The Cast of “Little Shop of Horrors”: Where Are They Now?

More than 35 years after the film first premiered, see what the cast of 1986's 'Little Shop of Horrors' is up to today

The story of Little Shop of Horrors has taken many forms.

According to The New York Times, in 1979, composer Alan Menken and playwright Howard Ashman came together to create the story many of us are familiar with today, based on a 1960 film of the same name. That version started with an off-off-Broadway production, that turned into an off-Broadway production, before it became the 1986 film starring Rick Moranis.

The story continues to stand the test of time as there is currently an Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors running in New York City, starring Corbin Bleu and Constance Wu.

Now, more than 35 years after the 1986 film premiered, here's a look back at the stacked cast of actors who stepped into the iconic roles.

Rick Moranis as Seymour

When Rick Moranis stepped into the role of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, the actor already had years of experience under his belt after first being featured on Second City Television (SCTV) in 1980. He appeared on the sketch comedy show dozens of times while also landing roles in films like Ghostbusters and Strange Brew.

After 1986’s Little Shop, the roles kept coming for Moranis including iconic films like Spaceballs, Ghostbusters II, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Parenthood — all before the end of the decade. He appeared in a few more films in the '90s including the Honey sequels, The Flintstones and Big Bully.

In the late '90s, though, Moranis decided to take a step back from his work as an actor following the tragic death of his wife Ann Belsky from breast cancer in 1991.

“I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people,” he said in 2015 of the decision to focus on being present for their two children. “I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me.”

He added, “I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful.”

In 2020, it was announced that Moranis would be making his live-action film return after more than 25 years for an upcoming Honey reboot titled Shrunk, which is yet to be released. In the same year, Moranis also starred in a Mint Mobile ad alongside Ryan Reynolds and was featured on an episode of the Disney+ docuseries Prop Culture.

Ellen Greene as Audrey

Ellen Greene had appeared on the screen and on stage before she landed the on-screen role of Audrey in the 1986 film — including both the Off-Off and Off-Broadway productions.

After the film, Greene continued to act, landing roles in Broadway’s Three Men on a Horse in 1993 and a 2015 production of Little Shop opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.

On the big screen, she appeared in films like Talk Radio, Pump Up the Volume, Stepping Out, Léon: The Professional and The Cooler. On television, Greene had one-off roles on shows like The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Law & Order and The X-Files, as well as recurring roles on Out of Jimmy’s Head, Pushing Daisies and The Young and the Restless.

Most recently, Greene appeared in the 2019 film The Untold Story.

Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik

Prior to landing the role of Mushnik in the film, Vincent Gardenia had already won a Tony Award for his performance in 1972’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue as well as an Oscar nod for 1973’s Bang the Drum Slowly.

After Little Shop of Horrors, Gardenia landed another Oscar nomination for his performance in 1987's Moonstruck and scored an Emmy Award for his role as Michael Aylott in HBO’s Age-Old Friends.

The actor died in 1992 at the age of 71, per The Washington Post, while he was slated to appear in the play, Breaking Legs in Philadelphia.

Levi Stubbs as Audrey II

Many were already familiar with Levi Stubbs’ voice when he lent it to the film as the voice of Audrey II — the blood-thirsty plant — as he was the lead singer of The Four Tops starting in the 1950s. The original four men, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, performed together into the 1990s, up until one of their members, Lawrence Payton, died in 1997, per the Motown Museum.

Following Little Shop, in addition to his work in the quartet, he also landed a recurring voice role on Captain N:The Game Master.

Stubbs died in 2008 at the age of 72 at home in Detroit, per The New York Times. At the time of his death, he and his wife Clineice had been married for 48 years and he was a father of five and grandfather to 11, the outlet reported.

Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello

Steve Martin has worn many hats over the course of his decades-long career. He first rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a television writer for shows like The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. He later became a successful stand-up comic and became a frequent host of SNL. The same year he played dentist Orin Scrivello in Little Shop, he also starred in and co-wrote Three Amigos! where he would meet his now longtime friend and current Only Murders in the Building costar Martin Short.

In 1987, he appeared on Planes, Trains and Automobiles alongside his Little Shop cast mate John Candy and later earned parts in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood, Father of the Bride and Cheaper by the Dozen. In addition to his accomplishments on the screen, Martin has released several albums as a banjo player, written multiple fiction and non-fiction books and has had two Broadway-produced works.

The Hollywood legend has won numerous accolades over the years including five Grammy awards, an Emmy Award and an honorary Oscar in 2013.  In 2005 he was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and in 2007 received the Kennedy Center Honors.

Martin married writer Anne Stringfield in 2007 and in 2013, the couple welcomed a daughter, Mary Martin.

Jim Belushi as Patrick Martin

Jim Belushi’s career kicked off in the 1970s with roles on shows like Working Stiffs, Who’s Watching the Kids and after working with Second City, he became a Saturday Night Live cast member in 1983. In addition to Little Shop, Belushi appeared in multiple films in 1986, including Jumpin’ Jack Flash and About Last Night.

