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  3. Angels in the Outfield cast: Where are they now?

Angels in the Outfield cast: Where are they now?

It's been decades since we saw divine angels step out on the field. Touch base with the players in Disney's 1994 sports film.

By Madeline Boardman Updated February 01, 2022 at 12:20 PM EST
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Angels in the Outfield, then and now

'Angels in the Outfield' Where Are They Now?
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

On July 15, 1994, Angels in the Outfield arrived in theaters, breathing new life into the 1951 film of the same name and bringing a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the big screen. Also starring Milton Davis Jr., Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Adrien Brody, and Matthew McConaughey, the baseball flick is still a family favorite decades later. See the stars of Angels in the Outfield then and now, ahead.

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Danny Glover (George Knox)

Danny Glover (George Knox)
Credit: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection; Victor Chavez/WireImage

Then: The veteran actor joined Angels in the Outfield as George Knox, the manager of the California Angels, who finds unlikely hope in two young men living in foster care. Glover came into the role after appearing in Places in the Heart (1984), Witness (1985), The Color Purple (1985), Mandela (1987), Lonesome Dove (1989), and the Lethal Weapon film series (1987–1998).

Now: The year after Angels in the Outfield arrived in theaters, Glover appeared in Operation Dumbo Drop, and kept busy throughout the late-'90s and early-2000s with an 1995 appearance on Fallen Angels and roles in Gone Fishin' (1997), Beloved (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and Saw (2004). He added to his résumé with box office hits like Dreamgirls (2006), 2012 (2009), and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and made appearances in Dirty Grandpa (2016) and an episode of Criminal Minds. In 2022, he was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Oscars.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Roger Bomman)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Roger Bomman)
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Then: A young Joseph Gordon-Levitt hit the big screen in Angels in the Outfield when he was just 13 years old. The child star played Roger, a young man who ended up in foster care after his absent widower father stepped in and out of his life. He became a secret weapon for the Angels after praying for the success of the team in the hopes of bringing his father back. Gordon-Levitt earned a handful of credits ahead of his turn as Roger, including Beethoven and A River Runs Through It in 1992 and episodes of Family Ties, Dark Shadows, and The Powers That Be in the late-'80s and early-'90s.

Now: Gordon-Levitt's career only grew from there. He spent his teens starring in movies like The Juror (1996) and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), and playing Tommy Solomon on 3rd Rock From the Sun. He went on to make critically acclaimed turns in (500) Days of Summer (2009) and 50/50 (2011), and costarred in Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Lincoln (2012), and The Walk (2015). After establishing his own production company, the star expanded his range, earning screenwriting and directing credits for 2013's Don Jon. He has since returned to TV on shows like Mr. Corman and Super Pumped.

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Milton Davis Jr. (J.P.)

Milton Davis Jr. (J.P.)
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Then: Complete with an adorable catchphrase ("It could happen"), Milton Davis Jr. stole the show as J.P. The role was the first for the youngster, who played the foster brother to Gordon-Levitt's Roger and a fellow baseball enthusiast.

Now: Davis Jr. continued to act for a few years after the film's debut, popping up in episodes of Sister, Sister and 7th Heaven, and nabbing a small role in 1997's Mad City with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman. He largely quit acting in 2000, though he appeared to relive his Angels in the Outfield heyday in a couple of comedy sketches.

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Tony Danza (Mel Clark)

Tony Danza (Mel Clark)
Credit: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection; Art Streiber/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Then: A few years after he hung up his hat on Who's the Boss?, Tony Danza became Mel Clark in Angels in the Outfield. The funnyman played the pitcher for the Angels, who was dangerously close to joining the winged creatures thanks to a smoking habit. In addition to his turn as Tony Micelli, Danza picked up additional pre-Angels credits for Taxi, The Hollywood Knights (1980), She's Out of Control (1989), and Baby Talk.

Now: Soon after, Danza picked up an Emmy nomination for his late-'90s gig as Tommy Silva on The Practice. The actor went on to star in Crash (2005), hit Broadway in several shows including The Producers, reunited with Gordon-Levitt in Don Jon, and popped up in episodes of Broad City, And Just Like That, and Blue Bloods. He also starred alongside Josh Groban in a 2018 Netflix series, The Good Cop.

