25 Years Later, Where Is the Cast of Freaks and Geeks Now?

Linda Cardellini as Lindsay Weir

Linda Cardellini played Lindsay, a high schooler who tried her best to fit in with the slacker group at school (a.k.a. the freaks) despite being smart and driven.

Before starring in Freaks and Geeks, Cardellini had minor roles on shows like Kenan & Kel and Boy Meets World.

Following the series, Cardellini appeared in movies like Legally Blonde (2001) and Brokeback Mountain (2005) and played Velma in the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie and its 2004 sequel.

She later joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Laura Barton in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Cardellini reprised the role in Disney+'s Hawkeye miniseries in 2021.

Additionally, the actress spent six years on ER and appeared on New Girl and Mad Men (which earned her an Emmy nomination). She’s also known for her role on Bloodline and for starring alongside Christina Applegate on Dead to Me, where she received an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series.

Cardellini gave birth to a daughter in February 2012, whom she shares with her partner Steven Rodriguez.

Busy Philipps as Kim

Busy Philipps played Kim Kelly, one of the freaks with whom Lindsay tried her hardest to fit in. Kim was a little preoccupied because she couldn't stop making out with James Franco's character, Daniel.

The actress followed up her stint on Freaks and Geeks with a role on Dawson's Creek. She has also starred in films like White Chicks (2004) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009), as well as the series Cougar Town.

Perhaps most impressively, Philipps became one of the few women ever to helm a late-night talk show when she hosted Busy Tonight. Her latest talk show, Busy This Week, premiered on QVC+ and HSN+ on May 8, 2024.

Still acting, she also starred in Mean Girls (2024) and on the Peacock-then-Netflix music comedy Girls5eva.

Philipps has two children, Birdie and Cricket, whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Silverstein.

Jason Segel as Nick Andopolis

Jason Segel played the lovable Nick Andopolis, who had a short-lived romance with Lindsay, was a huge stoner and loved his band more than most things (but less than weed).

Though Freaks and Geeks was short-lived, Segel found a long-term home on the popular series How I Met Your Mother, playing Marshall Eriksen for nine seasons. He also starred in films like 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which he also wrote), Bad Teacher (2011) and 2014’s Sex Tape (also wrote).

The actor has continued working steadily in television, starring on series like Dispatches from Elsewhere (also a creator and writer), Winning Time and Shrinking (co-creator and writer; also earned him his first Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for acting) opposite Harrison Ford.

Segel is currently dating actress and professional dancer Kayla Radomski.

James Franco as Daniel Desario

James Franco played Daniel Desario, who had been held back not once but twice (making him the oldest of the freaks). Attractive, aloof and super charming, he had an on-again/off-again relationship with Kim, played by Busy Philipps.

In her memoir, This Will Only Hurt a Little, Philipps described Franco as a “f------ bully” and recalled a time when he apparently threw her to the ground and knocked the wind out of her while they were meant to be shooting a scene. She wrote that Franco apologized the following day after Apatow showed him a video of the incident.

A relative unknown when he started the show, Franco's career flourished following his Freaks and Geeks days. The two-time Golden Globe winner has starred in films like Spider-Man (2002), Pineapple Express (2008), Milk (2008) and The Disaster Artist (2017) and the series The Deuce. His role in 127 Hours (2010) earned him an Oscar nod in 2011.

In 2018, the actor was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by five women, four of whom were his acting students, in an article published by The Los Angeles Times.

About four years later, Franco admitted that he "did sleep with students" and revealed he had struggled with sex addiction for years after becoming sober from alcohol at a young age.

"It's such a powerful drug," he explained. "I got hooked on it for 20 more years. The insidious part of that is that I stayed sober from alcohol all that time. And I went to meetings all that time. I even tried to sponsor other people. So in my head, it was like, 'Oh, I'm sober. I'm living a spiritual life.' Where on the side, I'm acting out now in all these other ways, and I couldn't see it."

Franco has been dating his longtime girlfriend, Isabel Pakzad, since 2017.

Seth Rogen as Ken Miller

For his first-ever onscreen role, Seth Rogen played Ken Miller, a freak who is secretly kind of a geek. He's known for his sarcastic comments and for falling in love with "tuba girl" (Jessica Campbell).

In 2023, Rogen told PEOPLE he "wouldn't do" a revival of Freaks and Geeks, saying, "It's so rare that you do something in your career that is actually just viewed as good."

"I know enough now not to f--- with that, to just let it be good and not try to go revisit it," he added. "And just let it exist."

