The cast of Mamma Mia : Where are they now?
Before there was Barbieheimer, there was Mamma Mia! opening on the same day as Christopher Nolan's mega-watt Batman sequel The Dark Knight. July 18, 2008, had a theatrical lineup so vastly different yet so alluring that Diablo Cody titled one of her columns for EW "Batman? ABBA? Why Choose?"
15 years later, Mamma Mia! — a stage-to-screen adaptation chock-full of Swedish disco pop à la ABBA — has arguably endured just as much as The Dark Knight. It's a movie that somehow defies criticism, despite there not being an insignificant amount to criticize.
Is each member of the cast notably a good singer? Certainly, they're not. Is the writing more than just a mechanism to move from song to song? Chiquitita, you and I know it is not. Yet it's the epitome of summertime fun. There's a Greek island, muscular extras flouncing around in flippers, and Meryl Streep getting frisky with a power drill. It is the gold standard for a jukebox musical on screen.
Mamma Mia! was a smashing success, both at the box office and in viewer's hearts, paving the way for an inevitable sequel (2018's Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, directed by Ol Parker), which saw all of the core cast return in some capacity. And though the follow-up is charming in its own right, Phyllida Lloyd's 2008 original will always have a special place in our hearts.
In honor of the film's 15th anniversary (and as an excuse to listen to the soundtrack again), EW looked into what the cast has been up to since they first gave us earworms and travel envy. Tag along and catch up with the famous faces behind everyone's favorite jukebox musical, Mamma Mia!
Meryl Streep (Donna Sheridan)
One of the greatest on-screen talents of all time, Meryl Streep holds the record for the most Academy Awards nomination of any actor with a whopping 21 nods, winning three for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie's Choice (1982), and The Iron Lady (2011), which was led by Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd. She also recieved nominations for the war epic The Deer Hunter (1978), the Robert Redford romance film Out of Africa (1985), and the Carrie Fisher-penned Postcards From the Edge (1990).
Two years before Mamma Mia!, Streep starred as fashion editor and boss from Hell Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), earning another Oscar nom and igniting a pop culture phenomenon with chilly lines such as "Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking." Then came her 2008 role as Donna in everybody's favorite ABBA musical, which remains her highest-grossing work to date, followed by a tonally opposite and deeply affecting turn as a nun in Doubt. She then closed out the 2000s by working with Wes Anderson on Fantastic Mr. Fox whilst romancing Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in the Nancy Meyers farce It's Complicated, both in 2009. Her other notable recent roles include the family drama August: Osage County (2013), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and Steven Spielberg's The Post (2017).
In the last five years, Streep has reunited with her Mamma Mia! castmates in both the sequel film and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). She then had a small role in Greta Gerwig's terrific adaptation of Little Women (2019) and Steven Soderbergh's equally enchanting Let Them All Talk (2020), as well as in the hit HBO drama Big Little Lies. Her most recent film role was in Adam McKay's 2021 madcap satire Don't Look Up, playing the president of the United States. Next up for Streep is a guest-starring spot on the wildly popular crime series Only Murders in the Building.
Streep has been married to American sculptor Don Gummer since 1978. They share four children together, all of whom are actors.
Amanda Seyfried (Sophie Sheridan)
Amanda Seyfried made her film debut in Mean Girls (2004), with Mamma Mia! being her first leading feature role. Seyfried's career then took off, appearing next in 2009's teen screamer Jennifer's Body (one of the best movies of the sort) and in Atom Egoyan's erotic thriller Chloe.
The actress soon headlined Dear John (2010), Letters to Juliet (2010), and Red Riding Hood (2011), three studio pictures well below her formidable talents. Seyfried then appeared in Tom Hooper's Les Misérables (2012) followed by Seth MacFarlane films A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) and Ted 2 (2015) opposite Mark Wahlberg.
The year 2020 saw Seyfried star as Marion Davies in David Fincher's Old Hollywood biopic Mank, a role which garnered her first Oscar nomination. More recently, she starred as Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes on The Dropout (2022), which won her a Golden Globe and an Emmy award for Lead Outstanding Actress, and as a psychiatrist in 2023's The Crowded Room.
Seyfried met her husband Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom) on the set of The Last Word in 2016. They got married the next year and have two children together.
Pierce Brosnan (Sam Carmichael)
James Bond himself stumbled into Mamma Mia! with a most remarkable pedigree. Pierce Brosnan came out of his 007 phase via Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and The World Is Not Enough (1999) by trying his hand at studio comedies with varying degrees of success (see: 2004's snoozer Laws of Attraction and 2006's The Matador, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination), though he couldn't resist peppering in one more '90s crime romance-thriller with The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).
After starring in Mamma Mia! as one of Sophie's three possible fathers, Brosnan worked with Roman Polanski on the director's pulpy The Ghost Writer (2009). He then appeared in the (really quite appalling) romance Remember Me (2010) and pulled a caper with Emma Thompson in The Love Punch (2014). Brosnan returned to the thriller fold with The November Man (2014) and No Escape (2015), followed by playing Erick Erickssong in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020). Most recently, he starred alongside Ilana Glazer in False Positive (2021) and as the big bad in Black Adam (2022).
Brosnan's first wife, Australian actress Cassandra Harris, died of ovarian cancer in 1991, leaving behind their son and her two children from a previous marriage, whom Brosnan had adopted. He later married American journalist Keely Shаye Smith in 2001, and they have two sons.
