Ben Stiller's showbiz sendup premiered nearly 20 years ago in August 2008. Tropic Thunder cast: See the stars of the controversial comedy, then and now

Ben Stiller's showbiz send-up premiered nearly 20 years ago in August 2008.

*Tropic Thunder *cast: See the stars of the controversial comedy, then and now

Ben Stiller's showbiz send-up premiered nearly 20 years ago in August 2008.

By Declan Gallagher

Published on August 16, 2025 10:00AM EDT

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Very serious actors making a very serious Vietnam movie. Credit:

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount

In August 2008, Ben Stiller's *Tropic Thunder* ignited the box office… and stoked serious controversy.

The showbiz send-up follows a ragtag group of narcissistic, often drug-addled actors (Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel) as they venture into the jungles of Vietnam to shoot an epic battleground picture directed by a Brit (Steve Coogan).

The result is a meta-war farce with a satirical lens, tackling such culturally loaded territory as race, identity, international politics, and Hollywood itself. We all remember Downey's Oscar-nominated performance, in which his self-important method actor character, Kirk Lazarus, undergoes "pigmentation replacement surgery" to fully understand and embody the "authentic experience" of a Black soldier.

Years later, *Tropic Thunder* maintains its reputation as a fearlessly politically incorrect comedy and eviscerating send-up of Hollywood. With all that in mind, here's a look at the *Tropic Thunder* cast, then and now.

Ben Stiller (Tugg Speedman)

Ben Stiller as Tugg Speedman; Stiller at a promotional event for 'Severance' in 2025.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty

In addition to directing *Tropic Thunder*, Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, an actor who's desperate for a comeback. A Tom Cruise-esque action star back in his prime, he's since struggled after a "serious" dramatic pivot in the critical bomb *Simple Jack*.

Speedman tries to get his mojo back as the lead in a war epic, and gets way more than he bargained for. Stiller, meanwhile, got exactly the controversy *he* bargained for.

"I make no apologies for *Tropic Thunder*," he posted on Twitter (now X) in 2023. "It's always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it."

The child of comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Stiller was enmeshed in the entertainment industry even before turning pro. He broke out with his sketch series, *The Ben Stiller Show* (1990–1993), before directing the Gen-X touchstone *Reality Bites* (1994) and the cult classic *The Cable Guy* (1996).

With *There's Something About Mary* (1998), Stiller cemented his status as a leading man. He starred in *Meet the Parents* (2000), *Zoolander *(2001), *Along Came Polly *(2004), and *Dodgeball* (2004) before launching a family franchise with *Night at the Museum* (2006).

Over the years, the veteran comic has earned acclaim in more dramatic work, including *The Royal Tenenbaums *(2001) and his many collaborations with Noah Baumbach: *Greenberg* (2010), *While We're Young* (2015), and *The Meyerowitz Stories* (2017).

His directing career has continued to expand, from Showtime's *Escape at Dannemora* (2018) to the wildly acclaimed *Severance* (2022–present).

Stiller married actress Christine Taylor in 2000. They share a son and a daughter. Though the couple separated in 2017, they announced in 2020 that they reconciled while co-parenting during the pandemic and have remained together since.

Robert Downey Jr. (Kirk Lazarus)

Robert Downey Jr. in 'character' as Kirk Lazarus; RDJ at the 'Dolittle' premiere in 2020.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Karwai Tang/WireImage

The film's most acclaimed role was also its biggest lightning rod. Kirk Lazarus is a prestigious, pretentious actor who decides to go full method — to put it mildly — in portraying a Black soldier.

Downey told EW in 2008 that although he was eager to work with Stiller and the crew, he worried that not getting the satire exactly right might ruin his recently rehabilitated career.

"My way into the movie is I've got to be tarred and feathered for three months and maybe have my reputation destroyed," he said. "Then we started doing makeup tests, and it was like Mr. Potato Face: 'Can we take that wig off and put these teeth in? Now put this on. Now put that on.' But by the time we were finally in rehearsals, I knew I had it."