Freaks and Geeks was only the beginning for Rogen. The comic has not only acted a lot since his debut — he boasts credits in movies like Knocked Up (2007), This Is The End (2013) and Steve Jobs (2015) — but has written and created classics like Superbad (2007) and Pineapple Express.

The Emmy and Golden Globe nominee has also produced Prime's popular The Boys series adaptation and its spinoff Gen V, Pam & Tommy, the animated series Invincible, Black Monday, AMC's Preacher and much more.

In addition to acting, writing and producing, Rogen's projects include the next spinoff from the world of The Boys — Vought Rising — along with Console Wars, The Studio, Good Fortune, a second season of Platonic and he reprises his voice role as Pumbaa in Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).

Rogen has been married to Lauren Miller Rogen since 2011, seven years after the couple met at a birthday party. The multihyphenate credits his wife for inspiring his cannabis home goods brand, Houseplant.

John Francis Daley as Sam Weir

John Francis Daley was just 14 when he played Lindsay's younger brother, Sam Weir, a quintessential geek in every sense of the word.

Daley has continued acting since Freaks ended, most notably on Bones from 2007 to 2014. He has starred in the films Waiting… (2005) and appeared in 2015’s Vacation (which he wrote) and 2018’s Game Night (which he directed). Daley also co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and 2023’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (also directed).

Natasha Melnick as Cindy Sanders

Every teen television show has to have an "unrealistic" crush, right? Natasha Melnick played Cindy Sanders, who was soft-spoken, a cheerleader and the object of Sam Weir's affection.

Post-Freaks, Melnick appeared on shows like Undeclared and Do Over, eventually lending her voice to animated shows like King of the Hill and Family Guy.

Samm Levine as Neal Schweiber

Samm Levine played Neal Schweiber, a geek who was totally and completely in love with Lindsay Weir, his best friend's sister.

The actor has appeared in many recognizable television shows and movies such as Not Another Teen Movie (2001), Life as We Know It, Inglourious Basterds (2009), Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, Drunk History and Underdeveloped.

Martin Starr as Bill Haverchuck

Martin Starr played Bill Haverchuck, perhaps the geekiest of all of the geeks.

Starr has acted continuously since the end of Freaks and Geeks. He had small roles in films like Superbad and Pineapple Express, both of which starred former castmate Seth Rogen. He also played Mr. Harrington in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

In addition to roles on Hawaii Five-0, Life in Pieces and Silicon Valley, Starr has starred on Party Down and Taylor Sheridan's Tulsa King.

Becky Ann Baker as Jean Weir

Becky Ann Baker already had a couple of dozen acting credits — including Men in Black (1997), In & Out (1997), A Simple Plan (1998) and Stephen King's Storm of the Century — when she was cast as Jean Weir, Lindsay and Sam's mother, in Freaks and Geeks.

The actress received her first Emmy nomination as a guest star in the comedy series Girls in 2017. Baker later received another Emmy nod for her guest appearance on the sports dramedy Ted Lasso as the title character's mom.

She has also appeared in Spider-Man 3 (2007), Big Little Lies, New Amsterdam, Billions, The Good Fight and more.

Baker has been married to actor Dylan Baker since 1987. They have a daughter named Willa.

Joe Flaherty as Harold Weir

Joe Flaherty had been acting for some time when he stepped into the role of Harold Weir, the patriarch of the Weir family.

He had previously acted in movies like Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Happy Gilmore (1996) and on television in shows like SCTV, Married... with Children and Maniac Mansion.

After Freaks and Geeks, Flaherty appeared on series like Even Stevens, That '70s Show and The Legend of Tarzan. His last television appearance was in 2012 on a show called Call Me Fitz.

Flaherty died on April 1, 2024, at the age of 82.

Shia LaBeouf as Herbert

Blink and you'll miss him, but young Shia LaBeouf was on Freaks and Geeks as the school mascot, Herbert, who gets injured and can no longer perform.

LaBeouf had already been a child actor when he landed the Freaks and Geeks role, and he is still working as an actor. He most notably starred on shows like Even Stevens and in movies such as Holes (2003), Disturbia (2007), Transformers (2007) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Additional credits have included Honey Boy (2019), The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019), The Tax Collector (2020) and Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis (2024).

LaBeouf married actress Mia Goth in 2016. Their first child, Isabel, was born in 2022.

Dave Allen as Jeff Rosso

Dave Allen played Jeff Rosso, the guidance counselor who was super invested in his students and, especially, in Sam Weir's becoming cool.

The actor has had a successful career since 1999. His credits include roles on Malcolm in the Middle, Gilmore Girls, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and Love. He also appeared in films like Crossroads (2002), Bad Teacher, Ghostbusters (2016) and Boy Band (2018).