The School of Rock Cast: Then vs Now, 20 Years Later

Prior to rocking out and impersonating 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 NeverEnding Story III” (1994), “The Cable Guy” (1996), “High Fidelity” (2000), and “Ice Age” (2002).

The actor also starred on HBO’s “Tenacious D,” which chronicled the real-life journey 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 most recent being “Post-Apocalypto” in 2018. 

More recently, the actor starred on Hulu’s “History of the World: Part II,” in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and on Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.” 

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 actress is currently starring on the Paramount+ “iCarly Revival” series.

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 the charge of driving under the influence at 17 years old. In 2019, he was arrested on charges of theft and shoplifting after he was accused of stealing several guitars in the state of Florida, according to authorities. 

He still makes music and in 2020 released a few EPs, including “Dogtopia” and “Calm Weather.”

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 also 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 article for Human Parts, 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 skin-care 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 on Netflix’s “Easy.”

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

Their latest acting credit was in “Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls” (2023). 

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.

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

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

Before lending her vocals for the film, the actress 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 pathologist. 

Maryam Hassan played Tomika, another one of the band’s singers. 

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, and her latest song is called “Feel a Way.”

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

Hale voiced a character on two episodes of “Blue’s Clues” before joining the cast of the movie.

After the film, she left Hollywood and went on to study to become 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. 

He went on to pursue 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,” was released this summer. 

Outside of performing, Falduto works as a life coach, primarily for LGBTQ individuals. He’s launched “The Gay Life Coach 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).

Hawkins went on to 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 on NBC’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” in 2006.

Angelo Massagli played Frankie, another student in the class and band. 

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

After the movie, he played Bobby Baccalieri Jr. on HBO’s “The Sopranos.”

Massagli went on to graduate from the University of Miami Law School in 2019, and he appears to still be dating his “School of Rock” costar, Hale. 

Before filming “School of Rock,” Joan Cusack was well known for blockbusters like “Sixteen Candles” (1984), “Addams Family Values” (1993), “Runaway Bride” (1999), and “Toy Story 2” (1999).

She also acted in “Grosse Point Break” (1997) 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, the actress continued to star in family films like, “Ice Princess” (2005), “Chicken Little” (2005), “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” (2008), the rest of 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), “Unicorn Store” (2017), and “Instant Family” (2018).

The actress continued her TV career on Showtime’s “Shameless,” Netflix’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” and Amazon Prime’s “Homecoming.”

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

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 “The One and Only Ivan” (2020).

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 on), 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 actress 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 on an episode of “History of the World: Part II.”

This story was originally published on May 22, 2021, and most recently updated on September 25, 2023.