Then and Now: The cast of 'School of Rock' 21 years later

Prior to rocking out and pretending to be Mr. Schneebly in "School of Rock," Jack Black already had an impressive career.

He'd been acting since 1984 and was known for films like "The Cable Guy" (1996), "High Fidelity" (2000), "Orange County" (2002), and "Ice Age" (2002).

The actor also starred on HBO's "Tenacious D," which chronicled a fictionalized version of his rock duo with Kyle Gass.

After "School of Rock," Black went on to star in major films like "King Kong" (2005), "Nacho Libre" (2006), "Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny" (2006), "The Holiday" (2006), "Tropic Thunder" (2008), the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, and the "Jumanji" reboots.

He's also made several TV appearances on shows like Fox's "The Simpsons," Nickelodeon's "iCarly," and HBO's "The Brink." 

Outside of acting, Black and Gass have released several Tenacious D albums and videos. The duo recently suspended their 2024 tour after Gass joked about an attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

In 2023 alone, Black appeared in Hulu's "History of the World: Part II," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and Disney+'s "The Mandalorian." 

In March, Black told Ireland's JOE he'd love to work on a "School of Rock" sequel but said that the original screenplay's writer, Mike White, might be too busy with his huge hit "The White Lotus."

Miranda Cosgrove played the precocious band manager Summer Hathaway in "School of Rock."

Her only acting credit before the film was a brief appearance on The WB's "Smallville."

After the movie, Cosgrove landed a leading role on Nickelodeon's "Drake and Josh" before starring on the network's "iCarly." 

She's also worked on movies like "Yours, Mine and Ours" (2005), the "Despicable Me" franchise, "3022" (2019), and "North Hollywood" (2021). 

Cosgrove has released albums and singles in between acting roles as well. 

The actor reprised her starring role in the recently canceled Paramount+ "iCarly" revival series and was a lead alongside Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt in Netflix's "Mother of the Bride" (2024).

Joey Gaydos Jr. played Zack Mooneyham, a shy student who's coaxed out of his shell to play guitar for the band. 

This was his only acting role. He went on to release a self-titled rock album in 2004.

He has also had a few legal troubles over the years. 

In 2009, Gaydos was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence at 17 years old. In 2019, he was arrested after he was accused of stealing several guitars in the state of Florida, authorities said at the time. 

He still makes music and released a few EPs in 2020, including "Dogtopia" and "Calm Weather." He regularly posts videos of himself playing guitar on Instagram.

Robert Tsai played Lawrence, the band's demure yet talented pianist.

"School of Rock" was Tsai's only acting credit.

After the film, he went on to study at Dartmouth College where he continued performing as a pianist.

Rivkah Reyes' first acting role was as bassist Katie in the film. They landed the role after playing classical bass on an episode of NPR's "From the Top."

Since "School of Rock," the actor has been open about experiencing the negative effects of child stardom. In a 2020 Medium article, they wrote about developing an eating disorder; turning to drugs, alcohol, sex, and self-harm; and attempting suicide. 

They said they entered recovery for alcoholism and addiction in 2018. 

After taking a hiatus from acting, Reyes moved to LA and started working for a skincare company while performing gigs. They also traveled as a stand-up comedian and competed on NBC's "Bring the Funny."

The actor went on to appear in several movies, including "Bad Animal" (2021), Lifetime's "A Picture Perfect Holiday" (2021), and "A Holiday I Do" (2023).

In recent years, Reyes hosted a podcast where they interviewed former child stars, gained a following on TikTok, and performed live play readings with Acting for a Cause.

Their latest acting credit was an episode of the OUTtv series "Off Shoot"  (2024). Reyes also continues to perform music and recently released a single titled "another vice."

Kevin Clark played Freddy Jones, a rebellious student who played drums for the band. 

"School of Rock" was Clark's only acting credit. 

After filming the movie, he pursued a full-time music career and drummed for Chicago-based bands Dreadwolf and Jess Bess and the Intentions. 

He also taught students at a local "School of Rock" location, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In 2021, Clark died at 32 after a driver hit him while he was riding his bike.

Costar Reyes recalled that Clark suggested the film's ending, with the band losing the contest but winning over the audience and getting to play an encore.  

Aleisha Allen played Alicia, one of the band's singers.

Before lending her vocals for the film, the actor voiced Sidetable Drawer on Nick Jr.'s "Blue's Clues." She also appeared in "The Best Man" (1999). 

After "School of Rock," Allen starred alongside Ice Cube in the family comedies "Are We There Yet" (2005) and "Are We Done Yet" (2007), and she appeared in "Young Adult" (2011).

Her last acting credit on IMDb is "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You" (2012).

In a shift from her acting career, Allen attended Pace University and Columbia University, and she's now a speech-language pathologist.

Maryam Hassan played Tomika, another one of the band's singers who surprised everyone with her powerful voice. 

Like many of the young stars, "School of Rock" was her only acting role. 

