Gladiator. … But he said, ‘My favorite part is when you said, “Your son squealed like a girl when they nailed him to the cross and your wife moaned like a horse.” … I love that part.’” Scroll down to see where the cast of Walk the Line is now: [podcast_block]

Credit: Suzanne Tenner/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

'Walk the Line' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Love is a burning thing. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon earned widespread acclaim for their performances as Johnny Cash and June Carter, respectively, in Walk the Line. The biopic hit theaters in November 2005, following the early life and career of the late “Ring of Fire” crooner, who died two years prior at the age of 71. With more than 90 million records sold worldwide, Cash is widely recognized as being one of the most successful artists of all time — but his path to stardom wasn’t easy. Phoenix and Witherspoon both earned Academy Award nominations for their leading roles, with the Hello Sunshine exec taking home the win in March 2006. The film also nabbed a trophy for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. Ahead of his death, Cash was “thrilled” that Phoenix would be playing him on the big screen, according to the movie’s director, James Mangold. “Cash loved Gladiator,” the filmmaker told MTV in 2005 about the singer's fondness for Phoenix's 2000 film. “He knew all the lines.” Mangold continued, “John was a very trusting man. He was very easygoing, a very cool guy. When you've got someone like Joaquin who, frankly, is very similar, a very cool actor, John knew that we were moving in the right direction.” While promoting the film, the Inherent Vice actor reflected on meeting the late folk legend during an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien. “I was invited to dinner at his friend’s house and went over and it was an amazing experience,” Phoenix recalled. “I can’t tell you — like, no words can describe what it was [like] there. John and June were just beautiful people. And they sang this song together and looked [into] each other’s eyes. It was just beautiful [and] spiritual.” The Oscar winner remembered saying goodbye to Cash at the end of the night, adding, “John stopped me as I was walking out. And he was a real fan of the movie Gladiator. … But he said, ‘My favorite part is when you said, “Your son squealed like a girl when they nailed him to the cross and your wife moaned like a horse.” … I love that part.’” Scroll down to see where the cast of Walk the Line is now: [podcast_block]

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Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny Cash)

After earning an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the late country icon, Phoenix won an Academy Award in 2019 for his work in The Joker. The vocal vegan activist has also starred in Her, You Were Never Really Here and Gladiator. He shares a son with longtime partner Rooney Mara, whom he met while filming 2018’s Mary Magdalene. They named their child after Joaquin’s late brother, River Phoenix.

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Reese Witherspoon (June Carter)

The Louisiana native earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 2005 drama, winning the Oscar for best actress following her iconic comedic turns in the Legally Blonde series. She went on to star in Water for Elephants and Wild before turning to the small screen with roles on Big Little Lies, The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere. The Draper James founder shares daughter Ava and son Deacon with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. She welcomed son Tennessee with Jim Toth, whom she wed in 2011.

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Ginnifer Goodwin (Vivian Cash)

Goodwin is best known for her work on ABC’s Once Upon a Time, in which she played Snow White. On the big screen, she’s starred in He’s Just Not That Into You, Mona Lisa Smile, Something Borrowed and Zootopia. She shares two sons with husband Josh Dallas.

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Robert Patrick (Ray Cash)

The Die Hard 2 star has a long list of credits, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Wayne’s World, Spy Kids, We Are Marshall, Bridge to Terabithia and Safe House. Patrick has also worked in television, appearing on The X Files, The Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy and Burn Notice. He shares son Samuel and daughter Austin with actress Barbara Hooper, whom he wed in 1990.

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Shelby Lynne (Carrie Cash)

Before making her big screen debut, the “Where I’m From” songstress won Best New Artist at the 2000 Grammys, one year after releasing her sixth album, I Am Shelby Lynne. She went on to form her own label, Everso Records, which produced her albums Tears, Lies and Alibis, Merry Christmas and Revelation Road.

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McGhee Monteith (Reba Cash)

Along with Walk the Line, the actress and writer has also appeared in He Could've Gone Pro and Jesus & Jimmy Ray.

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Tyler Hilton (Elvis Presley)

The singer-songwriter previously appeared on One Tree Hill as Chris Keller, later joining the casts of VH1’s Single Ladies and CBS’ Extant. Hilton dropped seven albums between 2000 and 2019 and played Taylor Swift’s love interest in her “Teardrops on My Guitar” music video.

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Waylon Payne (Jerry Lee Lewis)

The son of country artist Sammi Smith and guitarist Jody Payne, Waylon was born in Nashville. He enrolled in seminary to become a minister, but he eventually attempted to make it big as a musician. Waylon did all his own singing in Walk the Line.

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Johnathan Rice (Roy Orbison)

The Scottish-American singer released his first album, Trouble Is Real, in 2005 and has frequently collaborated with indie artist Jenny Lewis. The twosome wrote seven original songs for 2014’s Song One, which starred Anne Hathaway and Johnny Flynn. Rice dropped his most recent record, The Long Game, in 2019.

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Ridge Canipe (young J.R.)

The California-born actor also appeared in the thriller Baby Blues shortly after portraying young Dean Winchester on The CW's Supernatural. Canipe also played an elf in 2006's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

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Lucas Till (young Jack Cash)

After Walk the Line, Till made a name for himself with roles in Hannah Montana: The Movie, The Spy Next Door and Monster Trucks. He played Havok in the X-Men prequel movies and portrayed the titular character in the CBS reboot of MacGyver. His performance as Bob Zellner in the 2020 historical drama Son of the South earned critical acclaim.