What The Cast Of Training Day Is Doing Now

It's hard to believe, but Training Day hit theaters all the way back in 2001. The world was a simpler place then, but director Antoine Fuqua's crime thriller about the corrupt world of Los Angeles detective Alonzo Harris still feels remarkably relevant. 

But while the plot and writing of Training Day certainly are compelling, it's the tremendous cast that helps elevate it beyond many of the other "bad cops doing bad things" movies out there. A few of the film's actors were already big stars in 2001. However, many of the actors were still making names for themselves, and this gritty drama let them flex their acting chops in ways that we still talk about today.

And now, we're combing through the cast of Training Day to see what these actors and entertainers are up to today. Here are some of the projects they've done in the years since the dirty cop drama was first released.

Denzel Washington was a major player in Hollywood long before Training Day. The dude won his first Oscar for his role in 1989's Glory. That was a win for Best Supporting Actor, and Washington would get a Best Actor win for playing Detective Alonzo Harris in Training Day. 

Since then, Washington has continued his reign as one of the most desirable actors out there. In 2020, The New York Times called Washington the best actor of the 21st century so far, adding that there was "no hesitation or debate" about ranking him #1. Washington acts in a mix of major blockbusters and thoughtful, prestige roles, and it's very unlikely there's a movie fan out there who isn't familiar with his work. Since Training Day, you might've caught him in Man on Fire, American Gangster, The Book of Eli, Flight, Fences, and a whole lot more. In recent years, notable roles have included crime thriller The Little Things and Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Washington acts, he directs, he produces –- he's even won a Tony Award (for his performance in the stage version of Fences). He's tough to miss!

Like Denzel Washington, actor Ethan Hawke was already a well-known commodity when he landed his role as Officer Jake Hoyt in Training Day. Also like his co-star, Training Day significantly raised Hawke's stock in Hollywood. He was nominated for his first Oscar for the film, though he still hasn't taken home an Academy Award as of this writing. Considering the attention he receives, it seems doubtful that he'll be shut out for too much longer, especially as he's been nominated for four — twice for acting and twice for writing.

One of Hawke's biggest claims to fame is the incredibly long-running Before trilogy. He appeared in Before Sunrise in 1995, Before Sunset in 2004, and Before Midnight in 2013. He also co-wrote the second and third films, and the screenplays for both those films account for his Oscar nods. As for his acting, some of Hawke's most recognizable roles since Training Day include horror films like Sinister and The Purge, as well as Richard Linklater's 12-year epic, Boyhood.

Hawke's most recent roles seem like they were chosen more for being interesting than making him a star. For example, he played John Brown in the miniseries The Good Lord Bird, and he's added some indie films to his resume. He's also set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Moon Knight, alongside Oscar Isaac.

For many years, Scott Glenn was one of those classic "I know that guy!" actors. He's appeared in a number of blockbuster films and television series in around six decades of acting, and his role as Roger, the ex-cop turned drug dealer in Training Day, was yet another great performance from the veteran.

For many years, Glenn did most of his work on the big screen. Prior to Training Day, he had appearances in films like Backdraft, The Hunt for Red October, and The Silence of the Lambs. These days, he still shows up in movies, including his part as Ezra Kramer in The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Legacy and in disaster flick Greenland. However, Glenn's most noteworthy recent roles come from television.

Scott Glenn appeared on Netflix's Daredevil and The Defenders as Stick, who trained both Elektra and Matt Murdock. He also played Sheriff Pangborn on the Stephen King series Castle Rock and Kevin Garvey Sr. on The Leftovers. Even though Glenn's been appearing on-screen since the 1960s, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Tom Berenger is an extremely versatile actor, which actually works in his favor when he's cast in something like Training Day. Since he has experience in comedy, as an action hero, and as a villain, you have no idea which side of the fence his character, Stan Gursky, will fall on. Berenger has been acting on a professional level since the 1970s, and he continues to land interesting and major roles today.

Berenger's heyday was in the 1980s, when he had roles in huge films like Major League, The Big Chill, and Platoon -– the last of which got him his only Oscar nomination to date. Training Day kind of helped breathe some fresh air into his career, and one of his most recognizable roles came about a decade afterwards in Inception, where he played Browning, an executive who's impersonated by Tom Hardy's Eames. Other notable roles include Jim Vance in the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys and continuing to appear as Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films. He's appeared in six of the eight films in that franchise, including as recently as 2020 with Sniper: Assassin's End!

Eva Mendes was still relatively new to the Hollywood game when she landed her role as Sara, Alonzo's girlfriend, in Training Day. She was even being credited differently at the time, as the film was the last time she was listed under the slightly altered name "Eva Mendez." Training Day was a major role for her career, and she landed several blockbuster movies not long after.

Mendes has made quite a career out of action movie roles. She played Monica Fuentes in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and she's also had lead roles in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Ghost Rider, and The Other Guys, as well as dramas like The Place Beyond the Pines. She's also shown skill with comedy. Besides The Other Guys, she had a starring role in Hitch alongside Will Smith, and she's also appeared on Drunk History.

Mendes' last film role came in 2014, when she appeared in Lost River. The film was directed by her long-time partner, Ryan Gosling. Mendes and Gosling have two children together, and Mendes stepped away from acting after Lost River to focus on being a mom.

One of the most memorable scenes from Training Day involves Jake's visit to Smiley's house. As the young cop plays cards with Smiley and the other gathered criminals, he learns more about Alonzo and eventually realizes that he's not supposed to leave the house alive. Lucky for Jake, he saved Smiley's sister earlier in the film, so the would-be killer spares Jake's life. 

