‘High Fidelity’ turns 25! See the cast of the cult-favorite love letter to music, then and now

John Cusack (Rob Gordon)

John Cusack was neurotic, overly introspective record-store owner Rob Gordon, whose breakup with his girlfriend spurs a deep dive into his past relationships — and their connection to pop music.

During the ‘80s, moviegoers watched Cusack grow up onscreen, from high school freshman (Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead) to high school senior (Say Anything) to college student (The Sure Thing).

He successfully transitioned to adulthood, starring in Frears’ acclaimed film The Grifters (1990), the Oscar-winning Bullets Over Broadway (1994), the action hit Con Air (1997), World War II drama The Thin Red Line (1998), and, in truly unrecognizable fashion, Being John Malkovich (1999). But it was during his turn as a hitman in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) in which audiences saw the most tangible sign of aging: getting invited to a high school reunion. 

Having reached the point of playing characters old enough to question their life choices, Cusack was perfect for Rob Gordon. That so many of his past roles were defined by their love of music was the cherry on top. The actor helped adapt Hornby’s novel into a screenplay, changing the setting from London to Cusack’s native Chicago.

“I read the book and I immediately thought, ‘Yeah, I could set it in Chicago,’” Cusack told EW in 2020. “I knew the record stores and I knew the exact scene from growing up — except in the book the Brits were more interested in R&B and soul music like James Carr, Wilson Pickett, the Muscle Shoals sound. And my generation, we loved all that music too, but we were very obsessed with like, the British punk new wave sounds, right? We wanted to listen to the Bowie records or read the liner notes on the Gang of Four, the Jam, the Clash, and all that. But once you sort of switched those around and took away the British accents, they were the same.”

After earning a Golden Globe nomination for High Fidelity, Cusack bounced from rom-coms like Serendipity (2001) to dark thrillers like Identity (2003) and The Ice Harvest (2005). He found another comedy success in the raunchy hit Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), but his recent work has largely been in low-budget films. Still, he earned acclaim for his performances in David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars (2014) and Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq (2015).

Iben Hjejle (Laura)

Danish actress Iben Hjejle plays Rob’s girlfriend Laura. It’s their breakup that sets the movie in motion.

High Fidelity was most Americans’ introduction to Hjejle. Frears had previously seen the actress in Mifune (1999), and she was a fan of his film Dangerous Liaisons (1988). The two crossed paths at a party and got the ball rolling — which led to a phone call with Cusack.

“We had a lovely conversation and he said, ‘I’d love to come and meet you,’” Hjejle told EW in 2020. “I knew he was like one of those, what do you call it, teenage heartthrobs? And I loved Say Anything, which I thought was wonderful, and he was gorgeous. But the terrible thing is, I said, ‘Are you the guy from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?’ And he said, ‘Oh, please don’t worry, I’ve had that happen to me so many times.’ He was so nice about it.”

Hjejle hasn’t been a major presence in Hollywood, but she’s appeared in some films that found an international audience, namely the WWII epic Defiance (2008), starring Daniel Craig, and a reunion with Frears, Chéri (2009), opposite Michelle Pfeiffer.

The veteran actress continues to work regularly in Denmark, most notably as the reporter protagonist in the TV series Dicte (2013–2016). Her biggest recent achievement was winning a Reumert Award (the Danish equivalent of a Tony) for Laegen.

Jack Black (Barry Judd)

Jack Black found his big-screen breakthrough as Barry, the high-strung music snob who tends to alienate the shop’s less hip clientele.

The comedian and musician had been working steadily for years, racking up bit parts in major movies like Waterworld (1995) and The Cable Guy (1996). He initially declined the role of Barry, acknowledging he was “terrified of failing. I was terrified of being bad in this movie and also terrified of working with Stephen Frears.” The director wouldn’t take no for an answer and requested that Black meet with him anyway.

“I told him about my fears, and he just thought it was funny that I was passing,” Black said. “It was obvious to him and to anyone in my life that this was a no-brainer and it would be a huge mistake to bail on it for any reason other than I just didn’t like it. And that was not the case. I loved the script and I loved Stephen and I realized that I was just passing on it out of fear. And that was not a good reason.”

Black took the role and ran with it, making the jump from supporting player to leading man with Shallow Hal (2001). But it was Richard Linklater’s School of Rock (2003) that truly made him a bankable star — and a Golden Globe nominee. He began expanding beyond straightforward comedy, from the epic King Kong (2005) to the rom-com The Holiday (2006) to Noah Baumbach’s drama Margot at the Wedding (2007). He also reunited with Linklater to tell a bizarre true crime tale in Bernie (2011).

For the most part, however, he’s been busy making people laugh, from hit films like Tropic Thunder (2008) to major franchises, including Kung Fu Panda, Goosebumps, and Jumanji.

