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The Dead Man Walking Cast: Then & Now – Looper

In 1995, movie audiences were introduced to the grueling true story of “Dead Man Walking.” Based on the 1993 book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, the Tim Robbins-directed film adaptation stars Susan Sarandon as Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun who acts as a spiritual adviser to Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), who is on death row after having been convicted for the rape and murder of a teenage couple. Despite his heinous acts and the criticism she receives from the community, Prejean works tirelessly to better understand Poncelet and guide his spirit in the best possible direction before his end. 

“Dead Man Walking” saw great critical and commercial acclaim during its December 1995 release. The film brought in $83 million worldwide against an estimated production budget of $11 million. Critics were also fond of the drama, as evidenced by the film’s 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, with the site’s consensus reading, “A powerful, thought-provoking film that covers different angles of its topic without resorting to preaching, Dead Man Walking will cause the viewer to reflect regardless of their political viewpoint.” Additionally, it was nominated for three Academy Awards for best director, best lead actor, and best original song, winning a coveted golden statuette for Sarandon’s gripping lead performance. 

For those who may be unfamiliar with the ’90s crime drama, it may come as a surprise how many notable names pop up in the film. Let’s take a look at some of these talents and what they’ve been up to since the film’s release. 

Susan Sarandon has carried on Sister Helen’s fight against the death penalty

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While working on 1994’s “The Client,” Susan Sarandon came across Sister Helen Prejean’s book and made it her quest to get the film off the ground. It took some time to get her then-husband Tim Robbins to read and adapt the book, but she eventually succeeded in her mission and took a great deal away from the experience. “By the time I finished it, I knew the death penalty was wrong for so many reasons,” the “Thelma and Louise” star said in an interview with “Oprah’s Master Class.” “Sister Helen is a great example of a religious person who is all about loving the way Christ loved… because a person is bigger than their worst act.” The film earned Sarandon her first Academy Award for best lead actress following four prior nominations. 

Since the defining role, Sarandon has remained active in the industry, with roles in projects such as “The Lovely Bones,” “Rick and Morty,” and the superhero film “Blue Beetle.” She has also continued the fight against mass incarceration and the death penalty. In 2015, she and Prejean advocated for the life of Oklahoma convict Richard Glossip, who has been on death row since 1998. Believing that the system is as ineffective as it is inhumane, Sarandon has pushed for better allocation of these resources, telling People, “If that money were put to other use, you could have better education, and better infrastructure in this country.”

Sean Penn has continued an acclaimed career

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Sean Penn took on the challenging task of portraying death row inmate Matthew Poncelet in “Dead Man Walking.” While Poncelet was a fictional creation specifically made for the film, the character drew major inspiration from real-life murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, who both served as the main subjects of the book that the movie was based on. 

To prepare for the part, Penn visited Louisiana to study the accents of the state’s residents and even accompanied Prejean on prison visits to meet death row inmates. The experience of playing a murderer and rapist was nevertheless a difficult one for Penn, pushing the actor to his moral limit. During an interview with GQ, Penn said, “I remember thinking I don’t know that I want to do this anymore. Just felt really, really, really ugly.” The actor managed to overcome these hurdles, resulting in his first Oscar nomination for a lead performance. 

Along with continuing his directorial career with such acclaimed films as “The Pledge” and “Into the Wild,” Penn consistently delivered performances that were similarly applauded. His acting resume gained such notable titles as “21 Grams,” “The Tree of Life,” and “Licorice Pizza.” The 2003 Clint Eastwood-directed crime drama “Mystic River” brought Penn his first Academy Award win for best actor, followed by a second win for the 2008 biopic “Milk,” along with two additional nominations in the same category for 2000’s “Sweet and Lowdown” and 2002’s “I Am Sam.”  

Dead Man Walking was Peter Sarsgaard’s first movie role

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All great talents have to start somewhere. For actor Peter Sarsgaard, who is well-known now for his array of notable film and TV roles, it would be “Dead Man Walking” that marked his big screen debut. The film, his first after starring in a 1995 episode of “Law & Order,” saw Sarsgaard play teenager Walter Delacroix. Delacroix and his girlfriend Hope Percy (Missy Yager) meet an unfortunate demise at the hands of Matthew Poncelet and Carl Vitello (Michael Cullen).

Sarsgaard won worldwide acclaim for his portrayal of John Lotter, another killer sentenced to death, in the 1999 film “Boys Don’t Cry.” Following this and his first lead performance in 2001’s “The Center of the World,” Sarsgaard began accumulating numerous roles in both blockbuster and mid-budget productions. Along with starring in such big screen epics as “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Batman,” he has also gained a hearty reputation for biopics such as “Jarhead,” “Jackie,” and “Shattered Glass,” the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Additionally, he nabbed a Primetime Emmy nomination for his supporting performance in the 2021 Hulu miniseries “Dopesick.”

Jack Black became more well-known for a different style of performance

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It’s hard to imagine a world in which Jack Black isn’t the beloved icon we know him to be today. However, just as the actor was on the cusp of international recognition, he landed a role in “Dead Man Walking.” In the film, Black portrays Craig Poncelet, the brother of Sean Penn’s character, Matthew. Black’s role in the film is very minor, with his most substantial moment being a scene in which Matthew’s family members gather to bid him their final goodbyes.

It wouldn’t take long for Black to break through the Hollywood ceiling and find worldwide fame. After his breakout performance in the 2000 romantic comedy “High Fidelity” opposite John Cusack, Black quickly began to rack up numerous roles. While he has since starred in a handful of more dramas such as “King Kong” and “Bernie,” he has primarily been recognized for his bombastic approach to comedy, both through his film roles and music career. From headlining cult classics such as “School of Rock” and “Nacho Libre” to lending his voice to the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” it’s hard to not find some corner of the industry not touched by Black’s endless charm. In 1994, he and longtime friend Kyle Gass also formed the beloved comedy rock duo Tenacious D. 

Larry Pine became a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson

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Veteran actor Larry Pine portrayed the character of Guy Gilardi in “Dead Man Walking.” Prior to appearing in the film, he starred in a mix of cult and award-winning films such as the Sidney Poitier-directed “Hanky Panky,” the monster flick “Q The Winged Serpent,” and the critically acclaimed drama “Vanya on 42nd Street.”  

Since then, his catalog has gone on to include plenty of notable roles, primarily in television. Some of these roles include starring in episodes of “Law & Order,” “Oz,” “Gilmore Girls,” “House of Cards,” “Gotham,” and “Succession.” On the movie side of his career, Pine is perhaps best known for his several collaborations with writer and director Wes Anderson. Pine first starred in Anderson’s third feature “The Royal Tenenbaums” as TV host Peter Bradley, a similar part to his later appearance in 2004’s “The Door in the Floor.” From there, Pine would be a part of three other Wes Anderson movies with “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” and “The French Dispatch.”