John Hughes’ teen comedy has an indelible lead trio in Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off cast: See where the stars of the enduring ’80s classic are now

John Hughes' teen comedy has an indelible lead trio in Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck.

By Madeline Boardman

Madeline Boardman

Madeline Boardman is a former digital features director at **. She left EW in 2017.

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April 4, 2026 11:00 a.m. ET

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Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck for 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. Credit:

*Ferris Bueller's Day Off* has endured as one of the defining teen comedies of the era. For that, we say "Danke Schoen."

Directed by John Hughes, the movie stars Matthew Broderick in the titular role of a high school slacker who plays hooky with his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara). Numerous fourth-wall-breaking hijinks ensue as the trio takes an eventful day trip to Chicago.

With Jason Klamm's book *Ferris Bueller…You're My Hero: The Story of the World's Most Famous Day Off* revealing new details about its production, let's take a moment to catch up with the cast and see where life took them after *Ferris Bueller's Day Off*.

Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller)

Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Matthew Broderick.

Early in his career, Matthew Broderick nabbed the coveted role of Ferris Bueller in 1986's *Ferris Bueller's Day Off*. Before that, he'd already been building momentum with a few movies and even a Tony win.

After *Ferris*, Broderick pursued a mix of films and stage work, including major hits like *The Lion King* (1994) *Election *(1999), and *No Hard Feelings* (2023), all while still crushing it on Broadway.

During a May 2023 appearance on *The Hollywood Reporter*'s *It Happened in Hollywood* podcast, Broderick said he and writer-director John Hughes would butt heads while filming the movie.

"I think he's somebody who took the work very seriously, is what I mean," Broderick explained. But he also didn't hold a grudge and knew how to get himself out of it and get us out of it. And we always end up having fun and always ended up never letting these fights last longer than a day or half a day."

Alan Ruck (Cameron Frye)

Alan Ruck as Cameron Frye in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Alan Ruck.

Ferris found his best friend in Cameron Frye, played by Alan** **Ruck. The young actor played the hypochondriac Detroit Red Wings fan after earning his first onscreen credit just three years prior in 1983's *Bad Boys*.

After that, he showed up in big movies like *Speed *(1994) and *Twister *(1996), and cultivated a whole new audience on TV with *Spin City* and *Succession*.

At one point, he got pretty sick of *Ferris Buller's Day Off*. During a 2021 episode of the *WTF With Marc Maron* podcast, Ruck admitted that when his career hit a rough patch, the movie became more frustrating than fun. "Things weren't going great. So, the *Bueller *thing got to be a pain in my ass when people would bring it up during that period and I would go, 'I'm done,'" he said.

Mia Sara (Sloane Peterson)

Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Mia Sara.

Newcomer Mia Sara earned her second onscreen credit for *Ferris Bueller's Day Off*, playing the leather jacket-wearing cool girl of Ferris' dreams. Sara made her debut just months prior, starring alongside Tom Cruise in 1985's *Legend*.

After playing Sloane, the actress continued her big-screen career in *By the Sword* (1991), *Timecop *(1994), and *The Life of Chuck* (2024). She also expanded her résumé with small-screen gigs, earning credits for *Queenie* in the '80s and *Birds of Prey* in the 2000s.

In 2025, Sara reflected on the beloved parade sequence in a chat with PEOPLE, noting the logistics of it all were especially "crazy."

"We would do the dance and then we'd get in a van and they'd drive us blocks away," she explained. "And the camera would go, and then we'd do the dance again and wait for Matthew to pass."

She continued, "It was just this crazy 'let's catch it as many times as we can.' So that was a great moment."

Jeffrey Jones (Ed Rooney)

Jeffrey Jones as Ed Rooney in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Jeffrey Jones.

Jeffrey Jones made a memorable turn in *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* as Principal Ed Rooney. He played the administrator with a mission to take down Ferris, after picking up previous credits for *Easy Money *(1983), *Amadeus* (1984), and *Transylvania 6-5000* (1985).

After *Ferris*, Jones starred in *Howard the Duck* (1986), *Beetlejuice* (1988), *The Crucible* (1996), *Sleepy Hollow* (1999), *Stuart Little* (1999),* Dr. Dolittle 2* (2001), and on episodes of *Deadwood *(2004–2006).

Jones' career was largely suspended in the 21st century following a 2002 arrest for possession of child pornography.

Jennifer Grey (Jeanie Bueller)

Jennifer Grey as Jeanie Bueller in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Jennifer Grey.

After making a name for herself in *Reckless *(1984) and *Red Dawn* (1984), Jennifer Grey landed the role of Jeanie Bueller in *Ferris Bueller's Day Off*. She played Ferris' sister, who is fed up with his constant shenanigans and the fact that he never gets in trouble for his misbehavior.

