What Has The ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ Cast Has Been Up To Since 2001?

In 2001, a slew of funny people got together and made arguably the best movie about summer camp: Wet Hot American Summer. Co-written by Michael Showalter and David Wain (with Wain directing), the film gathered some of Showalter and Wain’s colleagues from their MTV sketch series, The State, as well as other hilarious actors and comedians some of whom became famous years after they showed up in the modern cult classic.

While Wet Hot American Summer was a commercial and critical flop when it first came out, it developed a major following — especially after its stars became more and more famous. And fans of the film can rejoice in the news that Netflix is bringing the entire original cast — yes, every single one of them! — back for an eight-part miniseries that will serve as a prequel to the film.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day at Camp hits the streaming service later this year (there’s no official release date just wet), but it’s going to be absolutely epic, especially since, as Deadline reports, other major stars such as Chris Pine, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Jason Schwartzman, John Slattery, Josh Charles, Michaela Watkins, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel and Lake Bell will also join the cast as new characters.

While we have to wait a few more months for the series, there’s plenty of related shows and movies we can watch in order to keep us satisfied. You can find out where to stream Wet Hot American Summer here, and below we take a look at what the main cast members have been up to, and you can find out where to stream their other movies and TV shows by clicking on the hyperlinked titles.

Janeane Garofalo (Beth)

Garofalo was one of the more famous members of the cast at the time, having established herself as one of the early “alt-comedians” in the ’90s and having a well-regarded film career. Following WHAS, Garafolo turned up in a variety of guest spots on television, most notably on The West Wing, 24, and Delocated. She can currently be seen on Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. But she hasn’t avoided film entirely; she turned up in David Wain’s anthology comedy, The Ten, and provided the voice of French chef Colette in Ratatouille.

David Hyde Pierce (Henry Newman)

David Hyde Pierce was already a household name thanks to his role as the nebbish and neurotic Niles Crane on Frasier, playing the titular character’s brother. The series aired for three years after WHAS‘ debut, and afterward Pierce focused on theater; he was nominated for three Tonys, winning in 2007 for his leading performance in the musical comedy Curtains.

Michael Showalter (Coop / Alan Shemper)

After playing a lovable doofus in WHAS, he played a lovable doofus in The Baxer, which he also wrote and directed. He also re-teamed with his State / WHAS pals Michael Ian Black and David Wain for the Comedy Central series, Stella, once more with Black in Michael & Michael Have Issues, and co-wrote They Came Together with Wain. He also hosted his own College Humor talk show, The Michael Showalter Showalter.

Marguerite Moreau (Katie)

After WHAS, Moreau turned up in small guest spots on various shows like Smallville, The O.C., Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, and Shameless. WHAS remains her biggest film to date.

Paul Rudd (Andy)

Rudd spent most of the ’90s playing sad saps in romantic comedies, but WHAS showed how super funny the guy can be. He followed this up with roles in Anchorman, The Baxter, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man, They Came Together, Wanderlust, Role Models (which he co-wrote with Wain and Ken Marino), and the anticipated comic book adaptation, Ant-Man.

Amy Poehler (Susie)

Poehler hadn’t even started her seven-season gig on Saturday Night Live when WHAS hit theaters, and her career has only skyrocketed since she starred as the regional theater-obsessed counselor. After SNL, she went on to write, direct, produce, and star in Parks and Recreation, which ends its seven-season run this year. Since WHAS, she has also starred in Mean Girls, Baby Mama, and They Came Together.

Bradley Cooper (Ben)

As much as it pains me to admit it, getting fucked on camera by Michael Ian Black wasn’t the highlight of Bradley Cooper’s career. In the last decade, he’s proven himself not just a Hollywood leading man — he’s also a three-time Academy Award-nominated actor, earning Oscar nods for his roles in Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and this year’s American Sniper.

Michael Ian Black (McKinley)

Most commonly known at the time for being a talking head on VH1’s pop culture clip shows, Michael Ian Black also had a supporting role on the sitcom Ed until it was canceled in 2004. In addition to co-starring on Stella and Michael & Michael Have Issues, Black also appeared alongside his former State-mates on Reno 911! (and appeared in the film version of the faux-reality series). Most recently he starred as the host on the web series Burning Love.

Christopher Meloni (Gene)

Meloni is most known for his role as Eliot Stabler on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, on which he starred until 2011, and he also appeared on two seasons of Oz following WHAS‘ release. He was also a season regular on Season Five of True Blood. After WHAS, he appeared in comedies such as Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, and They Came Together.

Molly Shannon (Gail)

An SNL alum who never became a big movie star like her male cohort, Shannon spent the last decade popping up in small roles on film and TV. She co-starred int he short-lived sitcom Kath & Kim with the similarly underrated Selma Blair, and most recently had a substantial arc on HBO’s Enlightened, for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Ken Marino (Victor)

After a string of failed sitcoms and a regular gig on Dawson’s Creek, Marino teamed up with some of his State pals again, showing up in The Baxter, Stella, The Ten, Reno 911: Miami, and They Came Together. He wrote and starred in Diggers alongside Paul Rudd, with whom he co-wrote the screenplay for Role Models (which was co-written and directed by David Wain). He kept his cult-figure status intact with roles on Party Down, Burning Love, Childrens Hospital, and Eastbound & Down, and currently stars alongside Casey Wilson on Marry Me.

A.D. Miles (Gary)

Miles played the small but important role as the poor guy who caught the brunt of Gene’s torment in the kitchen. While he’s had small roles in several other films made by Wain and Showalter (like The Baxter, The Ten, and Role Models), he’s kept himself busy behind the scenes as head writer on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and now The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Zak Orth (J.J.)

After his small role in WHAS, Orth collaborated again with Showalter and Wain with roles in The Baxter, The Ten, and They Came Together. He appeared in two Woody Allen movies: Melinda and Melinda and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, for which he provided narration. And Revolution fans will remember him as computer genius Aaron Pittman.

Joe Lo Truglio (Neil)

Another alumnus of The State, Lo Truglio appeared in The Baxter, Reno 911!, Role Models, Wanderlust, and Burning Love. He also turned up alongside Seth Rogen in Superbad and Pineapple Express. Currently he has a leading role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Detective Charles Boyle.

Elizabeth Banks (Lindsay)

A relative unknown when she made WHAS, Elizabeth Banks is probably the film’s biggest success story since she sky-rocketed to stardom on the strength of the movie’s cult following. She got a minor role in the first Spider-Man franchise, then turned up in Seabiscuit. But she’s definitely excelled as a comedic performer, starring in The Baxter, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Role Models, 30 Rock, Pitch Perfect, and as the daffy Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games films.

 

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Photos: USA Films