Flying can be a scary ordeal for many people for a variety of different reasons: fear of heights, claustrophobia, lack of control of the situation, etc. For one particular high schooler in 2000's Final Destination, he was afraid to fly with his classmates due to a premonition he had while waiting for people to finish boarding the plane. Alex Browning woke up from a very realistic nightmare where his plane crashed midair, and everyone inside it died. After an understandable panic attack, he and a few other students were escorted from the plane for causing a scene. While in the terminal, they watch their plane burst into flames after it takes off. The survivors then have horrible and deadly experiences due to their destiny being changed.
The premise of this film, along with the other four (soon to be five) that follow, is terrifying because it poses the idea that there is a natural order to things, and one's destiny is predetermined. When someone or something messes with that, a force will come to rectify the situation. The five films have people second-guessing planes, wood-carrying trucks, roller coasters, bridges, and many other seemingly normal things.
Now that society has a debatably healthy fear of so many things due to this series, we should give credit where credit is due. Check out where the Final Destination cast is today, from the original 2000 film, and what they have done since their time spent running from supernatural forces.
Devon Sawa
Devon Sawa managed to strike fear into audiences when his character, Alex Browning, had a premonition — that came true — about his flight exploding during takeoff. Luckily for Sawa, destiny and fate seem to be on his side when he is away from the franchise. Before Final Destination, Sawa was best known for playing the human form of Casper and Christina Ricci's character's love interest in the 1995 film Casper. He was also notably in Now and Then, Wild America, and Idle Hands. As Sawa grew up, he stepped away from the "boyish charm" characters. He earned a main role on The CW television series, Nikita, he starred in Somewhere Between, and his filmography includes A Resurrection, The Exorcism of Molly Hartley, Punk's Dead, and Hunter Hunter.
Sawa's latest works include Gasoline Alley where he plays an ex-convict tattoo artist who gets wrapped up in some murder cases and a mystery drama film entitled Who Are You People. There is some talk about his interest in being the next Freddy Kruger, but nothing is official yet.
Ali Larter
Before Ali Larter was known as Clear Rivers, who is quite possibly the most level-headed character in the Final Destination series, she was the "it girl" who pulled off the hoax of a lifetime with Esquire. Larter had been a model for a number of years, when she was recruited to pose as a fictional woman named Allegra Coleman who had plenty of scandalous headlines surrounding her cover picture. After the prank was revealed, Larter landed films like Drive Me Crazy, Varsity Blues, and House on Haunted Hill.
She played Clear for the first two Final Destination films, and she has kept a steady flow of work in the industry. Many will recognize her from three of the Resident Evil films or her main role in the NBC television series Heroes. Most recently, Larter starred in the neo-Wester crime-thriller film The Last Victim, and she was a part of the political satire film, The Hater.
Seann William Scott
Before Seann William Scott was the lovable nerd Billy in Final Destination, he was known as "The Stifmeister" in American Pie. Neither he nor fans knew that the crude film would be such a success, yet many people can easily quote at least one iconic line from the series. Scott ended up happily reprising his role as Steve Stifler for three more films. Scott has also starred in several movies including Dude, Where's My Car?, The Dukes of Hazard, and both Goon films. He also voiced the character Crash, one of the opossum brothers, in the Ice Age franchise.
Scott is a very recognizable actor, especially for being a part of so many slightly (or very) inappropriate comedies, but he has more brains than that of his characters. He has been an executive producer on the fourth American Pie film, the second Goon movie, and his latest movie, an action thriller entitled The Wrath of Becky. Fans can get excited about his upcoming films Grand Death Lotto and another American Pie installment, but at this time, neither has a release date.
Kerr Smith
While Carter Horton was a bit of a bully as well as Alex's rival, Kerr Smith is actually a really nice guy. After Final Destination, Smith starred in a few films including The Forsaken, Pressure, and My Bloody Valentine 3D, but he found more success with television series. He played Jack McPhee in Dawson's Creek for five seasons though he was a decade older than his character.