The year after the comedy hit theaters, Grey returned to the big screen in her most famous role to date: Frances "Baby" Houseman in 1987's Dirty *Dancing*. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for the gig and went on to star in *Bounce *(2000), *Redbelt *(2008), and the Oscar-winning *A Real Pain* (2024).

Grey also appeared on *Friends*, *Phineas and Ferb*, and *Red Oaks*. She also proved her dirty dancing was no fluke by winning the 11th season of *Dancing with the Stars*.

In 2022, she published a memoir, *Out of the Corner*.

Cindy Pickett (Katie Bueller)

Cindy Pickett as Katie Bueller in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Cindy Pickett.

Cindy Pickett joined *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* as Katie Bueller, Ferris' mother who sees no reason to be suspicious of her son.

She then booked gigs on *St. Elsewhere *and *Hyperion Bay*. Pickett also added to her big-screen credits, appearing in *Hot to Trot *(1988), *DeepStar Six* (1989), *Sleepwalkers *(1992), and *Son in Law* (1993).

Lyman Ward (Tom Bueller)

Lyman Ward as Tom Bueller in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Lyman Ward.

The counterpart to Pickett's Mrs. Bueller, Lyman Ward played Ferris' father, Tom Bueller (he was also married to Pickett from 1986 to 1992).

Ward joined *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* with more than a decade in the industry to his name, racking up credits for *Coffy *(1973), *Moscow on the Hudson* (1984), and *A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge* (1985), as well as episodes of *Laverne & Shirley* and *Dallas*.

After playing Mr. Bueller, Ward continued his small-screen work on *The Wonder Years*, *Melrose Place. *and *Murder, She Wrote*. Film credits include*The Beverly Hillbillies* (1993), *Independence Day* (1996), and *Rumor Has It* (2005).

He returned to onscreen acting seven years later with the 2022 indie film *In the Forest*.

Edie McClurg (Grace)

Edie McClurg as Grace in 'Ferris Buellers Day Off'; Edie McClurg.

Edie McClurg charmed in *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* as Grace, the assistant to Principal Rooney. The prolific actress re-teamed with Hughes in *Planes, Trains & Automobiles* (1987), *She's Having a Baby* (1988), and *Curly Sue *(1991), and worked with acclaimed filmmakers like Robert Redford (*A River Runs Through It*), Oliver Stone (*Natural Born Killers *(1994), and Diane Keaton (*Hanging Up*).

McClurg also became a familiar voice in animation, lending her talents to *The Little Mermaid *(1989), *A Bug's Life *(1998), *Cars *(2006), *Wreck-It Ralph *(2012), and Frozen (2013), among many, many others.

Charlie Sheen (Boy in Police Station)

Charlie Sheen as the boy in the police station in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Charlie Sheen.

Charlie Sheen may have charted limited screen time as the so-called "Boy in Police Station," but his *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* performance was still impactful.

During a 2025 appearance of the *All the Smoke *podcast, Sheen said he leaned into a method-style approach by staying up all night to look "fatigued" for the shoot. But he overslept and showed up hours later, which didn't sit well with Grey, who helped him get the role. Sheen later said that her irritation in their scene was completely real. "No acting involved," he joked.

From there, Sheen appeared in box office hits like *Platoon *(1986), *Major League* (1989), *Hot Shots!* (1991), and *Scary Movie 3* (2003) before finding small-screen success with his Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated turns on *Spin City* and *Two and a Half Men. *

Following some tumultuous years in his personal life, Sheen returned to television on *Anger Management* (2012–2014) and later on *Bookie *(2023–2024).

In 2025, his life and career were revisited in the Netflix documentary *aka Charlie Sheen.* It arrived alongside a memoir, *The Book of Sheen*, which details his experiences in Hollywood, 2015 HIV diagnosis, and journey to sobriety.**

Ben Stein (Economics Teacher)

Ben Stein as Ferris' economics teacher in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'; Ben Stein.

With the repeated uttering of one word, Ben Stein went from what could have been a forgettable minor character in *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* to one of the most memorable parts of the movie. He played an unnamed economics teacher, who coined one of the film's biggest lines when he monotoned "Bueller...Bueller...Bueller" while taking attendance for his class.

After *Ferris*, he appeared in *Planes, Trains & Automobiles *(1987), *Ghostbusters II* (1989), *Honeymoon in Vegas* (1992), *The Mask* (1994), and *Casper *(1995), and in episodes of *Charles in Charge* and *The Wonder Years*.

In 1997, Stein** **began hosting *Win Ben Stein's Money*, wrapping up the gig in 2002 and going on to earn credits for *Son of the Mask* (2005) and episodes of *The Fairly OddParents* and *Family Guy*.

Where can I watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?

*Ferris Bueller Day's Off *is currently available to stream on Paramount+.

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