What The Cast Of Ferris Bueller's Day Off Looks Like Now

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." That's one of the most memorable lines spoken by main protagonist Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) in the acclaimed 1986 teen comedy "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." That line continues to ring true, with the Chicago-set classic celebrating its 40th anniversary in June 2026. While most of Chicago still looks the same today as it did in the movie, the same can't be said about the young stars of the film — who aren't quite so young anymore.

The cast of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" are still up to a lot these days — but what do Broderick and his co-stars look like now that it's been decades since their characters cut class to take that fateful journey through the Chicagoland area in the summer of 1986?

Despite playing a high school senior in the film, Matthew Broderick was actually 24 years old when "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" released in theaters in June of 1986. He was also already a semi-established actor at that point, having enjoyed his first leading role in the 1983 thriller "WarGames." And while "Ferris Bueller" took his career to new heights that he would later struggle to replicate, the film's titular rule-breaker would certainly not be his last iconic character. Broderick would later voice the adult version of Simba in the 1994 animated Disney classic "The Lion King."

Broderick would continue acting throughout the decades, more recently appearing in films and shows like "No Hard Feelings" and "Only Murders in the Building," as well as lending his voice to animated projects like "BoJack Horseman" and "Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake." He also remains a prominent stage actor, appearing in plays like "Tartuffe" and "Ulster American." As far as his personal life is concerned, he has been married to fellow actor, Sarah Jessica Parker, since 1997, with Broderick and Parker welcoming three children.

In June 2026, a mere three months after celebrating his 64th birthday, Broderick reflected on his "Ferris Bueller" legacy during a joint interview with co-star Alan Ruck on "Today" commemorating the film's 40th anniversary. "I was not much like Ferris, I guess," Broderick confessed about his actual teenage years. "My idea of skipping school was to sit on a bench and then, at some point, get a Snapple ... That was about the big day off," he continued, adding, "[I] wasn't stealing a car."

In contrast to most of her co-stars on the film, Mia Sara was an actual teenager when she made "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Sara — who played Ferris Bueller's girlfriend, Sloane Peterson — was 18 years old during the film's 1985 production, and turned 19 the month it released in theaters the following year. During an interview with Yahoo in June 2025, Sara confessed that her age made both working on the film and dealing with the ensuing fame a challenge.

"I don't think I did very well with it," Sara said, adding, "I was not comfortable. I wasn't mature enough to really take advantage of it. ... I did not have the greatest time making that movie, because I was in the most awkward stage of my actual adolescence. ... I was younger than the other main cast members, and they were all a lot more experienced than I was. And it showed in my behavior." Reflecting on the film, she said, "When I look back on it, it's a very cringy experience for me." She subsequently clarified that she is absolutely grateful to have been a part of "Ferris Bueller," it's just that the actual experience was less than ideal.

In any case, Sara continued acting well after the film released, even beating Margot Robbie to the punch by 14 years when she played a live-action version of DC's Harley Quinn in the short-lived 2002 TV series "Birds of Prey." However, she eventually took a decade-long hiatus from acting that began in 2013, after she appeared in the short film "Pretty Pretty." Sara eventually returned to the screen in the 2024 film "The Life of Chuck." She's also been married to Brian Henson, son of the legendary Jim Henson, since 2010.

Alan Ruck — who starred as Ferris Bueller's best friend, Cameron Frye — was by far the oldest member of the "teenage" cast of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," as the film released in theaters the month before he celebrated his 30th birthday. Interestingly enough, while Cameron was famously apprehensive about Ferris' plan to play hooky, Ruck was apparently a lot more like Ferris during his own youth than Matthew Broderick was. "I ditched school for seven days in the fifth grade," Ruck confessed during the aforementioned joint interview with Broderick on "Today" in June 2026. "You could go to jail for that," a shocked Broderick said, to which Ruck replied, "I almost did. [I] got a whoopin'."

Like Broderick and Mia Sara, Ruck continued acting over the years, to varying degrees of success. However, it was in 2018 that he underwent something of a career renaissance after landing what has arguably become his second-most iconic role, behind only Cameron. Ruck starred as Connor Roy in the acclaimed HBO drama "Succession," racking up a Golden Globe nomination, a Primetime Emmy nomination, and two SAG Award wins over the course of the show's five-year run.

That being said, Ruck certainly hasn't forgotten his roots. In fact, during that appearance with Broderick on "Today," the two made it clear that they were still great friends, and even jokingly discussed their idea for a potential sequel. "We're gonna wait until we're in our 70s, and Cameron's in a home, and then Ferris comes and ... liberates him ... we go do a bunch of nasty stuff, and then Cameron dies," Ruck said.

In addition to the main trio of Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron, another key teenage character in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is Ferris' sister, Jeanie Bueller — a character who makes it her mission to expose her brother's antics to their parents, only to have a change of heart at the end. Jeanie was played by none other than Jennifer Grey, who (much like her on-screen brother) was already somewhat established as an actor at the time, having previously appeared in the original "Red Dawn."

Just one short year after "Ferris Bueller," Grey scored another big hit in 1987's "Dirty Dancing," sharing the screen with Patrick Swayze and cementing herself as an '80s icon. Speaking of dancing, Grey made another big impact in the world of pop-culture in 2010, when she won Season 11 of "Dancing with the Stars." More recently, the "Ferris Bueller" alum has starred in films like "A Real Pain" and "Wish You Were Here." To many, though, she'll always be Jeanie Bueller.

That's why it's funny that, in the behind-the-scenes material for the "Ferris Bueller" DVD, Grey confessed that she initially had her doubts about the now-iconic comedy. However, she changed her tune after getting to spend time with writer-director John Hughes. "I remember reading the script and kind of not getting it," she said, adding, "I was really, like, stupid, because I really didn't get how great it was. And I kind of didn't really want to go in on it, and I kind of went in anyway ... and I walked in and I met John Hughes, and I just fell crazy in love for him ... And, all of a sudden, I was like, 'Let's see what there is here.'"

In "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Jennifer Grey's Jeanie Bueller ultimately forgoes her quest to bust her brother for cutting class. Of course, if you've seen the movie, you'll know that this change of heart was prompted by an encounter she has with Garth Volbeck, a teenager in police custody for drug-related charges. Garth was played by Grey's "Red Dawn" co-star, Charlie Sheen, who famously deprived himself of sleep in order to give a convincing performance as the strung-out delinquent. 

Of course, while Sheen would go on to have a successful acting career, perhaps most famously starring on the popular sitcom "Two and a Half Men," life imitated art in the fact that his partying reputation became rather infamous in its own right — never mind the way his chaotic lifestyle was immortalized in the form of internet memes. In fact, it seems pretty safe to say that the actor behind Garth Volbeck decisively stole Ferris Bueller's crown as the king of rule-breakers at some point.

Fortunately, Sheen seems to have come out on the other side of that era in his life, and opened up about cleaning up his act during a September 2025 interview with People. "I still get what I call the 'shame shivers.' These are the moments that hit me, of the heinous memories and choices and consequences," he said at the time, adding, "They're getting farther in between, so I guess that's progress."