What Happened To The Fantastic Four 2005 Cast & What Do They Look Like Now?

It's been several years since Marvel's First Family first graced movie screen in 2005's "Fantastic Four," and, to this day, it's still the best live-action adaptation we've got. The Fantastic Four were first created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in the early 1960s, and ever since, they've been driving forces within the world of Marvel Comics. Unfortunately, they've not always had the best luck in live-action. Hopefully, the upcoming "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" will change that. But before the Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptations of these characters unite on the big screen, there's no time like to present to revisit the original Tim Story-directed picture.

Many of the "Fantastic Four" cast members have gone on to do some incredible things, but for some fans, they'll always be the original Fantastic Four. Even all these years later, many of these actors are still marked by their first Marvel roles, with Chris Evans even reprising his part as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch in 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine." With so many more old Marvel characters we'd like to see in The Multiverse Saga, there's no better time to reflect on what the original Fantastic Four and their allies have been up to.

The perfect Reed Richards-slash-Mr. Fantastic, there's no one better for the role than Ioan Gruffudd. But following "Fantastic Four" and its 2007 sequel, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," the actor took a step back from playing Marvel Comics superheroes. In the 2000s, Gruffudd also played abolitionist William Wilberforce in the 2006 historical drama "Amazing Grace" and British prime minister Tony Blair in the 2008 George W. Bush biopic "W." After other small parts in movies like "Sanctum" and "Horrible Bosses," Gruffudd starred opposite Toni Collette in the family comedy "Foster," before landing the role of Andrew Martin on the CW's short-lived mystery thriller, "Ringer."

From there, Gruffudd played the lead role of the strangely immortal Henry Morgan on the mystery drama "Forever," another short-lived series that aired on ABC between 2014-2015. In between guest appearances on various TV shows, smaller parts in feature films, and voice performances in DC Comics projects like "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" and "Justice League: War," Gruffudd returned to a leading role on the 2017 BBC thriller series "Liar," playing surgeon Andrew Earlham. In 2018, he starred as Dr. Daniel Harrow on the ABC medical drama "Harrow," which ran until 2021. Since then, he appeared on the 2022 miniseries "The Reunion" and as Lockwood in 2024's "Bad Boys: Ride or Die."

After playing Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, in both Fantastic Four films, Jessica Alba starred in early 2000s flicks like "Into the Blue," "Good Luck Chuck," "Valentine's Day," and frequent collaborator Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" as Sartana. She had a leading role in Rodriguez's 2011 "Spy Kids" sequel, "Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World," and returned as Sartana in 2013's "Machete Kills." After playing Nancy in the 2005 adaptation of Frank Miller's "Sin City," she reprised the role nearly a decade later in the 2014 sequel, "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For."  Throughout the 2010s, Alba was featured in movies like "Little Fockers," "Stretch," "Some Kind of Beautiful," "Mechanic: Resurrection," and as herself in the 2015 "Entourage" film. 

But after years of courting television with smaller guest roles and the "Spoils of Babylon" miniseries, Alba jumped to the small screen in 2019 for "L.A.'s Finest" as Nancy McKenna. This Spectrum Original "Bad Boys" spin-off series partnered Alba with Gabrielle Union, and both stars served as executive producers. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long. Alba has also headlined the 2024 Netflix thriller "Trigger Warning," on which she also serves as an executive producer. And lest we forget, the actress launched her own Roku-based reality TV series, "Honest Renovations," in 2023, with Lizzy Mathis. The pair help deserving families renovate their homes.

Of all the cast members from "Fantastic Four," Chris Evans is likely the one whose career most obviously "flamed on." After playing Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, in both Fantastic Four pictures, Evans continued to thrive in the superhero and sci-fi worlds, playing Casey Jones in 2007's "TMNT," Nick Grant in 2009's "Push," and Lucas Lee in 2010's "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (a role he'd revisit in 2023's "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off"). But everything changed for Evans when he was cast as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in Marvel Studios' "Captain America: The First Avenger." After 2012's "The Avengers," Evans played Cap in eight more MCU features (and Loki-as-Cap in "Thor: The Dark World"), becoming one of the most recognizable stars in the world.

But Marvel didn't get all of Evans' time. Over the years, he landed roles in the 2013 post-apocalyptic thriller "Snowpiercer," the 2017 family drama "Gifted," and the 2019 whodunit mystery "Knives Out." Following his send-off in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," Evans has expanded his influence into the streaming world with the legal thriller "Defending Jacob," a miniseries about a father (Evans) whose son is charged with murder. From there, he played himself in 2021's "Free Guy," voiced Buzz Lightyear in Pixar's "Lightyear," and headlined a Christmas-themed action flick with Dwayne Johnson in 2024's "Red One." But for Fantastic Four fans everywhere, the most exciting role Evans undertook was reprising his role as Johnny Storm as one of the many cameos in 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine," giving us one last "Flame on!"