Colin Firth (Harry Bright)
Colin Firth gained widespread attention as the Mr. Darcy in 1995's Pride and Prejudice before going on to high-profile roles in The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), another (albeit looser) Jane Austen adaptation Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), and Love Actually (2003). Following Mamma Mia!, he starred in Tom Ford's brilliant directorial debut A Single Man (2009), earning his first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations in the process. Firth went on to win both prestigious awards the following year for The King's Speech as King George VI, who struggles with a stammer and must address the British people in wartime.
In 2015, Firth joined the Kingsman franchise in the inaugural film, subtitled The Secret Service, and returned for its sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). Along with his Mamma Mia costars Meryl Streep and Julie Walters, Firth appeared in Mary Poppins Returns (2018). He recently teamed up with Sam Mendes, appearing in small but meaty roles in the director's acclaimed films 1917 (2019) and Empire of Light (2022). But the latest buzz around Firth was for his Emmy-nominated turn as Michael Peterson, a man convicted of killing his wife (or did he?) in HBO's lauded true crime miniseries The Staircase (2022).
Firth's son William (from a previous relationship with actress Meg Tilly) acted alongside him in Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). He later married Italian producer Livia Giuggioli in 1997, and they share two sons.
Stellan Skarsg?rd (Bill Anderson)
Swedish superstar Stellan Skarsg?rd had appeared in awards contenders like Good Will Hunting (1997) as well as big-budget fare like Ronin (1998) and Deep Blue Sea (1999) before playing one of Sophie's prospective fathers in Mamma Mia! After 2008, Skarsg?rd had a mainstream renaissance, appearing in David Fincher's remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and joining the MCU as Dr. Erik Selvig in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), and Thor: The Dark World (2013). The actor is also a frequent collaborator with the controversial director Lars von Trier, with notable roles in Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2007), Melancholia (2011), and the Nymphomaniac films (2013, 2014).
In 2015, Skarsg?rd played the Grand Duke in the anemic remake of Cinderella and returned to the blockbuster fold for Avengers: Age of Ultron. He then pivoted to prestige television with HBO's Chernobyl, which earned him nominations at the 2019 Emmys and Golden Globes, and later shocked audiences by transforming into Baron Vladimir Harkonnen for Dune (2021), a role which he will be reprising in 2023's Dune: Part Two. Also up next for Skarsg?rd is playing Luthen Rael in the new Star Wars prequel series Andor on Disney+.
Skarsg?rd is a father to eight children, notably actors Alexander (True Blood, Big Little Lies), Bill (It, Barbarian), Gustaf (Westworld), and Valter (Lords of Chaos).
Christine Baranski (Tanya)
Cybill scene-stealer (and Emmy/Golden Globe/SAG/Tony-winner) Christine Baranski held memorable roles in The Birdcage (1996), Bowfinger (1999), and Chicago (2002) before starring in Mamma Mia! The next year, she began her tenure on the enduring CBS procedural The Good Wife (2009–2016), which earned her six Emmy nominations. Her character, Diane Lockhart, returned for her own spin-off, The Good Fight (2017–2022). She also snagged four more Emmy noms for her recurring role as Dr. Beverly Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory (2009–2019). Additionally, Baranski reunited with Meryl Streep as a stepmother in Into the Woods (2014) and joined the cast of A Bad Moms Christmas (2017), playing Mila Kunis' troublesome mother.
Baranski was married to actor and playwright Matthew Cowles from 1983 until his death in 2014. She has two daughters, including actress Lily Cowles.
Julie Walters (Rosie)
Julie Walters began her career in theater before moving on to star in classic films such Educating Rita (1983), an Oscar-nominated role which she had originated on stage, and Prick Up Your Ears (1987). Walters received another Academy Award nomination for her brilliant supporting turn in Billy Elliot (2000) as the titular boy's inspiring, chain-smoking dance teacher. The next year, the accomplished actress joined the Harry Potter franchise as Mrs. Weasley, appearing in all eight films from 2001 to 2011.
Post-Mamma Mia!, Walters appeared in Brooklyn (2015) with Saoirse Ronan and starred as Mrs. Bird in Paddington (2015) and Paddington 2 (2017). She also popped up in Mary Poppins Returns (2018), and in 2019 starred opposite Jessie Buckley in the drama Wild Rose. With a résumé like that, it's no wonder that Queen Elizabeth II made her a Dame in 2017.
Walters has been married to Grant Roffey since 1997, and they have one daughter. The actress was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2018, causing her to miss the premiere of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again later that year. She did not publicly address her illness until 2020, when she announced her retirement from acting, though she noted she would make an exception for Mamma Mia 3.
Dominic Cooper (Sky)
An actor who previously occupied small roles in big movies, 2008's hit musical started Dominic Cooper's career in earnest. He went on to star opposite Keira Knightley in The Duchess (2008) and appeared in Lone Scherfig's An Education (2009). He played dual roles to great effect in The Devil's Double (2011), appeared in My Week with Marilyn (also 2011), and turned up to invigorate the surprisingly dull Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012).
The actor went on to play Howard Stark, father to Tony, in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and in five episodes of Agent Carter (2015–2016). More recently, he appeared with Joey King in the Hulu feature The Princess (2022).
Cooper dated his on-screen fiancé and costar Amanda Seyfried from 2008 to 2009. He's been in a relationship with actress Gemma Chan (Eternals) since 2018.
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