Like Stiller, Downey was born into an entertainment industry family. The son of cult director Robert Downey Sr., RDJ broke out playing a drug-addled teen in* Less Than Zero* (1987). Within five years, he was an Oscar nominee for the lead role in *Chaplin *(1992), along with acclaimed roles in *Short Cuts *(1993), *Heart and Souls *(1993), and *Natural Born Killers *(1994). But the rising star's career was sidelined for most of the '90s by addiction and legal issues.

With his newfound sobriety came a comeback for the ages. First, it was performances in *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang *(2006), *A Scanner Darkly *(2006), and *Zodiac* (2007). Then he became a box office sensation with *Iron Man* (2008). Downey became the MCU's frontman, appearing in nine further entries.

The actor also squeezed in a pair of *Sherlock Holmes *movies and the buddy comedy *Due Date* (2010). After snapping his way out of the MCU (or so we thought), he scored an Oscar-winning role as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's *Oppenheimer* (2023).

He will soon return to the MCU, this time as Doctor Doom in *Avengers: Doomsday*, set for 2026.

In 2005, Downey married producer Susan Levin. The couple shares two children: son Exton, born in 2012; and daughter Avri, born in 2014. The actor also has a son with his ex-wife, Deborah Falconer.

Jack Black (Jeff Portnoy)

A clean-shaven Jack Black in 'Tropic Thunder'; a very bearded Jack Black in 2023.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Presley Ann/Getty

*Tropic Thunder*'s Jeff Portnoy made a career of hit comedies. Off-camera, the character has a drug problem, which isn't helped by fighting for his life in the Southeast Asian jungle. Bringing that role to life was Jack Black, who admitted the film's depiction of diva actors has a ring of truth.

"There is an infantilization that happens to actors," Black told EW in 2008. "I had to catch myself a couple of times while we were making this movie from falling into the trap of being the character. I got a really bad sunburn on the very first day of rehearsals, and I was so mad and I really wanted to blame someone besides myself for not putting sunblock on."

After years of bit parts, the actor-musician broke out in his scene-stealing role in *High Fidelity* (2000). He subsequently starred in several mainstream comedies, including his signature role in Richard Linklater's *School of Rock* (2003). After stretching his wings further in Peter Jackson's *King Kong *(2005), Black landed a romantic lead in *The Holiday *(2006) while continuing to churn out comedy hits like *Nacho Libre *(2006).

In addition to the *Kung Fu Panda *movies, the SoCal native led the oddball true-crime dramedy *Bernie *(2013) and secured another franchise hit with *Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle *(2017). Most recently, he headlined *A Minecraft Movie* (2025).

He has maintained a three-decade musical career as one half of Tenacious D, alongside Kyle Gass. The duo has earned critical plaudits from critics and even starred in their own 2006 feature film.

Black married Tanya Haden in 2006. They share two sons.

Tom Cruise (Les Grossman)

Bald, large-handed, hairy-chested Les Grossman; handsome, fully coiffed Tom Cruise in 2025.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Dreamworks Studios; Karwai Tang/WireImage

International superstar Tom Cruise took a career detour to play foul-mouthed, balding studio exec Les Grossman.

Rumors have long persisted about a Grossman spinoff. Though it's yet to materialize, Cruise's longtime collaborator and four-time *Mission: Impossible* director Christopher McQuarrie recently offered an update. "The conversations we've had about Les Grossman are so f---ing funny," McQuarrie said on the *Happy Sad Confused* podcast. "[Cruise and I are] talking about it, we're having very serious conversations about it, and how best to do it."

Cruise rode his 1983 *Risky Business* breakout to historic success, from *Top Gun *(1986) to *Rain Man *(1988) and *A Few Good Men *(1992). He soon landed three Oscar nominations — for *Born on the Fourth of July *(1989), *Jerry Maguire *(1996), and *Magnolia *(1999) — while he banged out hits like *The Firm *(1993) and *Interview With the Vampire* (1994).

