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Independence Day was written in three weeks, pitched and approved in a few days and shot mostly in a few months. But despite its fast track, it's left a long legacy, upping the star power of leads including Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Vivica A. Fox and cementing a spot in pop culture history.
As the film celebrates his 27th anniversary on July 3, 2023, catch up with the cast, then and now.
Will Smith as Capt. Steven Hiller
The rapper and actor was already famous for his sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran from 1990 to 1996. Independence Day skyrocketed Smith, who played leading man Capt. Steven Hiller, to international stardom — despite initial pushback from the studio that he was "unproven," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Smith, a father of three, has continued to have a blockbuster career as both an actor and producer, with some of the Oscar winner's most notable roles including the Men in Black (1997–2012) and Bad Boys (1995–2020) franchises, along with Hitch (2005), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) — starring his real-life son, Jaden — and Aladdin (2019).
He won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard in 2022, though the big moment came minutes after he walked onto the stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock following a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The actor later apologized (though not to Rock) and was banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years.
Margaret Colin as Constance Spano
Colin's Constance Spano ran the show as White House Communications Director (and the ex-wife of David Levinson). A decade later, she'd be the girl-boss-in-charge once again as wealthy, absent mother Eleanor Waldorf on Gossip Girl (she reprised the role on the HBO Max reboot series). Colin has had roles in a few films and a number of TV series before and after her role in Independence Day, including Veep and Chicago Med.
Colin has been married to actor Justin Deas, who played her romantic interest in As the World Turns, since 1988. She shares two sons with Deas and is a stepmother to his daughter from a previous marriage.
Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson
Hirsch portrayed Levinson's dad, rabbi Julius Levinson, in the hit 1996 disaster movie. The Oscar-nominated star was already famous from his turn as Alex Reiger in the late-'70s series Taxi. Hirsch, who starred in 2019's Uncut Gems, has been acting since 1971, with an impressive amount of acting credits to his name, according to IMDb. In 2023, he became the Oscars' second-oldest acting nominee for his supporting role in Steven Spielberg's The Fablemans at age 87.
Hirsch has a son from his first marriage and a daughter and son from his second.
Bill Pullman as President Thomas J. Whitmore
As President Whitmore, Pullman gave an impassioned speech to his country before launching "the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind" (a speech so iconic, he parodied it for Budweiser in a 2021 ad to encourage people to get their COVID-19 vaccines).
He later reprised his role as the President of the United States in the 2016 sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence. In the two decades between, Pullman landed roles in a slew of films and a handful of TV series, including a role as Harry Ambrose on The Sinner.
Mary McDonnell as Marilyn Whitmore
McDonnell, who was previously known for her role as Dr. Eve Sheridan in E/R in the mid-'80s, portrayed First Lady Marilyn Whitmore in the 1996 film.
Climbing up the political ladder, she later became famous for her turn as President Laura Roslin in the 2004 series Battlestar Galactica. With roles in films like Donnie Darko (2001) and series such as The Closer and Major Crimes, McDonnell has racked up tons of acting credits throughout her decades-long career.
McDonell shares two children with actor Randle Mell, who she divorced in 2021.
Randy Quaid as Russell Casse
Quaid, who is the older brother of actor Dennis Quaid, had a wide-ranging career up through the early-2000s, with roles in major films including The Last Picture Show (1971) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), as well as a few appearances on Saturday Night Live.
After his turn as pilot Russell Casse in Independence Day, he went on to land a handful of other roles, most notably in 2005's Brokeback Mountain. He's since had a number of run-ins with the law, and had stepped out of the spotlight until a 2018 appearance in All You Can Eat.
Quaid has been married to wife Evi Motolanez, who he met on the set of Bloodhounds of Broadway, since 1989. He has one daughter, Amanda, from a previous marriage.
Mae Whitman as Patricia Whitmore
The actress was 7 when she was cast in the blockbuster film in the role of Patricia Whitman, the daughter of the president. "A lot of what I have memory-wise is running around in between takes, looking at the fake aliens and hiding in the spaceship," she recalled on EW's "Couch Surfing" in 2019.
She's continued to have huge acting success with roles on Arrested Development, Parenthood and Good Girls, but her role as Patricia was recast with Maika Monroe in the 2016 sequel — news which was not well-received at the time.
In 2021, Whitman talked to PEOPLE about her journey with endometriosis, a condition in which the uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus. "It's been a really long journey, but I just hate the fact that there are people out there that are struggling with this, and feel alone," said the actress.
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