01of 09
Jesse Metcalfe (John Tucker)
After picking up early small-screen credits for Smallville and Passions, and beginning his five-year run as Desperate Housewives' John Rowland, Jesse Metcalfe starred in John Tucker Must Die as the title high school hottie.
Post-playing the womanizing athlete, Metcalfe wrapped his run on Housewives and hit the big screen, appearing in The Other End of the Line (2008), Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009), and The Tortured (2010). The actor would eventually return to television, playing Luke Watson on Chase and Christopher Ewing on the reboot of Dallas. Metcalfe starred on the Hallmark Channel series Chesapeake Shores from 2016 to 2021 and in a couple of their holiday flicks along the way.
Metcalfe competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2020, where he was the fourth celebrity eliminated during his season.
02of 09
Brittany Snow (Kate Spencer)
Brittany Snow made a name for herself as a teenager, landing late-'90s and early-2000s roles in The Pacifier (2005) and Whisper of the Heart (2006), and on Guiding Light, Nip/Tuck, and American Dreams, on which she starred as Meg Pryor. Snow signed on to play Kate in John Tucker, the new teen in school.
The actress then continued her film work with Hairspray (2007), Finding Amanda (2008), Prom Night (2008), The Vicious Kind (2009), and 96 Minutes (2011). In 2012, she landed the role of Chloe in Pitch Perfect — a role she would return to in 2015 with Pitch Perfect 2 and again in 2017 in Pitch Perfect 3. She also appeared in Something Great (2019) and X (2022), among other films.
Snow continues to pop up on television, appearing on the short-lived Ben and Kate, as well as in episodes of Full Circle, Workaholics, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Almost Family.
03of 09
Ashanti (Heather Montgomery)
Four years after she dropped her self-titled debut album, Ashanti joined John Tucker Must Die as Heather, one of John's women of the moment. The "Foolish" singer landed the gig after making previous appearances in episodes of American Dreams and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Channing Tatum in 2005's Coach Carter.
In the years since John Tucker, Ashanti continued her onscreen acting career with Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) and Army Wives, expanded to the stage with The Wiz, and dropped multiple studio albums. Between 2017 and 2018 she returned to the music scene, collaborating with several artists, including Ty Dolla $ign, Machel Montano, Lil Wayne, and Mack Maine.
In 2019, Ashanti guest-starred as herself in two episodes of the third season of the CW's Dynasty reboot.
04of 09
Sophia Bush (Beth McIntyre)
Sophia Bush rose to fame in 2003, thanks to her turn as Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill. The star spent nine years on the show, and appeared in Supercross (2005) and Stay Alive (2006) before picking up a gig as Beth in John Tucker Must Die.
She went on to earn credits for The Hitcher (2007), Table for Three (2009), and Chalet Girl (2011), and returned to television in 2012 on Partners. Bush played Erin Lindsay on Chicago P.D. from 2014 to 2017, often bringing the character to sister shows Chicago Fire and Chicago Med. She recurred on Love, Victor and starred on the short-lived medical drama Good Sam.
Bush has also appeared in multiple movies, including Marshall (2017), Acts of Violence (2018), Incredibles 2 (2018), and 2021's False Positive. She has used her celebrity for activism, as a founding member of Times Up and I Am A Voter.
05of 09
Arielle Kebbel (Carrie Schaeffer)
Arielle Kebbel was model high school student Carrie in John Tucker Must Die, a role she came into after earning previous credits for Soul Plane (2004), Gilmore Girls, Grounded for Life, Be Cool (2005), Reeker, Dirty Deeds, and Aquamarine (2006).
After John Tucker, Kebbel returned to the big screen in The Grudge 2 (2006), Freakdog (2008), The Uninvited (2009), Vampires Suck (2010), I Melt with You (2011), Think Like a Man (2012), and Fifty Shades Freed (2018).
She also continued her television work, appearing in episodes of Life Unexpected, 90210, The Vampire Diaries, UnREAL, Ballers, The League, and 9-1-1.
06of 09
Penn Badgley (Scott Tucker)
The year before he made his starring turn as Dan Humphrey on Gossip Girl, Penn Badgley played John's brother, Scott Tucker, in John Tucker Must Die.
The Young and the Restless alum followed up John Tucker with Drive Thru (2007), Forever Strong (2008), The Stepfather (2009), Easy A (2010), and Margin Call (2011). After wrapping Gossip Girl in 2012, Badgley appeared in Parts Per Billion (2014), Cymbeline (2014), and episodes of The Slap.
In 2018, Badgley began starring as super creep Joe Goldberg on the Netflix thriller series You.
07of 09
Jenny McCarthy (Lori Spencer)
Jenny McCarthy found her spot in John Tucker Must Die as Lori, the mother to Snow's Kate. The actress already had dozens of credits to her name when she joined the movie, including Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), The Stupids (1996), Scream 3 (2000), and Scary Movie 3 (2003), in addition to episodes of Jenny, Baywatch, Wings, The Drew Carey Show, Just Shoot Me!, One on One, Hope & Faith, and The Bad Girl's Guide.
The Playboy alum continued her onscreen career after John Tucker with Santa Baby (2006), Witless Protection (2008), and Two and a Half Men, and ventured into reality and news programs like The Jenny McCarthy Show, Donnie Loves Jenny, and The View. Starting in 2019, McCarthy has been a judge on the Fox musical competition show The Masked Singer.
McCarthy is married to singer-actor Donnie Wahlberg. She has drawn criticism since 2008 for making disproven statements about vaccines triggering autism.
08of 09
Taylor Kitsch (Justin)
Before Taylor Kitsch was Tim Riggins, he was Justin. The future star made his big-screen debut in John Tucker Must Die, appearing as a neighbor.
Kitsch started playing Riggins a few months later, and went on to spend five years in his role on Friday Night Lights. During that time, the actor earned additional credits for Snakes on a Plane (2006), The Covenant (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and The Bang Bang Club (2010), and went on to appear in John Carter (2012), Battleship (2012), Savages (2012), The Grand Seduction (2013), Lone Survivor (2013), The Normal Heart (2014), and season 2 of True Detective.
In 2018, he portrayed David Koresh on the Paramount Network miniseries Waco, and, in 2022, he played Ben Edwards on the Prime Video series The Terminal List.
09of 09
Meghan Ory (Jill)
After appearing on the shows Higher Ground, Maybe It's Me, Vampire High, and South Beach, and in the film Decoys (2004), Meghan Ory landed a role in John Tucker Must Die as Jill, a girlfriend of John's.
Following the gig, Ory earned credits for Blonde and Blonder (2007), True Justice, and Intelligence. From 2011 to 2016, she starred on Once Upon a Time as Ruby Lucas. Alongside Metcalfe, Ory starred on Chesapeake Shores as Abby O'Brien.