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Christopher Lloyd (Al)

Christopher Lloyd (Al)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection; Dustin Finkelstein/Getty Images

Then: Christopher Lloyd lent his star power to Angels in the Outfield as Al, the head angel who dropped in on Roger and changed the Angels' luck. Lloyd was already a household name ahead of the gig, thanks to roles in projects like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the Back to the Future movies (1985–1990) and spin-off series, Taxi (1978), Barry Sonnenfeld's Addams Family films (1991 and 1993), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

Now: Lloyd kept busy throughout the '90s and 2000s with appearances in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), My Favorite Martian (1999), Baby Geniuses (1999), Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road (2002), and a brief reprisal of his role of Al for the 1997 TV movie Angels in the Endzone. In the 2010s, Lloyd looked back on his role of Doc Brown for Back to the Future's 30th-anniversary celebrations, including playing the character in 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West, and in the 2020s, he earned credits for Nobody (2021), The Conners, and The Mandalorian.

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Matthew McConaughey (Ben Williams)

Matthew McConaughey (Ben Williams)
Credit: Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage

Then: Just months after making his feature film debut as Wooderson in 1993's Dazed and Confused, Matthew McConaughey played Ben Williams in Angels in the Outfield. The then-newbie actor portrayed an outfielder for the Angels who got some divine assistance to make an impressive catch. In addition to Dazed, McConaughey picked up pre-Angels experience with an unnamed role in 1993's My Boyfriend's Back.

Now: McConaughey was just starting out when he played Ben, quickly growing his career soon after with roles in Glory Daze (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), Contact (1997), The Wedding Planner (2001), Reign of Fire (2002), and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003). McConaughey then hit the big screen with Sahara (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), We Are Marshall (2006), and Fool's Gold (2008) before famously stripping down for Magic Mike in 2012 and going serious for his Oscar-winning turn in 2013's Dallas Buyers Club. The famed performer also starred in the first season of True Detective and played the lead in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar (2014). He published a memoir in 2020 called Greenlights.

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Adrien Brody (Danny Hemmerling)

Adrien Brody (Danny Hemmerling)
Credit: Xaume Olleros/Getty Images

Then: Early in his career, Adrien Brody picked up a gig as Angels in the Outfield's Danny Hemmerling, a player for the Angels who benefited from Roger's relationship with the otherworldly creatures. He came into the role after making his debut in 1988 with appearances in a TV movie and one episode of the short-lived Annie McGuire. He also landed bit roles in New York Stories (1989) and King of the Hill (1993).

Now: Brody famously went on to become a celebrated, award-winning actor. He spent the '90s making appearances in movies like Bullet (1996), Six Ways to Sunday (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), and Summer of Sam (1999), before taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his part in 2002's The Pianist. From there, he starred in The Village (2004), King Kong (2005), Hollywoodland (2006), and Predators (2010). Brody played Salvador Dalí in 2011's Midnight in Paris and acted in multiple Wes Anderson films — including The Darjeeling Limited (2007), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and The French Dispatch (2021) — among other features like See How They Run (2022) and Blonde (2022).  He has also been nominated for multiple Emmys for his starring role on Houdini and his guest spot on Succession.

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Brenda Fricker (Maggie Nelson)

Brenda Fricker (Maggie Nelson)
Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Phillip Massey/FilmMagic

Then: Brenda Fricker played Maggie Nelson, the loving foster mother to Roger and J.P., who looked out for the boys. Fricker came into the role with decades of experience to her name. She won an Oscar in 1990 for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown and made appearances in The Field (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993).

Now: After playing Maggie, Fricker returned to the big screen in Moll Flanders (1996), A Time to Kill (1996), Veronica Guerin (2003), Closing the Ring (2007), and Albert Nobbs (2011). The actress also spent years playing Megan Roach on the British series Casualty, and popped up in the miniseries Holding and The Catch.

