'Boogie Nights' Cast Then and Now: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, More

BOOGIE NIGHTS, John C. Reilly, Mark Wahlberg, 1997 — 'Boogie Nights' Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s been 25 years since Boogie Nights hit theaters on Oct. 10, 1997.

Set in 1977, the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed period comedy-drama follows young busboy Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) as he gets discovered by porn director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). Jack takes Eddie under his wing and transforms him into adult-film sensation Dirk Diggler. Despite being surrounded by a supportive group of friends and finding success in his career, Eddie must face his own demons of drugs and egotism as they take down his career.

The cast also includes Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Nicole Ari Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán.

In addition to directing, Anderson wrote and produced the film alongside Lloyd Levin, John Lyons and JoAnne Sellar.

After initially premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11, 1997, Boogie Nights was met with critical acclaim. The movie was nominated for three Oscars, including best original screenplay for Anderson, best supporting actor for Reynolds and best supporting actress for Moore.

The cast was nominated in the outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture category at the 1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards, while Reynolds and Moore both earned individual nods with their performances in the best supporting actor and best supporting actress categories.

Meanwhile, Graham took home an MTV Movie Award for best breakthrough performance.

Following the success of Boogie Nights, several of the film’s stars reunited to appear in Anderson’s 1999 drama Magnolia.

In honor of Boogie Nights‘ 25th anniversary, The Hollywood Reporter takes a look at what the cast members have been up to since the film’s theatrical debut.

Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams / Dirk Diggler

Image Credit: New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection; Araya Doheny/FilmMagic

Wahlberg stars in the film as teenage busboy Eddie, who adopts the persona of Dirk when he becomes a porn star sensation. After finding success in the career, Eddie gets caught up in his carefree lifestyle and starts heavily using drugs. His constant use of cocaine begins to have negative impacts on his job performance and he’s eventually fired for his egotistical attitude. Once unemployed, Eddie realizes he must stoop to new levels in order to make more money after blowing it all on drugs. While Wahlberg was already a working musician and actor when Boogie Nights came out, he went on to star in big-budget action movies including The Perfect Storm, Planet of the Apes and The Italian Job. He earned his first Oscar nomination in 2007 for his role in The Departed. The actor then found success in comedy by starring in the films like The Other Guys, Ted and Daddy’s Home, with the latter two titles also spawning sequels. In addition to acting, Wahlberg is a successful producer. He executive produced HBO’s Entourage, Boardwalk Empire, How to Make It in America, Ballers and McMillions. Wahlberg earned his second Academy Award nomination for producing The Fighter in 2011, which he also starred in.
Julianne Moore as Maggie / Amber Waves

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Moore portrays Maggie, who is heavily involved in the production of Jack’s films and a porn actress under the stage name Amber Waves. Maggie deals with several challenges throughout the movie, including being in a legal battle for custody of her son. After Boogie Nights, Moore went on to earn more Academy Award nominations for The End of the Affair, Far From Heaven and The Hours. She eventually won her first Oscar in the best actress category for her role in Still Alice in 2015. Moore’s other film credits include The Big Lebowski; Magnolia; Hannibal; Children of Men; A Single Man; The Kids Are All Right; Crazy, Stupid, Love; Don Jon; Carrie; both parts of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, The Woman in the Window and Dear Evan Hansen. Moore won an Emmy for her portrayal of Sarah Palin in HBO’s Game Change.
Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner

Image Credit: New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett / Everett Collection; Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Reynolds stars as Jack, a porn filmmaker who takes Eddie under his wing after meeting the busboy while he’s working at a nightclub. After Eddie gets into a fight with his mother, he moves into Jack’s house and the filmmaker helps him become a star. While their partnership starts off on a positive note, Eddie’s downward spiral leads to Jack firing him. Reynolds was a household name when he took on the role, and continued acting until his death in 2018. Before starring in Anderson’s film, Reynolds’ credits included Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run. Following Boogie Nights, the actor appeared in films including Big City Blues, Crazy Six, Driven, Time of the Wolf and Broken Bridges. He also made guest appearances on TV shows including Ed, The King of Queens and My Name is Earl.
Don Cheadle as Buck Swope

