'My Cousin Vinny' Cast: Where Are They Now?

The fish-out-of-water comedy My Cousin Vinny was released in 1992 and received critical acclaim. Find out what the cast has been up to since its premiere

my cousin vinny
Photo: 20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett
01 of 11

Joe Pesci as Vincent "Vinny" Gambini

Joe Pesci
20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock; Netflix

Joe Pesci, who played the titular character Vinny, was riding a career high when he took on My Cousin Vinny, having just filmed 1990's Home Alone and winning an Oscar in 1991 for his role as Tommy DeVito in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas.

The actor worked consistently throughout the '90s before semi-retiring, save for a few roles in Home Alone and Lethal Weapon sequels and films like Casino (1995) and Gone Fishin' (1997). He returned to acting in 2019, reuniting with Scorsese and Robert De Niro in The Irishman, which scored him an Oscar nomination in 2020.

Pesci leveraged his Vinny fame, releasing the 1998 album Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You and a 2019 jazz album featuring Adam Levine.

In 2022, Pesci joined the cast of Peacock's live-action comedy series Bupkis costarring Pete Davidson and Edie Falco.

02 of 11

Marissa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito

Marisa Tomei
Moviestore/Shutterstock; Chuck Zlotnick/Columbia Pictures

Marissa Tomei's portrayal of Vinny's fiancée Mona Lisa Vito earned her Best Supporting Actress at the 1993 Academy Awards. Tomei has continued to dazzle audiences, receiving two more Oscar nominations for 2002's In the Bedroom and 2009's The Wrestler.

She has been a fixture in the Marvel universe, playing May Parker in the Spider-Man franchise, Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: End Game (2019). Tomei also starred in Davidson's The King of Staten Island (2020), where she played his character's mother, Margie Carlin.

In 2023, she appeared alongside Anne Hathaway and Peter Dinklage in She Came to Me.

03 of 11

Ralph Macchio as Bill Gambini

RALPH MACCHIO
Moviestore/Shutterstock; CURTIS BONDS BAKER/NETFLIX

Ralph Macchio — who played Bill Gambini, the teenage cousin of green lawyer Vinny — went on to enjoy a diverse career after My Cousin Vinny. In 2011, he placed fourth on season 12 of Dancing with the Stars. Macchio also reprised his role as Daniel LaRusso on the Karate Kid spin-off Cobra Kai, on which he has starred since 2018. His performance on the Netflix series earned him an Emmy nomination in 2021

In addition to appearances on Ugly Betty and The Deuce, the former child actor has remained a fixture in the pop culture conversation, releasing his memoir, Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, in 2022.

Macchio has two children, Julia and Daniel, with his wife, Phyllis Fierro.

04 of 11

Mitchell Whitfield as Stan Rothstein

Mitchell Whitfield - My Cousin Vinny
Moviestore/Shutterstock ; Kevin Winter/Getty

Mitchell Whitfield's performance as Bill's co-defendant Stan Rothstein was only the beginning of a decades-long screen and voice acting career.

Aside from playing cheating orthodontist Barry Farber who was ditched by Jennifer Aniston's Rachel on the pilot of Friends, Whitfeld has booked roles on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and CSI: Miami and video game gigs in Lego Jurassic World and TMNT. He also appeared in 1997's Best Men alongside Dean Cain, Drew Barrymore and Luke Wilson. From 2014 to 2017, Whitfield provided the voice of Fixit in Transformers: Robots in Disguise and voiced several characters on the animated series Vampirina before it ended in 2021.

He is married to Tracy Lynn Ethington, and they share two children.

05 of 11

Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain Haller

FRED GWYNNE
Snap/Shutterstock

Fred Gwynne had already leveraged his imposing 6-foot, 5-inch stature and expressive face to achieve an impressive resume before he took on his last role: Judge Chamberlain Haller in My Cousin Vinny. The actor had enjoyed a nearly four decades-long career before he died from pancreatic cancer in 1993 at age 66.

Perhaps most famously, Gwynne played the lumbering, lovable monster patriarch Herman Munster on CBS' The Munsters from 1964­-66.

06 of 11

Austin Pendleton as John Gibbons

Austin Pendleton
20th Century Fox; Jemal Countess/Getty

Since playing the stuttering defense attorney John Gibbons, Austin Pendleton has acted in over 150 films and TV shows combined. Fans may recognize him from HBO's Oz and USA's Homicide: Life on the Street.

Following the release of My Cousin Vinny, his film credits include Guarding Tess (1994), Sgt. Bilko (1996), Amistad (1997), The 4th Floor (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Our Father (2021) and Ball and Vase (2022).

Pendleton is also committed to the stage. In 2009, he directed a production of Uncle Vanya, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. He is also a member of the Steppenwolf Theater company and starred in the play The Minutes, which moved to Broadway in 2022.

He has been married to Katina Commings since 1970, with whom he shares one child.

07 of 11

Lane Smith as Jim Trotter III

Lane Smith
20th Century Fox

Lane Smith was equal parts charming and smarmy as prosecutor Jim Trotter III. Before the Golden Globe-nominated actor died from Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 69 in 2005, he appeared on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, From the Earth to the Moon and Out of Order. Smith's film credits include The Distinguished Gentlemen (1992), Son in Law (1993) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000).

He is survived by his wife, Debbie Benedict Smith, and two children.

08 of 11

Bruce McGill as Sheriff Farley

Bruce McGill
20th Century Fox; Shane Mahood/Amazon Prime Video

Bruce McGill played the day-saving Sheriff Farley, who helped to secure freedom for Macchio and Whitfield's characters. Since portraying the law enforcer, McGill's acting credits run the gamut.

He has starred in three of director Michael Mann's films, including The Insider (1999), Ali (2001) and Collateral (2004) and portrayed a mentor to the eponymous crime-solving duo on Rizzoli & Isles. McGill was cast as a crucial member of two presidents' administrations in 2008's W. and 2012's Lincoln. In 2022, McGill appeared on the Prime Video series Reacher, based on Lee Child's book series.

He has been married to Gloria Lee since 1994.

09 of 11

Maury Chaykin as Sam Tipton

Maury Chaykin
20th Century Fox

As self-respecting Southerner Sam Tipton, Maury Chaykin continued his career as a character actor in TV movies and major motion pictures like Beethoven's 2nd (1993) and Entrapment (1999), as well as a two-season run as detective Nero Wolfe on the A&E adaptation A Nero Wolfe Mystery.

Chaykin died in 2010 due to complications from a heart valve infection.

10 of 11

Raynor Scheine as Ernie Crane

Raynor Scheine
20th Century Fox

Raynor Scheine — who portrayed the eyewitness living in a trailer adjacent to the Sac-O-Suds — remained a Hollywood mainstay following his appearance in My Cousin Vinny. He also was featured in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), The Quick and the Dead (1995) and The Rookie (2002), as well as the Oscar-winning Transamerica (2005) and Lincoln (2012).

11 of 11

Paulene Myers as Constance Riley

Paulene Myers
20th Century Fox

The role of well-meaning and near-sighted witness Constance Riley was Paulene Myers' final role before her death in December 1996 at the age of 83.

Before My Cousin Vinny, she enjoyed a fruitful career onstage and on the big screen in Lady Sings the Blues (1972) and The Sting (1973). She also appeared on TV on shows like The Jeffersons, Good Times and Days of Our Lives, among many others.