The somewhat anti-Christmas crime comedy flick “Bad Santa” isn’t your typical festive movie, but it’s undoubtedly an absolute riot. Released on November 26, 2003, it starred Billy Bob Thornton as the eponymous professional thief who gets a job as a department store Santa Claus with the intention of robbing a mall on Christmas Eve.
Directed by Terry Zwigoff, its brilliant cast also includes the likes of Lauren Graham, Tony Cox, Bernie Mac, and John Ritter — and suffice it to say their lives and careers have taken a variety of routes in the 22 years since they appeared in the film.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the cast of “Bad Santa” as they were back then, compared to how they are now…
Billy Bob Thornton (Willie T. Soke)
Billy Bob Thornton was 48 and not long divorced from Angelina Jolie when “Bad Santa” hit theaters.
He had two decades of acting credits to his name at the time, including the likes of 1998’s sci-fi disaster movie “Armageddon” and 2001’s romantic drama “Monster’s Ball.” In 2003, he also appeared in another Christmas movie, “Love Actually,” in a minor role as the American president (per IMDb).
GettyThornton is now 70 and still landing roles regularly. His most recent movie credit came in 2024, when he appeared as himself in the musical comedy “Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties.” However, he also plays the leading role of Tommy Norris in the ongoing Paramount+ neo-Western drama series “Landman.”
GettyTony Cox (Marcus Skidmore)
Tony Cox played Marcus Skidmore, Willie’s assistant thief, in “Bad Santa.” He was 45 at the time of its release.
Cox had over two decades of acting experience prior to his role in the festive flick, with his most recent big screen credit before it being 2000’s slapstick black comedy “Me, Myself & Irene” (per IMDb).
GettyHe is now 67 and stepped away from acting in 2016. Initially, it was a temporary move to recover from hip surgery, but Cox ultimately decided it was for good.
His most recent acting credit was actually the sequel to “Bad Santa,” “Bad Santa 2,” which released in November of 2016.
GettySince Cox stopped taking on acting roles, very few photos of him are publicly available. However, he’s still active on social media and uploads videos with himself in them fairly regularly.
Lauren Graham (Sue)
Lauren Graham played Sue, a bartender with a fetish for Santa Claus, in “Bad Santa.” She was 36 when it released in theaters.
Graham wasn’t new to acting at the time, but most of her credits had come on the small screen. Of the handful of movies she’d appeared in before “Bad Santa,” the most recent was the 2002 rom-com “The Third Wheel,” in which she had a minor role (per IMDb).
GettyNow 58, Graham has appeared in many more films since “Bad Santa” — including a few more festive offerings.
The most recent Christmas movie she was in was 2024’s comedy-drama “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” and her most recent big screen credit in general was 2025’s black comedy “Twinless.”
GettyBretty Kelly (Thurman Merman)
Brett Kelly was a 10-year-old child actor when “Bad Santa” came out. He played the friendly but incredibly gullible Thurman Merman in the film.
It was only his fifth acting credit, with the most recent one before “Bad Santa” being the 2002 comedy flick “Cheats” (per IMDb).
GettyKelly is now 32 and isn’t what you might call a prolific actor. He is also known to be very private, so there aren’t all that many pictures of him available.
GettyThat being said, he does currently play a recurring character — paralegal Cecil Patterson — in the Global legal comedy-drama television series “Family Law.”
Lauren Tom (Lois Skidmore)
Lauren Tom played Lois Skidmore, Marcus Skidmore’s wife, in “Bad Santa.” Her character worked as Willie and Marcus’ getaway driver. Tom was 42 at the time of the film’s release.
She had enjoyed a career spanning over 20 years at the time, with many roles on both the big and small screens. Her most recent movie credits before “Bad Santa” included 2001’s comedy-drama “Jack the Dog” and 2003’s comedy-drama “Manhood.” (per IMDb).
GettyNow 64, Tom is still acting regularly. Her most recent movie role was in 2023’s romantic comedy-drama “One True Loves,” but she has an ongoing recurring voice role as Helen Cho in the animated Marvel superhero series “Iron Man and His Awesome Friends.”
GettyBernie Mac (Gin Slagel)
Comedian and actor Bernie Mac played mall security chief Gin Slagel in “Bad Santa.” Mac was 46 when the movie release in theaters.
The popular star had enjoyed a fruitful movie career with some memorable credits to his name. His three most recent credits before “Bad Santa” were 2001’s heist comedy “Ocean’s Eleven,” 2003’s political comedy “Head of State,” and 2003’s action spy comedy “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (per IMDb).
GettyTragically, Mac passed away on August 9, 2008, at the age of just 50. He had severe sarcoidosis and was in hospital being treated for pneumonia. There he went into cardiac arrest and never recovered.
Between the release of “Bad Santa” and his tragic passing, Mac’s credits included the sequels “Ocean’s Twelve” and “Ocean’s Thirteen,” in 2004 and 2007, respectively, and sci-fi action movie “Transformers” later in 2007.
Three of his movies were also released posthumously. They were 2008’s animated adventure comedy sequel “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” 2008’s musical comedy “Soul Men,” and 2009’s comedy “Old Dogs.”
GettyJohn Ritter (Bob Chipeska)
John Ritter played prudish mall manager Bob Chipeska in “Bad Santa.”
The hugely likeable actor had enjoyed a 35-year career and his most recent movie roles before playing Bob included 2002’s black comedy “Man of the Year” and 2003’s comedy-drama “Manhood.” (per IMDb).
GettySadly, Ritter passed away on September 11, 2003. He fell ill while rehearsing for the sitcom “8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenage Daughter” and later passed away from an aortic dissection, despite surgical attempts to save him. He was only 54 and would have been 55 had he been around for “Bad Santa’s” release.
Ritter’s final three movies were all released posthumously. They were “Bad Santa,” the 2004 animated adventure comedy “Clifford’s Really Big Movie,” and the 2006 animated Western television film “Stanley’s Dinosaur Round-Up.”
May John Ritter and Bernie Mac both rest in peace.
Remember, if you’re looking for a Christmas movie with a difference this year, the hilariously vulgar “Bad Santa” is always a brilliant option.
Loved this crazy funny Christmas story. The cast was superb!! But Billy Bob Thortin was the best. He should have gotten another Academy Award for his exteremly funny part. This movie had me in stitches fromm beginning till end!!!!