The Big Chill: Where Is The Cast Now?

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Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill," which turns 40 in 2023, was a love letter to baby boomers that was an early showcase for such major stars of the 1980s as Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, and Tom Berenger. The film tells the story of a group of college friends who are brought together 15 years after graduating from the University of Michigan for the funeral of one of their fellow classmates, who died by suicide. After the funeral, they gather in the sprawling South Carolina home of one of them, where they spend the weekend reminiscing, flirting, playing old records, eating, drinking, and getting high. The film was lauded for its honest portrayal of the angst of 30-something professionals who wanted to change the world on campuses during the turbulent 1960s and has been cited as an inspiration for the popular ABC series "Thirtysomething."

"The Big Chill" received three Oscar nominations, including best picture. Its soundtrack was notable for featuring classic songs of the 1960s and 1970s by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, among others. One of the film stars, William Hurt, sadly passed away on March 13, 2022, at age 71 from complications of prostate cancer, per The New York Times. We take a look at the surviving players, what they have accomplished since "The Big Chill," and where they are now.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

A familiar face in motion pictures in the early 1980s, JoBeth Williams added "The Big Chill" to a resume that included the hits "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Stir Crazy," and "Poltergeist." Williams played Karen Bowens, a housewife who once dreamed of a career as a writer. She is in an unhappy marriage, leading her to a flirtation with old friend Sam (Tom Berenger), who was her true love back in college. Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan wrote the role of Karen with Williams in mind, having been impressed with her work in "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Poltergeist." "I wanted to play the part that Mary Kay [Place] played, the lawyer who wanted to have a baby and felt her clock ticking and all that because it was something I could really relate to," Williams said, per "The Big Chill: A Reunion."

Williams' television credits include the acclaimed 1983 TV movie "Adam," the 1988 miniseries "Baby M," and two guest appearances on "Frasier" in 1994 (all three earned Williams Emmy nominations). She received an Oscar nomination for best live-action short film for 1994's "On Hope," which she co-produced and directed.

Glenn Close received the second of eight Oscar nominations for her performance as Dr. Sarah Cooper, who, along with her husband Harold (Kevin Kline), opens her home up to the couple's old college friends. Close had just come off her successful feature film debut in "The World According to Garp" as Robin Williams' feminist mother when she was cast in "The Big Chill." 

Close became one of the most prolific film actors in the 1980s following "The Big Chill," appearing in "The Natural," "Jagged Edge," "Fatal Attraction," and "Dangerous Liaisons." In 2007, Close debuted in the FX drama series "Damages," which ran for five seasons. In 2011, Close brought a passion project to the screen with "Albert Nobbs," which she co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in as a woman living her life as a man in 19th-century Ireland.

Close has had an impressive stage career, starring in the Broadway hits "The Real Thing," "Death and the Maiden," and "Sunset Boulevard." Close has been honored with three Emmys, three Golden Globes, and three Tony Awards, but the Oscar has long eluded her. She and the late Peter O'Toole are tied for the record of most Oscar nominations without a win. "First of all, I don't think I'm a loser," Close told The Associated Press shortly after not winning her last nomination for best supporting actress in 2020's "Hillbilly Elegy." "Who in that category is a loser? You're there; you're five people honored for the work that you've done by your peers. What's better than that?"

A veteran character actress, Mary Kay Place, plays Meg, a lawyer whose biological clock is ticking so loud it wakes the neighbors. Desperate to have a child, she sets her sights on her male college friends as the chance to make it happen during the weekend gathering for the funeral of their friend Alex. Of all the female parts in "The Big Chill," Meg is the most complex and fully fleshed out. It's no wonder that both Glenn Close and JoBeth Williams wanted the role when they first read the script.

Place started out as a television writer, having written episodes of "M*A*S*H," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and "Phyllis." She co-starred in the 1970s soap opera spoof "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," which won her an Emmy Award. She is also an accomplished country singer, earning a Grammy Award nomination in 1977 for best female country vocal performance for the album "Tonite! At the Capri Lounge ... Loretta Haggers," on which she performed as her "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" character. Starting in the late 1980s, Place turned to directing episodes of several TV series, including "Dream On" and "Arliss," both for HBO, and a 1995 episode of "Friends." In 2018, she starred in the independent film "Diane," for which she won best actress honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.

Yes, Kevin Costner is never actually seen in "The Big Chill." One could say his part was dead on arrival. Costner was cast as the corpse of Alex Marshall, the friend whose sudden death brings his old college buddies together, but even though Costner filmed the scenes, they were cut from the finished picture. For most actors, this would have been a devastating blow, but Lawrence Kasdan cast Costner in "Silverado" two years later, and by the end of the 1980s, he was one of Hollywood's hottest stars.

Costner had a big hit as Eliot Ness in the 1987 big-screen version of "The Untouchables." He then starred in back-to-back baseball films — 1988's "Bull Durham" and 1989's "Field of Dreams" — both of which are considered among the best sports films ever made. His good looks and regular guy demeanor endeared him to fans and critics. He took a big risk when he turned to producing and directing a sprawling three-hour Western epic with "Dance with Wolves," but it paid off, receiving rave reviews and earning Costner two Oscars for best director and best picture, defeating Martin Scorsese and "Goodfellas" that same year. Costner would go on to appear in both hits and misses, such as the successful "JFK," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," and "The Bodyguard" with Whitney Houston and the unanimously panned "Waterworld" and "The Postman."

In 2003, Costner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2012, he starred in the miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys," for which he won an Emmy Award. He currently stars on the Paramount+ Western series "Yellowstone."