Though Michael Chiklis' most notable superhero role was as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, in the two Fantastic Four films, his most famous role is as Detective Vic Mackey in the FX police drama "The Shield." Though Chiklis starred on "The Shield" before "Fantastic Four," the series didn't end until a few years after. Afterward, Chiklis headlined the Fantastic Four-inspired superhero comedy series, "No Ordinary Family," which only lasted a single season on ABC. Moving on from superheroes, he played Vincent Savino on "Vegas," Dell Toledo on "American Horror Story," and Nathaniel Barnes on "Gotham" (which, yes, is a DC Comics show) between 2012 and 2017. In the 2020s, he headlined "Coyote" on Paramount+, before recurring on shows like "Hotel Cocaine," "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty," and the Fox crime drama "Accused."

In addition to his television work, Chiklis made his way back to the big screen a few times over the years. He played the Defense Secretary in 2008's "Eagle Eye," Derrick in the 2013 crime drama "Pawn," Teddy Edison in the 2014 sports drama "When the Game Stands Tall," and Father Dave in Adam Sandler's "Hubie Halloween." Chiklis also voiced the DC Comics villain Deathstroke on the 2020 CW Seed series "Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons," which was later re-cut into a feature-length animated film. In addition to being an actor, Chiklis served as an executive producer on many of his projects, such as "The Shield," "No Ordinary Family," "Pawn," and "Coyote." He's also directed episodes of "The Shield," "Vegas," and "Accused."

Long before Robert Downey Jr. was cast to play Doctor Doom in the MCU, Julian McMahon thrived in the role of Victor Von Doom. But "Fantastic Four" wasn't the actor's only notable production. Like Michael Chiklis, McMahon was the star of his own FX series at the time the Marvel movies were made, specifically "Nip/Tuck," where he played Dr. Christian Troy opposite Dylan Walsh's Dr. Sean McNamara. After "Nip/Tuck" ended, McMahon appeared as Vice President Robert Stanton in the 2010 action thriller "Red," another (unrelated) Robert in Bruce Willis' firefighting thriller "Fire with Fire," and Liam in the 2014 drama "You're Not You."

Eventually, McMahon returned to television, landing recurring parts on "Full Circle," "Hunters," and "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency." In 2015, he appeared in the SyFy adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End" before returning to the Marvel Universe in 2017 for the Hulu Original "Runaways." But 2019 changed everything for McMahon when he nabbed the part of the FBI's "agent's agent" Jess LaCroix on CBS' "FBI." A backdoor pilot for "FBI: Most Wanted," McMahon was featured prominently on the spinoff during its first three seasons, even crossing over on "FBI: International." Unfortunately, McMahon's character was killed off in 2022, opening the door for him to appear in movies like "The Surfer" and "The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat" in 2024.

After playing Alicia Masters in the two Fantastic Four movies, Kerry Washington appeared in a handful of motion pictures, including "Woman in Burka," "Miracle at St. Anna," "Lakeview Terrace," and Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained." She even voiced Natalie Certain in "Cars 3." But easily Washington's most notable post-"Fantastic Four" role is as Olivia Pope on the Shonda Rhimes-produced "Scandal," which ran for seven seasons on ABC between 2012 and 2018. Washington also appeared as the character in two episodes of Rhimes' other series, "How to Get Away with Murder," in 2018.

Sticking mostly to television, Washington starred on and executive produced "Little Fires Everywhere," "Unprisoned," and the narrative podcast series "The Prophecy." In addition to a handful of producer credits, she has also directed episodes of "Scandal," "SMILF," "Insecure," and "Reasonable Doubt," the latter of which she also serves as an executive producer. But "Fantastic Four" wasn't Washington's only venture into the Marvel Universe. Back in 2010, she voiced Princess Shuri in the motion comic-inspired "Black Panther" miniseries, and we're still waiting for her to join the MCU all these years later.

Playing Doctor Doom's ill-fated assistant Leonard in only the first "Fantastic Four" was Hamish Linklater, whose career has exploded in recent years. Linklater famously played Matthew Kimble on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" before jumping back to the big screen in flicks like "Battleship," "42," and "The Big Short." Simultaneously, he continued to pursue television roles, playing Jerry Dantana in the 2nd season of HBO's "The Newsroom," Andrew Keanelly in the Robin Williams-led "The Crazy Ones," and Larue Dollard in the 3rd season of "Fargo." In 2017, he landed the role of Clark DeBussy on FX's "Legion," and appeared on episodes of "Monsterland," "The Stand," and "Tell Me Your Secrets" in the late 2010s.

But after a breakout performance as Father Paul on the 2021 Netflix horror series "Midnight Mass," Linklater became a hot commodity in the TV world. He appeared on miniseries such as "Angelyne," "Gaslit," and "Manhunt," and even voiced Batman-slash-Bruce Wayne in Prime Video's hit 2024 animated series, "Batman: Caped Crusader." But that doesn't mean Linklater left Marvel behind. In 2022, the actor reunited with Doctor Doom for the narrative podcast, "Marvel's Wastelanders: Doom," where he voiced the Spider-Man villain Sandman. In 2023 he wrote and directed his very own dramedy feature, "Downtown Owl," and in 2024, he appeared in the films "Nickel Boys" and "Barron's Cove."