Smith had a recurring role in Charmed and The Fosters. Whether it's a personal preference or Smith simply knows his niche, he seems to be drawn to drama and teen-related shows. He also played Principal Honey in Riverdale, but for the most part, Smith has not come back to the spotlight since Covid-19 closed things down.
Kristen Cloke
Kristen Cloke portrayed the considerate teacher, Valerie Letwon, who volunteered to deboard the plane when students were being thrown off of it, but moments later, she found herself wracked with survivors guilt after the plane exploded in front of everyone.
Before Cloke was a teacher cheating fate, she was a part of the main cast of Winnetka Road and Space: Above and Beyond. After Final Destination, Cloke stuck to the horror genre with her roles in Willard and Black Christmas, but for the most part, she has been a guest on a variety of shows. She was a part of the 2017 film Lady Bird, but since then, Cloke has stayed out of the spotlight.
Chad E. Donella
Chad E. Donella played Alex Browning's best friend, Tod Waggner, who was met with a horrible death that was wrongfully ruled as a suicide. Donella has happily had some much better luck than that of his character.
After Final Destination, Donella went on to star in the films 100 Women and Hate Crime, and he has also had roles in Shattered Glass, Saw 3D, and Taken 3. He has guest starred in over two dozen television series including NCIS, Lost, and Scandal. Most recently, he played a director of the CIA on the crime drama series Blindspot. His character was killed off in the fifth season.
Amanda Detmer
Amanda Detmer played a supporting role in Final Destination where the unfortunate death of her character, Terry Chaney, had more of an impact on her boyfriend, Carter, than the audience. Before Detmer landed the fatal role, she was known as Miss Minneapolis in Drop Dead Gorgeous. She had some luck with films right after her acting debut such as Boys and Girls, The Majestic, and Kiss the Bride, but for the most part, Detmer has stuck to guest roles in TV series and television films.
Her most notable works include You, Me and Dupree, Private Practice, and Necessary Roughness. She held a recurring role in Empire as Tracy Kingsley, and she has played a mother with cancer on A California Christmas and its sequel.
Daniel Roebuck
Before playing a skeptical FBI agent in Final Destination, Daniel Roebuck had plenty of screen time under his belt. He had played a deputy U.S. marshal in The Fugitive and its sequel, U. S. Marshals, and he played Jay Leno on the television film The Late Shift.
After Final Destination, Roebuck appeared as Dr. Leslie Arzt in the drama series Lost, he had a recurring role in Sonny with a Chance, and he has been a guest star on numerous shows. As of late, Roebuck starred in Rob Zombie's The Munsters and Miracle at Manchester, and he has a horror film, entitled Stream, coming out about a family vacation that goes horribly wrong.
Roger Guenveur Smith
Before running after and accusing Alex Browning of murders in Final Destination, Roger Guenveur Smith had already collaborated on several movies with the infamous Spike Lee including School Daze, Malcolm X, He Got Game, and Summer of Sam. For more than 30 years in the business, Smith has represented some of the most prominent historical figures and made powerful statements with his work.
Smith portrayed the Black Panther Party activist Huey P. Newton in Lee's A Huey P. Newton Story, he read for the Max series Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives, and he played Booker T. Washington in Netflix's miniseries Self Made. Smith's most recent works include being a judge on the CBS series All Rise and a council member in a biographical film titled Till that tells the story of Emmett Till's mother after the murder of her son.
Tony Todd
When it comes to the entertainment industry, Tony Todd seems to be a jack of all trades. He has held roles in more than 100 different films, and he's been a part of dozens of television series. Todd has also been on Broadway, and he has lent his voice to several different video games. Many will recognize him as The Candyman from the slasher film series Candyman, Sgt. Warren from the war film Platoon, Kurn from the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and of course, the ominous funeral home owner, William Bludworth, in the Final Destination franchise. Todd's signature deep voice landed him the roles as DC supervillain Darkseid, The Fallen in Transformers: The Fallen, and Venom in the latest Spider-Man game.
As of right now, Todd has four films in the post-production process including a fictional documentary entitled The Nana Project about an elderly chess master, and yet another horror film, Werewolf Game. He will star alongside Final Destination co-star Daniel Roebuck in Stream.
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