In the years that followed, Belushi racked up roles including Red Heat, K-9, Retroactive and starred on the 1997 series Total Security. After the turn of the new millennium, Belushi continued to appear on television and film including the titular role on all eight seasons of According to Jim from 2001 to 2009.

More recently, Belushi led a Discovery series titled Growing Belushi, which was filmed in southern Oregon and chronicled discoveries in the medicinal cannabis industry as well as a look at Belushi’s own journey with his marijuana farm.

In 2018, after almost 20 years of marriage, Belushi’s wife, Jennifer Sloan, filed for divorce from the actor though just over a year later, Belushi requested that the divorce be dismissed. Despite the back and forth, Belushi filed for divorce in 2021.

The pair share two children together and Belushi is also a father to a son from his first marriage to Sandra Davenport.

John Candy as Wink Wilkinson

Before Moranis made his way onto SCTV, John Candy was a mainstay on the sketch comedy show in the late 1970s and again in the early 1980s. In 1980, he played Burton Mercer in The Blues Brothers alongside Belushi’s older brother, John Belushi. After Little Shop, the beloved actor reunited with Steve Martin in 1987’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles and that same year, starred in Mel Brooks’ SpaceBalls with Moranis.

He later landed roles in films like Uncle Buck, Home Alone, Nothing But Trouble and Delirious. Candy died in 1994 at the age of 43 of a heart attack while filming Wagons East in Durango, Mexico. His last billed role, per IMDB, was 1995’s Canadian Bacon.

In 2022, it was announced that Ryan Reynolds and Colin Hanks (whose dad, Tom, worked with Candy in the 1980s) were working on a documentary about the actor with the blessing of his two children, Christopher and Jennifer, whom he shared with wife, Rosemary.

Bill Murray as Arthur Denton

Bill Murray first appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1977 after being featured on the National Lampoon Radio Hour in 1975, per Britannica. The iconic comedic actor went on to star in films like Meatballs, Caddyshack, Tootsie and Ghostbusters before landing the role of Arthur Dent in Little Shop. The roles didn’t stop coming for Murray who later directed and starred in 1990’s Quick Change, appeared in Groundhog Day, Ed Wood and Wes Anderson’s Rushmore — all before the turn of the century.

In 2001, he reunited with Anderson for the first of many times for The Royal Tenenbaums before his performance in 2003’s Lost in Translation earned him an Oscar nod and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, Murray was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

In recent years, Murray has made cameos in both the 2016 and 2021 Ghostbusters remakes. He also appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earlier this year.

Murray is dad to six sons: two of whom he welcomed with his first wife, Margaret Kelly, and four whom he shares with his second wife, Jennifer Butler — though the couple split in 2008 after 10 years of marriage.

Tichina Arnold as Crystal

Tichina Arnold’s role in Little Shop marked the actress’ first big screen credit after amassing a few credits in the early '80s on the silver screen. After her role as one of the three narrators in the 1986 flick, Arnold booked numerous roles including recurring characters on Ryan’s Hope from 1987 to 1989, All My Children from 1990 to 1991, before landing her breakout role as Pamela James on Martin from 1992 to 1997.

She would once again showcase her comedy prowess as Rochelle in Everybody Hates Chris, before snagging roles in Happily Divorced, Survivor’s Remorse and most recently, The Neighborhood, where she's played Tina Butler since 2018.

In 2022, Arnold filed for divorce from Rico Hines, six years after the pair first separated following their 2012 nuptials. Before her marriage to Hines, Arnold was married to heavyweight boxing Lamon Brewster. She shares an adult daughter, Alijah Kai, with music producer Carvin Haggins.

Tisha Campbell as Chiffon

Tisha Campbell also found her first big screen role in the 1986 film as one of the three narrator roles alongside Arnold and Michelle Weeks. After Little Shop, Campbell landed a role in the TV series, Rags to Riches and in 1990 appeared in the film, House Party.

Following a few more roles on film and TV, Campbell landed the role of Gina Waters on Martin — where she also reunited with Little Shop co-star and BFF — Tichina Arnold. Since the show wrapped in 1997, she’s continued to stack her resumé with roles in My Wife and Kids from 2000 to 2005, Everybody Hates Chris (another reunion with Arnold!), Rita Rocks, Dr. Ken, Outmatched, Uncoupled and most recently, she's lent her voice to Harley Quinn and Patheon.

Campbell wed Duane Martin in 1996 and welcomed two sons,  Xen Whaheed, and Ezekiel Czar, before splitting up in 2018.

"I was married for over 20 years and out of that I was blessed with two AMAZING kids. Beyond that, l’m the happiest I’ve ever been," Campbell said in a statement provided to PEOPLE in 2020 when the couple’s divorce was finalized.

Michelle Weeks as Ronette

Michelle Weeks' first screen credit was as Ronette, one of the three narrators, in the 1986 film. After that, Weeks' only other screen credit was in a TV movie titled Norman's Corner in 1987, per IMDB. According to the website, before Little Shop, she also appeared on Broadway in The Tap Dance Kid.

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