In 1996, he launched the big-screen *Mission: Impossible *franchise, a three-decade success that culminated with *The Final Reckoning* (2025). Beyond that signature series, he's headlined a string of hit actioners, from Steven Spielberg's *Minority Report *(2002) and *War of the Worlds *(2005) to *Edge of Tomorrow *(2014) and, of course, the record-setting sequel *Top Gun: Maverick *(2022).

Les Grossman is far from his only "against-type" role: He has *Eyes Wide Shut *(1999), *Collateral *(2004), and *Rock of Ages *(2012) under his belt, too.

Cruise has been married three times — to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman (with whom he has a son and daughter), and Katie Holmes, with whom he shares a daughter, Suri.

Brandon T. Jackson (Alpa Chino)

Brandon T. Jackson in 'Tropic Thunder'; Jackson at the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards in 2025.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

Brandon T. Jackson rose to prominence with *Roll Bounce* (2005) and his own TV series,* The Brandon T. Jackson Show* (2006). But it was his role as closeted gay rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino that endures to this day.

Jackson has often been asked his opinion on Downey's controversial role in the film. He's clarified on multiple occasions that he understood what the film — and the actor's portrayal — was going for.

"He was amazing. He was killing it," Jackson said in an interview. "I wasn't getting mad at first… because Barack [Obama] was in office at the time… It didn't feel racist at that time. I wasn't mad, I was laughing."

He went on to star as a satyr in the two big-screen *Percy Jackson *films and appeared opposite *Roll Bounce* costar Bow Wow in *Lottery Ticket* (2010). He went on to star alongside Martin Lawrence in *Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son*, the franchise's third installment.

After taking some time away from Hollywood for a few years, the Detroit native recently starred in the film *I'm Beginning to See the Light* (2025) and the crime series *The Family Business: New Orleans *(2025–present).

Jay Baruchel (Kevin Sandusky)

Jay Baruchel in 'Tropic Thunder'; Baruchel at the premiere of 'Humane' in 2024.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Mathew Tsang/Getty

Every comedy ensemble needs a straight-man role, and for *Tropic Thunder*, that was the younger actor Kevin, played by Jay Baruchel.

"As a fan of all of [the actors], it made that job so much easier," Baruchel told Collider. "Some difficult parts were ruining hours of usable film because I was laughing at what they were saying. I basically had to be the audience essentially and the voice of reason. I just tried my best to not step on them and maybe, if there was a moment, try to be a bit funny myself."

The Canadian actor first garnered attention in *Almost Famous* (2000) before leading Judd Apatow's one-season wonder *Undeclared* (2001–2002). He went on to scene-stealing roles in *Million Dollar Baby *(2005) and Apatow's *Knocked Up* (2007). The actor later starred in *She's Out of My League* (2010) and landed the lead voice role of Hiccup in the *How to Train Your Dragon *franchise.

Baruchel later played a farcical version of himself in the raucous apocalypse comedy *This Is the End* (2012) and, more recently, won a Canadian Screen Award for playing real-life BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis in *BlackBerry *(2023).

He married Rebecca‑Jo Dunham in Portugal in 2019.

Steve Coogan (Damien Cockburn)

Steve Coogan as an out-of-his-depth director; Coogan at the premiere of 'The Penguin Lessons'.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Neil Mockford/WireImage

British comedy icon Steve Coogan plays the film-within-a-film's director, largely based on cult filmmaker Richard Stanley.

"A lot of the things that Ben's thrown into his character are things that he recognizes in himself," Coogan told *Total Film* about Stiller. "On set, he's quite a specific taskmaster and will make sure he keeps doing it again and again until he gets it exactly the way he wants. There's a scene where I jump up and down with a monitor — I think I jumped up and down five days straight. It almost became a joke. 'What are you doing today?' 'Jumping up and down for Ben Stiller, like I did yesterday and the day before.'"