Black, who has been leading his band Tenacious D since 1994, married fellow musician Tanya Haden in 2006. They have two sons.

Todd Louiso (Dick)

Alongside Jack Black’s boisterous Barry is Todd Louiso as the quiet, timid (but no less musically passionate) Dick.

Although not a household name, Louiso piled up parts in high-profile films during the ’90s, including Apollo 13 (1995) and as the nanny/jazz enthusiast Chad in Jerry Maguire (1996). Still, he admitted he scored the role in High Fidelity because someone else declined it.

“When I read the script I was just like, ‘Oh my God, this part’s totally for me.’” Louiso told EW in 2020. “They offered it to David Arquette first and he passed on it, so I owe it all to David Arquette! But that’s usually the case with any break as an actor — somebody’s passed, someone who’s a name.”

Louiso has since appeared in Thank You for Smoking (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and School for Scoundrels (2006), but has shifted to the other side of the camera. He directed the Philip Seymour Hoffman-led Love Liza (2002) and Hello I Must Be Going (2012), starring Melanie Lynskey. He also wrote the Shakespeare epic Macbeth (2015), featuring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.

Louiso is married to writer Sarah Koskoff.

Catherine Zeta-Jones (Charlie Nicholson)

Catherine Zeta-Jones doesn’t just play any ex-girlfriend. Of all the ones that got away in Rob’s mind, her Charlie Nicholson is the one that got away.

When she joined the High Fidelity cast, Zeta-Jones had just surged to stardom thanks to her breakthrough in The Mask of Zorro (1998) and roles in Entrapment (1999) and The Haunting (1999). Securing her for a small supporting part was a big coup for High Fidelity. In the EW oral history of the film, Cusack credited production company Working Title for thinking to reach out to her.

The Welsh actress went straight from High Fidelity to Steven Soderbergh’s ensemble drama Traffic (2001), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination and set the stage for her Academy Award-winning performance in the hit musical Chicago (2002).

She went on to seduce a hapless George Clooney in the Coen brothers’ Intolerable Cruelty (2003) and starred alongside Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal (2004).

In addition to reprising her star-making role in the swashbuckling sequel The Legend of Zorro (2005), Zeta-Jones reunited with Soderbergh for the caper Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and the twisted thriller Side Effects (2013), alongside Jude Law, Rooney Mara, and Channing Tatum.

Since then, however, the actress has stepped back from cinema and put together a TV résumé that includes Feud (2017) — playing fellow Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland — and National Treasure: Edge of History (2022–2023). Most recently, she was perfectly cast as Morticia Addams on Wednesday (2022–present).

Zeta-Jones has been married to actor Michael Douglas since 2000. They share two children.

Lisa Bonet (Marie DeSalle)

Lisa Bonet plays Marie DeSalle, an indie rock star who stumbles into Rob’s record store (and into his bed).

Bonet rose to fame as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1991), which earned her an Emmy nomination and led to a starring role in the spinoff, A Different World (1987–1988). During that time, she pivoted to films like Angel Heart (1987), alongside Mickey Rourke, though Cosby remained her career’s focus until the early ’90s.

The actress stepped out of the spotlight in later years with only occasional roles. Thankfully, she said yes to Enemy of the State (1998) with Will Smith — that’s where Frears spotted her, inspiring him to call her in to audition.

“She showed up looking extraordinary, and she just did it,” Frears told Vibe. “I mean, she is what she is: distinctive, mysterious, extraordinary.”

Bonet returned to TV with a five-episode arc on Life on Mars (2008–2009), guest appearances on Girls (2016), and a recurring role on Ray Donovan (2016).

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention one unique bit of trivia. When High Fidelity was adapted into a series, producers gender-swapped the lead character. The star was Bonet’s daughter, Zoë Kravitz, from her marriage to rock star Lenny Kravitz.

Bonet was later in a long-term relationship with actor Jason Momoa. The two wed in 2017 and divorced in 2024. They share two children.

Sara Gilbert (Anaugh Moss)

Sometimes an encyclopedic knowledge of music comes in handy. For Dick, it’s his recommendation of punk band the Stiff Little Fingers that breaks the ice with Anaugh, played by Sara Gilbert.

Gilbert got her big break on Roseanne (1988–1997) as Darlene Conner, a role she never could’ve guessed she’d still be playing in 2025, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The hit sitcom led to her film appearances in Poison Ivy (1992), Desert Blue (1996), and Light It Up (1999) — which helped catch Frears’ attention.

“Stephen Frears saw me in something else, so he cast me,” Gilbert told EW in 2020. “I was, like, ‘That is so bizarre that this huge director wants to cast me.’ He had no idea what Roseanne was or didn’t recognize me from that at all. I remember being excited that someone liked something else that I did because I was mainly known for Roseanne.”