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Dermot Mulroney (Mr. Bomman)

Dermot Mulroney (Mr. Bomman)
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Then: Dermot Mulroney dropped in on Angels in the Outfield as Mr. Bomman, the absentee father to Gordon-Levitt's Roger. The motorcycle-riding hunk made his son care about baseball when he told Roger that they'd be a family again "when the Angels win the pennant." Mulroney picked up the gig after a busy couple of years in the late '80s and early-'90s. He racked up previous roles in Sunset (1988), Young Guns (1988), Point of No Return (1993), The Thing Called Love (1993), and Bad Girls (1994).

Now: Mulroney kept up his film schedule following Angels, appearing in Living in Oblivion (1995), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), and Copycat (1995) before ruling the box office alongside Julia Roberts in 1997's My Best Friend's Wedding. He went on to appear in About Schmidt (2002), The Wedding Date (2005), The Family Stone (2005), and Zodiac (2007), and held a three-episode arc on Friends. Mulroney's other credits include films like Jobs (2013), August: Osage County (2013), Dirty Grandpa (2016), Umma (2022) and episodes of Enlightened, New Girl, Shameless, Hanna, and The Righteous Gemstones.

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Ben Johnson (Hank Murphy)

Ben Johnson (Hank Murphy)
Credit: Francois Marit/AFP/Getty Images

Then: After decades in the industry, Ben Johnson picked up a gig as Hank Murphy in Angels in the Outfield. The actor, who previously appeared in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Last Picture Show (1971), The Getaway (1972), and Terror Train (1980), played the owner of the Angels, who was skeptical of the visitors from above.

Now: The baseball movie was one of Johnson's final projects. He went on to appear in two TV movies and 1996's The Evening Star. He died of a heart attack at the age of 77 in 1996.

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Jay O. Sanders (Ranch Wilder)

Jay O. Sanders (Ranch Wilder)
Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Then: The Angels' obnoxious sportscaster Ranch Wilder was played by Jay O. Sanders. The actor made his debut in the '70s, rising to fame with appearances on Miami Vice and Crime Story, as well as in Glory and JFK.

Now: Sanders continued his big-screen work, landing roles in The Big Green (1995), Kiss the Girls (1997), Along Came a Spider (2001), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Half Nelson (2006), and Cadillac Records (2008). In the 2010s, the actor appeared in Edge of Darkness (2010) and Green Lantern (2011), played Captain Joseph Hannah on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and popped up in episodes of Person of Interest, The Good Wife, Blindspot, The Sinner, and Manhunt.

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Taylor Negron (David Montagne)

Taylor Negron (David Montagne)
Credit: John Lamparski/WireImage

Then: Roger and J.P. found a reluctant adult supervisor in David Montagne, played by Taylor Negron. David accompanied the boys to the baseball games and was at their disposal for nacho orders and sodas as they eyed angels on the field. Before playing David, Negron made a name for himself as a comedian and earned credits for Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Better Off Dead (1985), Nothing But Trouble (1991), and The Last Boy Scout (1991).

Now: Negron had a prolific television career in the '90s, making appearances on Party of Five, Touched by an Angel, Smart Guy, ER, and Friends. He returned to movies in the 2000s with Gun Shy, Loser, Surf School, and starred alongside Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in the short-lived series So Little Time. Negron made his final onscreen appearance in the award-winning 2015 movie Alienated. He died in January 2015 at the age of 57 after a battle with cancer.

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    1 of 13 Angels in the Outfield, then and now
    2 of 13 Danny Glover (George Knox)
    3 of 13 Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Roger Bomman)
    4 of 13 Milton Davis Jr. (J.P.)
    5 of 13 Tony Danza (Mel Clark)
    6 of 13 Christopher Lloyd (Al)
    7 of 13 Matthew McConaughey (Ben Williams)
    8 of 13 Adrien Brody (Danny Hemmerling)
    9 of 13 Brenda Fricker (Maggie Nelson)
    10 of 13 Dermot Mulroney (Mr. Bomman)
    11 of 13 Ben Johnson (Hank Murphy)
    12 of 13 Jay O. Sanders (Ranch Wilder)
    13 of 13 Taylor Negron (David Montagne)

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