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Cheadle appears in the film as Buck Swope, a television store owner and porn star who is obsessed with cowboys and the Old West. After being discovered by Jack, Buck becomes a success story and marries fellow porn star Jessie St. Vincent. Buck memorably fails to get a bank loan to open his own stereo equipment store, but he manages to steal money from a store after witnessing a failed robbery. After Boogie Nights, Cheadle appeared in films like the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy, Traffic and Crash. He’s also known for playing James Rhodes/War Machine in Marvel projects, appearing in Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Cheadle made his directorial debut with the 2015 film Miles Ahead, which he also starred in, wrote and produced. His TV credits include roles on ER, House of Lies and Black Monday and narrating ABC’s new version of The Wonder Years.
John C. Reilly as Reed Rothchild

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Reilly stars in the film as porn star Reed Rothchild, who befriends Eddie and introduces him to the partying side of the porn world. While he was already consistently working before Boogie Nights, Reilly continued to have success by acting in Anderson’s Magnolia, as well as the films The Thin Red Line, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, Wreck It Ralph, Guardians of the Galaxy and Kong: Skull Island. In 2002, the actor was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Amos Hart in Chicago. In 2007, Reilly’s starring role in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story earned him a Grammy nomination. On the television side, Reilly co-created and starred in the Showtime series Moonbase 8 in 2020 and led the ensemble cast in HBO’s 2022 sports drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
William H. Macy as Bill "Little Bill" Thompson

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Macy portrays Billy “Little Bill” Thompson, an adult film assistant director who works closely with Jack. While Billy thrives in his career and helps make Eddie a successful porn star, his personal life is a disaster. His story tragically ends on New Year’s Eve in 1980 when he shoots his wife and her lover before killing himself. After his role in Boogie Nights, Macy went on to appear in the films Magnolia, Jurassic Park III, Seabiscuit, Thank You for Smoking, The Lincoln Lawyer and others. For television, Macy played Frank Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama Shameless from 2011 until 2021. During the course of the show, he was nominated for six Emmys and won three Screen Actors Guild Awards for the role.
Heather Graham as Brandy / Rollergirl

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Graham earned critical acclaim for her role as porn star Brandy in Boogie Nights. She went on to play notable roles in films like Bowfinger, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Say It Isn’t So and The Hangover. Graham starred as the titular character on the short-lived ABC series Emily’s Reasons Why Not, while she’s had recurring roles on Scrubs, Californication, Flaked, Angie Tribeca and Law & Order True Crime.
Nicole Ari Parker as Becky Barnett

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Parker portrays the role of Becky Barnett, another porn actor who was discovered by Jack. After acting in Boogie Nights, Parker went on to star in the films Spark, 200 Cigarettes, Dancing in September, Brown Sugar, Imagine That, Pastor Brown, Ticking 35, Repentance, Almost Christmas and How It Ends, as well as A Map of the World alongside Moore. Additionally, she starred on the Showtime drama series Soul Food from 2000-2004, the UPN sitcom Second Time Around from 2004-2005, ABC’s period drama Time After Time in 2017 and Fox’s musical drama Empire from 2017-2020. Parker currently stars on HBO Max’s Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That as Lisa Todd Wexley.
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Scotty J.

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Hoffman appears in the film as Scotty J., an eccentric man that falls head over heels in love with Eddie as Dirk. After starring in Boogie Nights, Hoffman played memorable supporting roles in Patch Adams, The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous and Along Came Polly. He portrayed Truman Capote in the 2005 film Capote, which earned him the Academy Award for best actor. Hoffman went on to earn three best supporting actor nominations at the Academy Awards for his roles in Charlie Wilson’s War, Doubt and The Master. Hoffman was also an established Broadway performer and earned Tony Awards nominations for his work in True West in 2000, Long Day’s Journey into Night in 2003 and Death of a Salesman in 2012. The actor died in February 2014. Following his death, he had posthumous appearances in both parts of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay as Plutarch Heavensbee.