The actress stuck around on scripted TV for a few years — including recurring parts on ER (2004–2007) and The Big Bang Theory (2007–2016) — but her biggest small-screen achievement post-Roseanne was co-creating and co-hosting The Talk. Meanwhile, Roseanne got a revival in 2018 before transitioning into The Conners (2018–2025) when its titular star was fired. 

Gilbert shares one child with her ex-wife, musician Linda Perry, and two kids from a prior relationship with TV producer Ali Adler.

Lili Taylor (Sarah Kendrew)

Cusack’s old Chicago pal Lili Taylor was Rob’s post-Charlie rebound fling, Sarah.

“I think John [Cusack] or Steve [Pink] called,” Taylor told The A.V. Club. “They were like, ‘Hey, you gotta come back and do this!’ I thought, ‘What the hell,’ because a lot of my family is still there, so I said, ‘Totally.’ It just felt like the right thing to do.”

Taylor found career success early, picking up major roles in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Say Anything (1989), where she first worked with Cusack. She established herself as a character actress and became one of the indie darlings of the ’90s, from her collaboration with River Phoenix in Dogfight (1991) to Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993) and Household Saints (1993), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award.

After Rudy (1993) and Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction (1995), she arguably delivered her most celebrated performance, playing Valerie Solanas in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), and booked a pivotal role in a mainstream hit, Ransom (1996).

The actress has continued to thrive, headlining the franchise-launching hit The Conjuring (2013) while finding a second home on television. Her multi-year arc on Six Feet Under (2002–2005) led to one of three career Emmy nominations, and she’s had regular stints on American Crime (2015–2017), Perry Mason (2020), and Outer Range (2022–2024). She recently starred as Mary Todd Lincoln in Manhunt (2024).

Taylor has been married to writer Nick Flynn since 2009. She appeared in Being Flynn (2012), the film adaptation of his memoir.

Joan Cusack (Liz)

It would hardly be a John Cusack movie without Joan Cusack. Indeed, she makes her presence known as Laura’s and brutally honest pal Liz.

The siblings have appeared in movies together for decades, dating back to Class (1983). In Say Anything, fiction mirrored reality when she played John’s big sister. After portraying his assistant in Grosse Pointe Blank, he helped cast her as his girlfriend’s bestie in High Fidelity.

“That scene with Liz in the record store? I thought, I can just tell my sister, ‘Okay just walk in, call me a f—in’ a–hole, and leave,’” John told EW in 2020. “Yeah, I knew that would be a fine idea.”

Of course, Joan has built a formidable career in her own right. She’s a two-time Oscar nominee, for Working Girl (1988) and In & Out (1997), and has stolen scenes in everything from Broadcast News (1987) to Addams Family Values (1993) to Runaway Bride (1999). She later reunited with Jack Black as the memorably stressed-out principal in School of Rock.

On the small screen, Joan stayed home in Chicago for a key supporting role on Shameless (2011–2015), and had a notable appearance in the series finale of The Office (2013) as Erin’s biological mother.

Cusack has been married to lawyer Richard Burke since 1996. They have two children.

Tim Robbins (Ian “Ray” Raymond)

As Ray — Rob’s odious, neo-hippie former neighbor and Laura’s pretentious new boyfriend — Tim Robbins makes the most of his minimal screen time.

Robbins and Cusack had been pals since 1985 when they worked together on The Sure Thing. His career took off a few years later, starting with the classic rom-com Bull Durham (1988), opposite Kevin Costner and Robbins’ future wife, Susan Sarandon. He then starred in a string of ’90s touchstones, including Jacob’s Ladder (1990), The Player (1992), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

Saying yes to High Fidelity’s bit part was a no-brainer. “John I knew since he was 17,” Robbins told EW in 2019. “He asked me to do this part, and I said, ‘I’d love to, but I’ve got one request: I need a wig.’ Because I wanted to look like Steven Seagal.”

According to Louiso, Robbins contributed a key laugh to the record store fight sequence: “Tim was the one who came up with his teeth flying out. I don’t know what they were, probably Chiclets? Just grab some candy from a craft services table.”

A few years later, the actor won an Oscar for Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River (2003). He has since appeared in War of the Worlds (2005), Green Lantern (2011), and Dark Waters (2019), while establishing himself on the small screen. Since The Brink (2015) and Castle Rock (2019), he has served as the villain on Apple TV+’s dystopian hit Silo (2023–present).

Robbins has also made his name behind the camera, directing Bob Roberts (1992), Cradle Will Rock (1999), and the Oscar-winning Dead Man Walking (1995).

He and Sarandon were married from 1988 to 2009. They have two sons.