The beloved John Hughes classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off is gearing up to celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. Released in June 1986, the film was a box office triumph, earning approximately $70 million on a modest budget of $5 million. It starred Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck as suburban Chicago teens who skip school for a day of adventure in the city while evading the determined Dean of Students. Hughes wrote and directed this comedic drama, known for other 1980s hits like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty In Pink. Broderick, who played the lead role, earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Here is a look at where the cast is now, nearly four decades later.
Matthew Broderick - Ferris Bueller
Matthew Broderick, now 64, portrayed the titular character Ferris Bueller, who fooled his parents into thinking he was too sick for school. In the film, Bueller is just months from high school graduation, but Dean of Students Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) is suspicious of his absences. Bueller convinces his girlfriend Sloane (Sara) and best friend Cameron (Ruck) to join him, and the trio embark on adventures around Chicago in a red Ferrari borrowed from Cameron's father. Broderick was 23 at the time of filming. He continued his successful career with roles in The Lion King (1994) and Godzilla (1998), and more recently appeared in the comedy No Hard Feelings (2023) alongside Jennifer Lawrence. Married to Sarah Jessica Parker, he has also guest-starred on TV shows like 30 Rock, Modern Family, and Only Murders In The Building (2023) with Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez. Broderick lent his voice to the adult animated series Fionna And Cake on HBO Max in 2023 and has performed on stage in productions such as The Producers and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Reflecting on his legacy in a past interview with The Guardian, he said, "What's my legacy? Well, I'm Ferris Bueller, I suppose. I have to accept it. And I like it. I've made my peace with it."
Mia Sara - Sloane Peterson
Mia Sara, 58, played Sloane Peterson, Bueller's girlfriend. She began her career on the soap opera All My Children in 1983 and was cast in Ferris Bueller's Day Off three years later. In a 2024 interview with People, Sara shared that her favorite scene to film was the parade sequence where Bueller performs "Twist And Shout." She recalled, "That was so crazy. Because we would do the dance and then we'd get in a van and they'd drive us blocks away, and the camera would go, and then we'd do the dance again and wait for Matthew to pass." Sara continued acting in projects like the miniseries Queenie (1987) and the 2025 fantasy drama The Life Of Chuck with Tom Hiddleston.
Alan Ruck - Cameron Frye
Alan Ruck, 69, played Bueller's hypochondriac friend Cameron. One memorable scene was filmed at Wrigley Field during a Chicago Cubs game. In a 2024 interview with MLB.com, Ruck recalled, "They had us in the morning and we did the close-ups first of just Matthew and I and the people around us who are all extras. In fact, John Hughes' two young sons - of course they're probably close to 50 now - were sitting behind us." Ruck, a University of Illinois alumnus, said filming at Wrigley Field felt like coming home. He later played Connor Roy on the hit HBO series Succession, and described the show to Interview Magazine in 2023 as "wonderful, and the writing inspired everybody." Recent TV roles include The Dropout (2022), Elsbeth (2025), and Rooster (2026), and he appeared in the 2026 romantic comedy People We Meet On Vacation.
Jennifer Grey - Jeanie Bueller
Jennifer Grey, 66, played Bueller's sister Jeanie, who was aware of his scheme. She skipped class to confront him but encountered Dean Rooney at their home. After calling the police, she was arrested for a prank call, but later helped her brother. Grey and Broderick began dating after meeting on set. In an interview with People, she reflected, "I learned so many things about myself from my relationship with Matthew. First of all, we were really young. We were in our mid twenties when we got together." In 1987, the pair were in a car accident in Northern Ireland where Broderick was driving and hit another vehicle head-on, killing both passengers. Broderick was convicted of careless driving and fined $175. Grey said, "There was some very, very heavy stuff that went down that changed my life forever and there was no one to blame." That same year, her film Dirty Dancing was released. Her recent films include A Real Pain (2024) and Wish You Were Here (2025).
Jeffrey Jones - Edward 'Ed' Rooney
Jeffrey Jones, 79, played Dean Rooney, who was determined to catch Bueller skipping school. After Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Jones appeared in films such as Beetlejuice (1988), The Devil's Advocate (1997), and Sleepy Hollow (1999), and starred in the series Deadwood (2004-2006). His last acting credit was the 2019 TV film Deadwood: The Movie. In 2002, Jones was arrested on charges of soliciting a minor for nude photos and possession of child pornography. He pleaded no contest to a felony charge of employing a minor for sexually explicit photos and was required to register as a sex offender. In 2024, he told People, "I moved to live in the desert. I didn't want to be in L.A. anymore, but I got my family here, and so little kids get old fast. I'm driving back and forth. I'm getting a place now in L.A. I've given up because I can't keep going back and forth from Burbank to the desert."
Charlie Sheen - Garth Volbeck
Charlie Sheen, 60, played juvenile delinquent Garth Volbeck, who meets Bueller's sister at the police station. He achieved his character's exhausted look by not sleeping for 48 hours, as he revealed on the All The Smoke podcast. Sheen got the role through his connection with Grey from Red Dawn (1984). He recalled, "I do this three minutes on film and it, just boom. I guess it was that pre-Platoon. You know, a little taste before it all went off the rails." Sheen went on to star in Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), Major League (1989), and Scary Movie 3 (2003), and played a main role on Two And A Half Men from 2003 to 2011. He has been open about his sobriety, telling People, "Most of my 50s were spent apologizing to the people I hurt. I also didn't want to write from the place of being a victim. I wasn't, and I own everything I did." He added, "I still get what I call the 'shame shivers.' These are the moments that hit me, of the heinous memories and choices and consequences. They're getting farther in between, so I guess that's progress."
Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward - Bueller's Parents
Cindy Pickett, 79, played Bueller's mother Katie, and Lyman Ward, 84, played his father Tom. They were tricked into believing their son was sick at home. Pickett later starred in Son In Law (1993) and had guest roles on Medium, Ghost Whisperer, and Age Of The Living Dead. Ward appeared on shows like Family Ties (1989), Matlock (1989), Melrose Place (1993), and The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody (2005).
