Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck cannot believe it’s been 40 years since their coming-of-age classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” made them household names in 1986. Ruck, 69, called the passing of time “mind-boggling” as he and Broderick, 64, appeared on “Today” to talk about their new movie together on June 11, 2026 — exactly 40 years after “Ferris Bueller” hit theaters.
The duo will soon reunite onscreen for a new comedy, “The Best is Yet to Come,” playing close friends again who “embark on a bucket-list road trip after a huge misunderstanding,” per IMDb, “rushing to repair family relationships and embrace life while they still can.”
After four decades, working together again was “great,” Broderick told “Today,” and “like no time had passed.” He added, “I love working with him. He’s fun to talk to between (scenes), but you’re also good when you’re reading scripted dialogue.”
Forty years after charming high schooler Ferris Bueller skipped school with his girlfriend and bestie for a day of twisting and shouting and bonding in downtown Chicago, let’s take a look at what the cast has been up to and where they are now…
Matthew Broderick Has Stayed Busy Onscreen & On Broadway Since ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’
Broderick was already making waves in the entertainment industry when he starred in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” appearing in the 1983 cyber-thriller “War Games” and becoming the youngest actor to win a Tony for best featured actor in Broadway’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” per The Hollywood Reporter (THR).
While filming the movie, Broderick started dating Jennifer Grey, who played Ferris’ sister. They got engaged in 1988, but broke up later that year, per Woman’s World. Broderick famously went on to marry fellow actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1997 and the couple has three kids — son James Wilkie, 23, and twin daughters Tabitha and Marion, 16.
Broderick has gone on to have an illustrious career in film and theater, starring in classic movies like “Glory,” “Biloxi Blues,” “The Stepford Wives,” and “The Lion King,” voicing the adult Simba. He also won a second Tony in 1995 for “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and after his and Nathan Lane’s “The Producers” was such a hit on Broadway, they created a film version released in 2005. Broderick’s most recent roles have been on TV, in “Only Murders in the Building” and “Elsbeth.”
Alan Ruck Knew Matthew Broderick Before They Filmed ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’
Playing Ferris Bueller’s anxious teen friend Cameron Frye, Alan Ruck already knew co-star Broderick because they acted together on Broadway in “Biloxi Blues.” The next decade saw him steadily working in memorable movie roles, from playing a tourist in “Speed” to portraying Robert “Rabbit” Nurick in “Twister.” He then landed the role of sleazy Stuart Bondek on “Spin City,” appearing throughout the series run from 1996 to 2002, per THR.
But Ruck’s second big break came later in life, playing aspiring politician and wayward son Connor Roy in HBO’s hit series “Succession” from 2018 to 2023, even earning an Emmy nomination.
GettyRuck is also a dad of four. He and his ex-wife, Claudia Stefany, share daughter Emma and son Sam, but got divorced in 2005, per PopSugar. The actor later married Mireille Enos in 2008. They had daughter Vesper in 2010, and son Larkin in 2014.
Mia Sara, Who Played Ferris Bueller’s Girlfriend, Took a 14 Year Break From Acting
Mia Sara had appeared on “General Hospital” before she was whisked away by Ferris Bueller, playing his quiet, compassionate girlfriend, Sloane Peterson. She went on to appear in quite a few projects after that, from the miniseries “Queenie” with Kirk Douglas in 1998 to playing Jean Claude Van Damme’s wife in 1994’s “Timecop.”
But Sara took a long break from Hollywood, living in a 7th-century farmhouse in Suffolk, England, with her family, according to People. Her husband is filmmaker Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, and they share two kids — son Dashiell, 29, and daughter Amelia, 21.
GettyIn 2025, Sara reemerged after 14 years away from Hollywood to star with Mark Hamill in “Life of Chuck.” But it didn’t necessarily make her want to take on even more roles.
She told People at the time, “I read a lot of crime fiction. I cook a lot. I started (acting) when I was really young, and I met my husband, and I just felt like, ‘I kind of need to get a life.’ And I got a really, really good one.”
Jennifer Grey Says One Mistake Squashed Her Career for Years
Jennifer Grey’s portrayal of Ferris Bueller’s chronically iritated older sister Jeannie was unforgettable. But it wasn’t until the next year, 1987, that Grey became a household name by starring opposite Patrick Swayze in “Dirty Dancing.”
But two rhinoplasty surgeries on her nose in the 90s left Grey nearly unrecognizable and the subject of countless headlines, so she resorted to supporting roles and voicework. According to THR, she wrote in her 2022 memoir, “Overnight I lose my identity and my career.”
GettyGrey has continued to act, though, including starring in Amazon’s “Red Oaks” from 2014 to 2017. She was also married to fellow actor Clark Gregg from 2001 to 2020 (they even starred together in the 2006 Lifetime movie “Road to Christmas”). The former couple shares a daughter, Stella Gregg, who was born a few months after her parents got married, per People.
Ferris Bueller’s Parents Got Married in Real Life!
Ferris Bueller’s aloof and doting parents, played by Cindy Pickett, now 79, and Lyman Ward, met on the set of the movie and fell in love! In 2017, she told New Mexico Entertainment that they “eventually got married and had a couple of kids of our own,” adding, “When my son was around 8 years old, he turned to me after we had watched the movie a million and one times and said, ‘Mom, why didn’t you name me Ferris?’”
Pickett, 79, and Lyman, who turns 85 on June 21, continued their acting careers while raising a family, but divorced in 1992, according to TV Insider. They have been spotted together at fan conventions, though, including the one above in 2023. The photo of Pickett above with a fan is from 2025.
