'October Sky' cast: Where are they now?

01 of 09

Jake Gyllenhaal (Homer Hickam)

Early in his career, Jake Gyllenhaal led October Sky as Homer Hickam. The future star came into the gig after picking up early roles in City Slickers (1991), Josh and S.A.M. (1993), and Homegrown (1998). He then brought the real-life story of Homer to the big screen, playing the young man living in Coalwood, W.Va., with dreams of space.

October Sky was just the beginning for Gyllenhaal. Two years later, he would play the title character in 2001's Donnie Darko, going on to star in Bubble Boy (2001), The Good Girl (2002), Moonlight Mile (2002), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). In 2005, he starred with Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, earning his first Oscar nomination. He followed with roles in Jarhead (2005), Rendition (2007), and Brothers (2009). Gyllenhaal has continued his successful film career since, adding Love & Other Drugs (2010), Nightcrawler (2014), Southpaw (2015), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Ambulance (2022) to his résumé.

02 of 09

Chris Cooper (John Hickam)

Chris Cooper joined October Sky as John Hickam, the father to Gyllenhaal's Homer. Appearing in American Beauty the same year, Cooper plays the stern mine manager who is skeptical of Homer's rocket dreams. Before taking on the role, the veteran star appeared in Matewan (1987), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), This Boy's Life (1993), and Great Expectations (1998), and hit the small screen with appearances on Miami Vice and Law & Order.

The years following October Sky were busy for Cooper, who returned to the big screen in Me, Myself & Irene and The Patriot in 2000, The Bourne Identity and Adaptation (for which he won an Oscar) in 2002, and Seabiscuit in 2003. He would go on to reunite with Gyllenhaal in Jarhead (2005), and appear in The Town (2010), August: Osage County (2013), Little Women (2019), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). His TV roles include playing Al Templeton in Hulu's miniseries 11.22.63 and Leonard Geist on Amazon's Homecoming.

03 of 09

Laura Dern (Miss Riley)

Laura Dern had an emotional turn in October Sky as Miss Riley. She plays the Rocket Boys' science teacher and their biggest supporter, continuing to cheer them on as she eventually battles cancer in the hospital. Dern already had more than a decade in the industry to her name when she landed the role of Miss Riley. Her pre-Sky credits include Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), and Rambling Rose (1991). Dern had a particularly busy few months in 1993, when she played Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park and Sally Gerber in A Perfect World.

Dern has continued to see critical and commercial success, starring in I Am Sam (2001), We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004), Lonely Hearts (2006), and Little Fockers (2010). She has bounced back and forth between TV and film, playing Amy Jellicoe on HBO's Enlightened, and the mother to Shailene Woodley's Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars (2014) and Reese Witherspoon's Cheryl in Wild (2014), earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the latter. She won that award five years later for her scene-stealing turn in Marriage Story (2019), in addition to picking up an Emmy for Big Little Lies, where she reunited with Woodley and Witherspoon. Dern notably reprised her role as Dr. Ellie Sattler in 2022's Jurassic World Dominion.

04 of 09

Chris Owen (Quentin)

After racking up small screen roles on Boy Meets World, Picket Fences, 7th Heaven, and Sister, Sister — and making a brief appearance in 1998's Can't Hardly Wait — Chris Owen landed a role in October Sky. He played the nerdy Quentin, a surprising addition to the Rocket Boys' friend group. A math and science whiz, he helps Homer and his friends develop their rockets and make improvements as they test them out.

The same year that Sky arrived in theaters, Owen also starred in She's All That and American Pie. He would go on to reprise his character of Chuck Sherman in American Pie 2 (2001) and American Reunion (2012). Owen also returned to the big screen in National Lampoon productions, and starred in The Mist (2007), Love, Gloria (2011), in episodes of The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, and Hand of God, as well as TV movies including 2018's The Last Sharknado: It's About Time.

05 of 09

William Lee Scott (Roy Lee)

William Lee Scott picked up one of his first film roles as Roy Lee in October Sky. Before playing Homer's buddy with a dangerous home life, Scott made a name for himself with gigs in Gattaca (1997) and The Opposite of Sex (1998), and a starring turn as Stanley "Bullethead" Kuznocki on The Steve Harvey Show.

Scott continued his gig on The Steve Harvey Show through 2002, also starring in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) and Pearl Harbor (2001). He filled out his résumé with roles in The Butterfly Effect (2004), Beautiful Dreamer (2006), Nine Dead (2010), and The Magnificent Seven (2016), and TV appearances on CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds, ER, and The Neighborhood.

06 of 09

Chad Lindberg (O'Dell)

Chad Lindberg kicked off his career with '90s appearances on ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The X-Files, and big-screen turns in Mercury Rising (1998) and City of Angels (1998). He then nabbed the role of O'Dell in October Sky, playing a friend of Homer's who gets the bug for rocket-making.

Soon after, Lindberg played Jesse in 2001's The Fast and the Furious, also appearing in The Rookie (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Adam and Eve (2005), Once Fallen (2010), Alex Cross (2012), and Four Good Days (2020). He made TV appearances on Weeds, Castle, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., NCIS, Sneaky Pete, and PEN15, among others.

07 of 09

Natalie Canerday (Elsie Hickam)

Natalie Canerday played Elsie Hickam, offering maternal wisdom to Homer as he butts heads with his father. Always threatening to move to Myrtle Beach, S.C., Elsie dreads the mine alarms and furtively helps Homer achieve his rocket dreams. Canerday came into the gig after appearing in Biloxi Blues (1988), One False Move (1992), and Sling Blade (1996).

Canerday continued to act throughout the 2000s, picking up bit roles in Walk the Line (2005), Shotgun Stories (2007), The Last Ride (2012), Poor Mama's Boy (2016), Then There Was Joe (2018), and To the Stars (2019). She's also appeared in episodes of Quarry, Still the King, and True Detective.

08 of 09

Chris Ellis (Principal Turner)

One of the many roadblocks in the Rocket Boys' way, Principal Turner was played by actor Chris Ellis. Initially apprehensive about the students' project, Turner finally comes around and allows the boys to enter their rockets in a regional science fair. Ellis came into the role after appearing in another space-facing flick, starring as Deke Slayton in Apollo 13 (1995). He was also in My Cousin Vinny (1992), Addams Family Values (1993), That Thing You Do! (1996), and Armageddon (1998) and on Melrose Place, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files.

After October Sky, Ellis was in such films as Planet of the Apes (2001), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Transformers (2007), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), McFarland, USA (2015), What Still Remains (2018), and Silo (2019). He's also been busy with TV work, picking up gigs on Six Feet Under, Alias, Ghost Whisperer, The Office, Mad Men, Murder in the First, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and Homecoming.

09 of 09

Elya Baskin (Ike Bykovsky)

Elya Baskin joined October Sky as Ike Bykovsky. An ally to Homer, Ike lets the boys use his shop tools for their rockets before he's transferred underground, eventually dying in an accident at the mine. Baskin came into the role after making appearances in Moscow on the Hudson (1984), The Name of the Rose (1986), Love Affair (1994), Air Force One (1997), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), and hitting the small screen on St. Elsewhere, MacGyver, Northern Exposure, Mad About You, and Felicity.

Baskin continued to fill his extensive filmography with roles in Heartbreakers (2001), a turn as Mr. Ditkovich in the second and third installments of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2004 and 2007), Angels & Demons (2009), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), The Hive (2014), Supervized (2019), and I Love Us (2021). The USSR-born star has also had a prolific TV career, picking up gigs on Criminal Minds, Heroes, Rizzoli & Isles, Castle, Homeland, and Chicago Med.