When Remember the Titans came out, like many other high school movies, it was full of young faces that hadn’t really been seen before. Denzel Washington was the lead and, of course, there was the “based on a true story” pull that people eat up even when the story isn’t always as true as it seems. Still, the film took real-life issues and presented them through a “Disney-fied” lens for everyone to understand as it retold the events of a 1971 Virginia high school football team that faced desegregation while trying to claim a winning record.
An enjoyable and well-received film when it was released in 2000, it would take years to look back and realize that Remember the Titans would be viewed as a turning point for the careers of many of the actors who made it something special. So, in honor of that, here’s a look at what members of the cast — which includes familiar faces such as Ryan Gosling, Donald Faison, Hayden Panettiere, and Ryan Hurst — have been up to since then.
Denzel Washington
After playing Coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans, Denzel continued to do what Denzel does, starring in Antwone Fisher (2002), Man on Fire (2004), American Gangster (2007), and The Equalizer (2014). He also won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his gigantic performance in Training Day (2001). Right now, Washington is set to be part of an ensemble cast that’ll reunite him with Training Day co-star Ethan Hawke (more chess, not checkers?), Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onofrio, and many other capable actors in a remake of The Magnificent Seven.
Will Patton
Will Patton’s most notable work has come on the small screen in recent years. He worked as a series regular on CBS’s The Agency, a series about the inner workings of the government that came out right after 9/11, and he was a member of the main cast in TNT’s Falling Skies for all five seasons.
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling was just a kid when Remember the Titans came out – for the sake of this argument, 20 years old is still being a kid. So much so that all he’d really done before it was make appearances on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel projects. But after his minor role as a high school linebacker, Gosling bulked up and became a charming heartthrob in romances like The Notebook (2004) and Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011). He’s also shown serious acting chops in films like Half Nelson (2006) and Drive (2011) and formed a band called Dead Man’s Bones. Gosling can next be seen in the star-studded financial market drama/Oscar-bait film The Big Short, and in La La Land, where he’ll play a jazz pianist who falls for an actress (Emma Stone).
Hayden Panettiere
Back in 2000, Hayden Panettiere played the coach’s kid who eats, sleeps, and breathes football. At only 11 years old, her character was one of the most enjoyable bright spots in a movie full of them. She would go on to play Claire Bennet (also known as “the cheerleader”) in Heroes and currently has a leading role in Nashville. She also does voice work for video games, most recently in Until Dawn.
Ryan Hurst
LEFT SIDE! *head-butts air*
After breaking our hearts in Remember the Titans, fans got to see more of Ryan Hurst in Sons of Anarchy as Opie Winston, if you could recognize him underneath that stellar beard and the tattoos. After SoA went away, Hurst got a recurring role in TNT’s King & Maxwell as the pair’s assistant, and he currently has a recurring role as Chick Hogan in Bates Motel.
Wood Harris
STRONG SIDE! *head-butts air again… gets a headache*
In 2002, Wood Harris had a leading role in Paid in Full and played Avon Barksdale in the critically acclaimed HBO series, The Wire. Recently, he made appearances in Ant-Man and has a supporting role in Creed.
Ethan Suplee
Ethan Suplee hit a lot of people’s radar as Frankie is Boy Meets World – I’m still waiting for him to pop up in Girl Meets World with a “Where’s the rest of you!?” joke – which he quickly contrasted with his role in American History X. But he was the lovable, gentle giant in Remember the Titans. Since then, Suplee has shed more than 200 pounds and had a co-starring role in My Name is Earl, showed up in The Wolf of Wall Street and made occasional one-off appearances in shows like Wilfred and Men at Work. Next up, he’ll reprise his role as Willam Black in Mallrats 2.
Donald Faison
A year after playing Petey Jones, a threat on both sides of the ball, Donald Faison went on to become a part of the best bromance in television on Scrubs, alongside Zach Braff. Since then, he’s done voice work on The Boondocks, American Dad!, and Adventure Time. He also had a lead role on TV Land’s The Exes, which went on for four seasons before ending this past week, and he made a recent appearance on Bill Lawrence’s Undateable.
Kip Pardue
Kip Pardue played the long-haired quarterback who was confident and comfortable enough in his sexuality to kiss another man in a football locker room in 1971. Since then, Pardue has had regular, brief appearances in ER, House, Mad Men, and Ray Donovan.
Kate Bosworth
After playing Gerry’s girlfriend who had a bit of trouble adjusting to desegregation, Kate Bosworth has had some ups and down in her career. In 2002, she played a passionate surfer and received critical acclaim for Blue Crush and went on to play Lois Lane in Superman Returns (2006). Following those roles, she popped up in Movie 43 (2013) and 21 (2008). But she’s been super busy this year with six projects under her belt, including Before I Wake, 90 Minutes in Heaven, and the forthcoming Bus 657, alongside Robert De Niro, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Morris Chestnut.
Burgess Jenkins
We all remember Ray. He was the guy who committed the unforgivable football sin of letting his quarterback get hurt. So, after getting cut from the team by Gerry outside the locker room, Burgess Jenkins appeared in Nashville, along fellow Remember the Titans co-star Hayden Panettiere, and had recurring roles in Army Wives and One Tree Hill. Most recently, he’s replaced Daytime Emmy award-winning Billy Miller as Billy Abbot in The Young and the Restless.