Since then, she's been working as a singer under the name Mayhrenate. Her latest song, from 2022, is called "Feel a Way."

In 2021, Hassan told Vulture that over a dozen members of the cast remained close.

"We have a group chat," she said. "We keep in touch pretty frequently and drop in our projects. I drop my music in, Miranda drops her acting projects in, stuff like that. Others have left the industry and talk about their families."

Caitlin Hale played Marta, the band's third singer. 

Hale voiced a character on two episodes of "Blue's Clues" before joining "School of Rock."

After the film, she left Hollywood and became a registered diagnostic medical sonographer and an OB-GYN ultrasound technologist.

Hale is also currently dating her "School of Rock" costar Angelo Massagli.

Brian Falduto played Billy, the fashion-forward costume designer for the band. 

"School of Rock" is one of the young actor's only credits on IMDb. After the role, Falduto said he was in denial about his sexuality. "I didn't come out until my senior year of college," he said on the "Cooper and Anthony Radio Show" in 2021.

He pursued degrees in theatre performance and arts administration at Wagner College before landing a number of off-Broadway and regional theater roles. 

He also launched a career as a country musician, releasing an EP in 2017 and an album in 2018. His most recent single, "Same Old Country Love Song," came out in 2023. Earlier this year, he covered Dolly Parton's "Why'd You Come Here Lookin' Like That." 

Outside of performing, Falduto is a life coach, primarily for LGBTQ+ individuals. He launched a podcast, The Gay Men's Self-Help Book Club, and The Gay Men's Mindfulness Collective.

He was also the first guest on Reyes' "Where Are We Now" podcast in 2021.

Cole Hawkins played Leonard in the movie, one of the students in the class. 

Before "School of Rock," he appeared in "Big Daddy" (1999), "Meet the Parents" (2000), and "Kate and Leopold" (2001).

But he wasn't a musician. "The only thing that they had taught us to play in a New York City public school was a recorder, so I faked it," he told Rolling Stone in 2023.

Hawkins went on to appear in NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie" (2005), and "The Water is Wide" (2006).

His last acting credit on IMDb was in 2006 on NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

Angelo Massagli played Frankie, another student in the class. 

Before "School of Rock," the young actor had a few film and TV credits, including CBS' "Cosby" and "Stuart Little 2" (2002). 

Between 2002 and 2007, he played Bobby Baccalieri Jr. on HBO's "The Sopranos." 

Massagli graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 2019 and works as a music product counsel for TikTok, according to his LinkedIn page. He is dating his "School of Rock" costar, Hale.

Before filming "School of Rock," Joan Cusack was well known for blockbusters like  "Addams Family Values" (1993), "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997), "Runaway Bride" (1999), and "Toy Story 2" (1999).

She also acted in "Working Girl" (1988) and "In and Out" (1997), both of which earned her Academy Award nominations for best supporting actress. 

On TV, Cusack had roles on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and ABC's "What About Joan?" before joining the cast of "School of Rock."

After the movie, she continued to star in family films like "Ice Princess" (2005), "Chicken Little" (2005), "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" (2008), the "Toy Story" sequels, and "Klaus" (2019). 

She also went on to roles in "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009), "My Sister's Keeper" (2009), "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012), "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" (2016), and "Instant Family" (2018).

Cusack also continued her TV career on Showtime's "Shameless," Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," and, most recently, Amazon Prime's "Homecoming" in 2020.

Mike White played Ned Schneebly, the friend and teacher that Dewey impersonates throughout the movie. He also wrote the film's screenplay.

Prior to "School of Rock," he wrote and appeared in movies like "Chuck and Buck" (2000) and "Orange County" (2002). 

Since the film, White has been a writer for several movies, including "Nacho Libre" (2006), "Pitch Perfect 3" (2017), and "Despicable Me 4" (2024).

He's also written for several TV series throughout his career, such as The WB's "Dawson's Creek," NBC's "Freaks and Geeks," HBO's "Enlightened" (which he also acted in), and Nickelodeon's "School of Rock" series. 

White recently won several Emmy Awards for his HBO series "The White Lotus."

Sarah Silverman played Patty Di Marco, Ned's responsible girlfriend. 

The comedic actor got her start writing and performing on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1990s before landing roles in films like "There's Something About Mary" (1998), "The Bachelor" (1999), and "Heartbreakers" (2001).

After "School of Rock," Silverman continued to work on TV, starring on Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program" and voicing characters on Fox's "Bob's Burgers."

She also worked on "Rent" (2005), "The Muppets" (2011), "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012), "A Million Ways to Die in the West" (2014), "Battle of the Sexes" (2017), "Space Jam: A New Legacy" (2021), and "Marry Me" (2022). 

Most recently, she returned to her cartoon role in "The Bob's Burgers Movie" (2022), starred in "Menorah in the Middle" (2022), and appeared in the 2023 Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro." 

This story was originally published on May 22, 2021, and most recently updated on November 19, 2024.