The Cast of “Thelma & Louise”: Where Are They Now?

Catch up with the stars of the 1991 buddy crime classic

The last the world saw of best friends Thelma and Louise, the pair was sharing a kiss before driving their Ford Thunderbird off a cliff.

Over the years, the 1991 buddy crime drama Thelma & Louise has become a classic, with praise specifically directed toward Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis’ performances. Upon release, the Ridley Scott-directed film garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing $45 million domestically. At the 1992 Academy Awards, both Sarandon and Davis received Best Actress nominations — the most recent film to have two actresses earn nods in the category. That year, scriptwriter Callie Khouri picked up an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

The cast features names who would become mainstays of the entertainment industry, including Sarandon, Davis, Harvey Keitel and then-rising star Brad Pitt.

This year, at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut, Davis and Sarandon will team up again for a panel. At the convention, held in the Connecticut Convention Center, the leading ladies will also hold a fan meeting, sign autographs and pose for photos, along with the stars of other beloved series and movies from the era.

Here, catch up with the stars of Thelma & Louise, then and now.

Susan Sarandon as Louise Sawyer

Susan Sarandon played the quick-witted and prickly Louise Sawyer, a diner waitress who is dating an absent musician at the film’s outset. Louise serves as the catalyst for a run of crimes after she shoots Harlan Puckett (Timothy Carhart) and escapes with Thelma.

Already a well-known name in film, Sarandon notched her second nomination for Best Actress with the film, her first coming in 1981 for the crime romance Atlantic City. She later won her first Oscar in 1996 for Dead Man Walking.

Reuniting with Davis and Khouri for the film’s 30th anniversary in 2021, Sarandon recalled improvising the memorable kiss that closes out the film.

“I just felt by that time that they were finishing each other’s sentences and that they loved each other and this was a big moment and the sun was going down. We had one take because they spent all day with the helicopters and everything else,” Sarandon said at a Q&A with The Hollywood Reporter during the drive-in screening. “It just felt right … it was just an intuition thing.”

Now 77, the actress has three children, Eva Amurri, 38, John Henry, 34, and Miles Robbins, 31. She has roles in three films currently in post-production: war drama Six Triple Eight and comedies Nonnas and The Fabulous Four.

Geena Davis as Thelma Dickinson

As Thelma Dickinson, Geena Davis garnered praise for carrying out her character’s emotional arc from disrespected housewife to bold criminal. By the time Thelma and Louise are about to fly off the Grand Canyon, Davis’ character is confident enough to tell Louise to “keep going.”

She previously won Best Supporting Actress in 1989 for her role in The Accidental Tourist but earned her first — and to date, only — nod for Best Actress for Thelma & Louise.

Speaking with THR for the film’s 30th anniversary in 2021, the Beetlejuice actress said Thelma & Louise "changed everything about how I chose roles moving forward."

Davis explained, “Thelma and Louise end up driving off a cliff, and still viewers felt exhilarated by their story. It made me realize how few opportunities we give women to come out of a movie feeling inspired and empowered by the female characters.” Partly inspired by the timeless feminist themes of the film, she later founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media to promote and research inclusion in entertainment and media.

At 68, she is mom to three kids with ex Reza Jarrahy: daughter Alizeh Keshvar and twin sons Kaiis Steven and Kian William. She is set to appear in the Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie-led thriller Blink Twice, out Aug. 23, 2024.

Harvey Keitel as Detective Hal Slocumb

Harvey Keitel’s character in Thelma & Louise was a departure from his usual archetype as the “tough guy.” In the film, he portrayed a sympathetic detective trying to coax Thelma and Louise into surrendering.

Throughout his nearly 60-year career, the Taxi Driver actor has become known for his morally ambiguous characters. He often collaborates with Martin Scorsese, starring in six of the director’s films including 1973’s Mean Streets, 1988’s The Temptation of Christ and 2019’s The Irishman. He earned his only Oscar nomination in 1992 for Bugsy, losing Best Supporting Actor to Jack Palance.