Coogan is perhaps best known for the character Alan Partridge, a self-obsessed TV and radio personality whom the comedian has embodied in innumerable sketches, TV shows, movies, and books. But his career outside the Partridge-verse is substantial, from leading *24 Hour Party People* (2002) to stealing scenes in *The Other Guys *(2010) and *Our Idiot Brother *(2011).

The English actor earned a pair of Academy Award nominations for writing and producing the drama *Philomena* (2011), in which he starred alongside Judi Dench. He also has a signature buddy franchise with fellow comic Rob Brydon, with four *The Trip *installments, in which he plays a persnickety, lightly fictionalized version of himself.

Coogan's foray into serious territory includes roles as Stan Laurel in *Stan & Ollie *(2018) and disgraced media personality Jimmy Savile in the miniseries *Reckoning* (2023).

Coogan was married to Caroline Hickman from 2002 until 2005. He has one child from a previous relationship.

Danny McBride (Cody)

Danny McBride as a pyrotechnic expert; McBride at the season 4 premiere of 'The Righteous Gemstones'.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage

Danny McBride was just rising to prominence when he starred as *Tropic Thunder*'s pyrotechnic expert. He likened his experience on set to "movie-star camp."

"There's a million actors I had seen and watched and never met. So it was just sort of like trying to stay alive and feel like I could hold my own with all of these super talented, successful people," he told *Complex* in 2024. "That was probably the most insane time I've had on anything. To go from waiting tables a year earlier and then the next year I'm in Kauai with Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black and all these guys, it was mind-blowing."

McBride's film debut was in David Gordon Green's *All the Real Girls* (2003), but he worked as a hotel manager and waiter until his big break in Green's stoner action-comedy *Pineapple Express *(2008).

That blockbuster — and *Tropic Thunder *— shot McBride to stardom. He went on to create and star in several HBO comedies: *Eastbound and Down* (2009–2013), *Vice Principals* (2016–2017), and *The Righteous Gemstones* (2019–2025). With Green and regular collaborator Jody Hill, McBride founded Rough House Pictures. He and Green conceived and co-wrote the recent, retconned *Halloween* sequel trilogy.

The Southern actor has also landed major supporting roles in *Up in the Air *(2009), *Alien: Covenant *(2017), and *This Is the End *(2013) opposite Baruchel.

In 2010, McBride married Gia Ruiz. The couple shares two children.

Nick Nolte (Four Leaf Tayback)

Nick Nolte in character in 'Tropic Thunder'; Nolte at the 2019 premiere of 'Angel Has Fallen'.

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount; Amy Sussman/Getty

You need a grizzled, hard-drinking, haunted Vietnam vet named Four Leaf, you call Nick Nolte.

The decorated actor admitted the role afforded him certain rare opportunities. "I [had] a chance to bully some movie stars," he said in an interview. "I don't get that opportunity very often, you know, to tell them that they're pansies. Which they are... I grew up where it was hard work, Robert Mitchum, all these guys. They didn't even have trailers. Mitchum just had a chair. He'd just sit out all night, wait until the next day to shoot."

The Omaha native broke out with the miniseries* Rich Man, Poor Man *(1976). That Golden Globe-nominated performance led to big-screen stardom in *The Deep *(1977), *North Dallas Forty *(1979), and *48 Hours *(1982).

Throughout the '80s and '90s, he landed acclaimed roles in *Cape Fear *(1991), *Lorenzo's Oil *(1993), and *The Thin Red Line *(1998), plus Oscar-nominated performances in *The Prince of Tides *(1991) and *Affliction *(1999).

The Midwestern actor has remained in demand since then, earning another Oscar nod for *Warrior *(2011) in addition to parts in *Gangster Squad* (2013) and *The Mandalorian* (2019).

Nolte wed Clytie Lane in 2016. He shares one child each with exes Sheila Page and Rebecca Linger.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Movies"

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