Smiley is played with charming nastiness by veteran actor Cliff Curtis, a man who's had success in TV and film. Curtis had regular roles on network television series like Trauma and Missing, and he also played Travis across multiple seasons of Fear the Walking Dead. Curtis can play intimidating and introspective alike, which has served him well in his film roles. You may have caught him over the years in Live Free or Die Hard, Risen, Sunshine, The Fountain, and many others.

After his time on Fear the Walking Dead, Curtis landed a number of high-profile roles. In recent years, he appeared in The Meg and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, and he starred alongside Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep. He's also been cast in the Avatar franchise as Tonowari.

One of the many, many criminals encountered in Training Day is a guy who only goes by the moniker "Sniper." Sniper is played by Raymond Cruz, who once said he drew on plenty of personal experience in playing members of the criminal underworld. However, Sniper isn't his only memorable character who flirts with the wrong side of the law.

One of Cruz's most recognizable roles is a small but important one. He plays the psychotic drug dealer Tuco Salamanca on Breaking Bad and its prequel, Better Call Saul. While he only has a handful of appearances across both shows, Tuco is an extremely important character who drives a lot of the action. However, Cruz has also shown up on the other side of the law, starring as Julio Sanchez on The Closer and its spinoff, Major Crimes.

Cruz also takes film roles, although his busy television schedule seems to have limited him in that regard. One notable recent film role came in The Curse of La Llorona, where he played Rafael, a former priest who helps fight an unholy terror.

Some actors find their niche and just run with it, and Noel Gugliemi is well aware of his typecasting. In a 2017 interview, he told Ditch the Label, "If you believe Google and search 'that Mexican guy in every movie,' you find me." He's exaggerating ... but not by much. Despite the fact that he only started acting professionally in 1999, Gugliemi has over 200 film and television credits to his name! 

Gugliemi appears as Moreno in Training Day, part of the gang that's tasked with killing Jake. But it's hard to pinpoint Gugliemi's most memorable roles, as he's appeared in so many things. He appears as Hector in several of the Fast and Furious films, Hector in the television series Fresh Off the Boat, Hector on the television series Retail, and Hector in multiple films that are currently in production. Essentially, if there's a character named Hector in something you're watching, it's probably Gugliemi.

Gugliemi also pops up in things as characters not named Hector (allegedly). Recent roles put him alongside actors like Clint Eastwood in The Mule and in director Rob Zombie's horror sequel 3 from Hell.

One of the biggest names in Training Day isn't even particularly known for his acting. Calvin Broadus Jr., better known as Snoop Dogg, plays the wheelchair-bound Blue in the film. He tips off Alonzo and Jake to a bigger catch after they shake him down.

Snoop Dogg is one of those celebrities who, at this point, is almost more famous for being famous than for any particular pursuit. His early fame came from his music, and that's spun into a career across a variety of different media and investment projects. He still regularly tours and releases music, though he's expanded into several other genres since his early days as a rapper. He even released a gospel album in 2018!

He also often appears in movies and television, sometimes as himself or exaggerated versions of himself. Notable recent roles have come in films like Dolemite Is My Name and The Beach Bum. He also popped up as himself in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run in 2020. Snoop also is (still) buddies and a regular business collaborator with — believe it or not – Martha Stewart.

Snoop Dogg isn't the only rapper who appears in Training Day. Andre Young, better known as Dr. Dre, also shows up in the film, playing a character named Paul. He's one of the crooked detectives who has the standoff with Jake when he tries to stand up for himself against Alonzo.

Dr. Dre does most of his work behind the scenes, as Training Day is one of his few on-screen appearances (not counting music videos). Other than his work as a rapper, Dre is probably best known as a music producer and entrepreneur. In 2014, he became "the richest man in hip hop" after Apple purchased the Beats headphone line that he created. He's also won seven Grammy Awards, some as a producer and some as a performer.

In 2015, Dr. Dre was a producer for the film Straight Outta Compton, and he also released an album tied to the film. He claims that it's his final album as a recording artist, though he's also said that about previous albums. Expect Dre to continue to be a major influencer as a producer, both in music and other media, in the coming years.

The cast of Training Day features plenty of musicians, and it includes Grammy-winner Macy Gray in a small but memorable role. Her character is credited only as "Sandman's wife," but she nearly gets Alonzo and Jake killed when they enter her home under false pretenses and steal a huge amount of money.

Macy Gray occasionally pops up in film and television, sometimes playing herself. After Training Day, you may have caught her in 2005's Domino or 2012's The Paperboy or in several smaller indie projects. In recent years, Gray popped up on an episode of Fuller House and an episode of The Real Housewives of Potomac.

But while you might catch Gray on the screen, music is still her primary focus. Her most recent studio album, entitled Ruby, released to much acclaim in 2018. She's also been featured on songs with a number of artists over the last few years, including Ariana Grande and Dolly Parton. Over her career, Gray has typically released new albums every two or three years, so it wouldn't be terribly surprising if she has something new in the works.

Peter Greene isn't even credited in Training Day, but he's definitely a memorable part of the film as Detective Jeff. He shows up in the standoff scene, where Jake steals Alonzo's gun and threatens to shoot him. He's the one bleeding on the floor during this particularly intense moment.

If you were watching a lot of movies in the 1990s, then Greene's villainous turns probably still stick with you. He played Zed in Pulp Fiction, one of the men who keep Marsellus Wallace prisoner in the basement of the pawn shop, and he also appeared as Dorian, the antagonist of The Mask. In more recent years, you may have caught Greene in any number of guest roles in shows like Chicago P.D., Hawaii Five-O, and Justified. Plus, he has a recurring role as Wild Bill in the series For Life. Finally, he still gets plenty of movie work, with his recent films including Tesla, Assassin's Vow, and City of Lies.