A 2012 Vanity Fair article documenting Thelma & Louise’s production detailed how director Scott roped Keitel into the role. “I said, ‘Come on, you get to play a good guy for a change.’ Harvey said, ‘Arrgh.’ I said, ‘Stop f---ing about. Do it.’ He said, ‘O.K.’ ” Scott recalled.

He had a fraught marriage with Lorraine Bracco that ended in 1993; he later married Canadian actress Daphna Kastner in 2001. Keitel has three children: Stella with Bracco, Hudson with ex Lisa Karmazin and Roman with Kastner. At 84 years old, he has three action-thrillers in the pipeline.

Michael Madsen as Jimmy Lennox

Michael Madsen’s Jimmy Lennox was Louise’s easygoing boyfriend, a musician on the road most of the time. The last viewers see of Jimmy is when Louise turns down his surprise proposal and abandons him in favor of Thelma.

The actor has frequently worked with Quentin Tarantino, appearing in four of his films: 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, 2004’s Kill Bill: Volume 2, 2015’s The Hateful Eight and 2019’s Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood. Over his 42-year career, Madsen has collected more than 300 acting credits across film, television, music videos and video games.

Madsen, 65, has five children from three different relationships; he is dad to Divergent actor Christian Madsen, whom he shares with ex-wife Jeannine Bisignano.

Christopher McDonald as Darryl Dickinson

Opposite his former fiancée Davis, who left him for Jeff Goldblum in 1985, Christopher McDonald took on the role of Thelma's controlling husband Darryl. In a 1992 interview with the Los Angeles Times, McDonald called the experience “great” and “really cathartic.”

Since Thelma & Louise, the prolific actor has amassed dozens of film and television credits — most notably as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore (1996) and casino owner Marty Ghilain on HBO Max’s Hacks. For the latter, he earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.

He married Lupe Gidley in 1992 after meeting her during a New Mexico theater production. Together, they have four children.

Stephen Tobolowsky as FBI Agent Max

Stephen Tobolowsky had a minor role as Max, an FBI agent on Det. Slocumb’s team tracking down Thelma and Louise. He has been active in the industry since 1975 and accumulated an eclectic portfolio as a character actor, with roles like insurance agent Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day (1993) and amnesiac Sammy Jenkins in Memento (2000).

The Deadwood actor also appearances in Glee, One Day at a Time, The Goldbergs and The Mindy Project. From 2009 to 2021, he hosted a podcast called The Tobolowsky Files, in which he told “true stories about love, life and Hollywood” from his career.

Tobolowsky is married to actress Ann Hearn, who appeared alongside Jodie Foster in the 1988 legal drama The Accused. Together they have two children.

Brad Pitt as J.D.

When he signed on to Thelma & Louise, Brad Pitt hadn’t yet become a household name. Playing the charming J.D., Pitt seduces Thelma to swindle her out of all her savings. The role gave his career momentum, and he would later have a string of critically acclaimed films that brought him to A-list status, including 1994’s Interview with the Vampire opposite Tom Cruise and 1995’s Seven.

His box office power as a leading man translated into the 21st century, and he starred in blockbusters like heist thriller Ocean’s Eleven in 2001 and historical epic Troy in 2004. Pitt has received four acting nominations at the Oscars, winning Best Supporting Actor in 2020 for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood.

In a 2023 interview with W Magazine, the Mr. & Mrs. Smith actor called Thelma & Louise his “entry into the big leagues.” He cited Sarandon and Davis as the reason the film has stood the test of time.

Pitt, 60, has stepped behind the camera in recent years as an executive producer on critical darlings like 2022’s Women Talking and 2020’s Minari. He will star opposite George Clooney in the psychological thriller Wolfs, expected Sept. 20, 2024, as well as an untitled Formula One drama directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun).

Following his divorce from Angelina Jolie in 2019, the actor has been seen with Ines de Ramon since November 2022. Jolie and Pitt share six children together.

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