What is the Good Burger cast doing now?

One of the most popular comedy movies among kids of the 1990s was Good Burger. It was brought to the big screen directly from the skit often seen in the hit Nickelodeon sketch comedy show, All That. The movie had all the goofiness and laughs that fans of the associated TV show came to expect and featured several well-known actors in children’s entertainment at that time.

Generally speaking, the movie was met with a decent response. It was never meant to win any Oscars, but many of the kids who liked it then have kept it somewhat popular as a cult classic, despite its low Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores. And it wasn’t a financial bomb either — it made back nearly three times its production budget from the worldwide box office returns. 

It’s been 25 years since the movie’s release, making many of us who were kids when it came out to feel at least a little old right now. And through all that time, the cast of Good Burger has gone on to other things in their careers between then and now.

So, what have they been up to lately?

Kel Mitchell

Kel Mitchell had the co-starring role of “Ed” in the movie, naturally, since the original skit on TV featured that character as the center of all the humor. The movie debuted roughly in the middle of Mitchell’s tenure as a regular cast member of All That’s cast. He would leave the show in 1999, soon finishing his other Nickelodeon show Kenan & Kel in 2000, with his castmate Kenan Thompson. 

Since then, Mitchell got into voice acting and won two Daytime Emmys as “T-Bone”, on the popular PBS Kids animated show Clifford the Big Red Dog. He continued to work with small roles and appearances across various forms of media and recently competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2019, finishing in second place. He’s currently a youth pastor at a Los Angeles-area church and also wrote a book entitled, Blessed Mode: 90 Days to Level Up Your Faith.

Kenan Thompson

Thompson was cast as Dexter Reed, a high school student who needs to make some extra money, finding himself an opportunity at the fast-food restaurant Good Burger, alongside Ed. He, just like Mitchell, was also in the middle of his ongoing work on All That, leaving the show in 1999 to then wrap up Kenan & Kel in 2000.

Kenan Thompson is considered by some to be the most popular cast member from Good Burger and went on to build likely the most well-known resume following the movie’s release. After 2000, he appeared in several side roles in both film and television. But in 2003, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and became the most senior overall, and longest-serving African-American cast member in the show’s history. He’s still on SNL and is also doing work with his own production and talent company called Artists for Artists (AFA), co-founded in 2021.

Abe Vigoda

Legendary stage, television, and film actor Abe Vigoda played the role of Otis, the oldest person probably to have worked at a Good Burger. When the movie was released, it was highly likely that no kid at that time would’ve been familiar with Vigoda’s previous work, unless maybe they saw his small role in Look Who’s Talking. By the time he worked on Good Burger, Vigoda had appeared in over 70 individual productions. His acting experience goes back to the 1940s but his most memorable roles were as Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather, and as NYPD detective Phil Fish in the hit 70s sitcom Barney Miller.

After Good Burger, Vigoda would continue making several appearances in plenty of movies and TV shows, well into the 21st century. He even appeared in a very popular Snickers commercial, playing touch football along with another legendary entertainer, Betty White. Abe Vigoda would play his final role in a low-budget romance film called Sweet Destiny, before passing away in 2016 at the age of 94.

Jan Schweiterman

American actor Jan Schweiterman played the role of Kurt Bozwell, the owner of Mondo Burger, the business rival of the Good Burger fast-food restaurant. Before playing the antagonist in this movie, Schweiterman had small roles in popular television programs like Forever, ER, McKenna, and a low-budget movie called Wasted. His role in Good Burger is by now, the biggest one of his career. After that movie, he only went on to make small appearances in TV shows like NightMan, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, and Felicity. He followed that up with appearances in low-budget movies such as American Intellectuals, Fallen Arches, and Along the Way in 2007, the most recent production he’s worked on in his career.

Sinbad

Popular stand-up comedian and actor Sinbad was cast in a cameo role as Mr. Wheat, Dexter’s high school teacher. Prior to this movie, Sinbad was already well-known in pop culture, having acted in A Different World and his own sitcom, The Sinbad Show, on television, as well as acting in movies like First Kid, Houseguest, and Jingle All the Way.

After Good Burger, Sinbad kept busy with stand-up comedy specials and cameo appearances through the turn of the century. He then found more success in voice acting, starting in 2013 with a role in the animated film Planes. He followed that up with work on Steven Universe and Disney’s The Lion Guard before his most recent live-action role on the short-lived Fox sitcom, Rel, in 2019.

Shar Jackson

Good Burger was only Jackson’s third movie role but before playing the role of Dexter’s love interest, Monique, she had plenty of TV experience from small roles in Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, On Our Own, The Steve Harvey Show, and as a regular cast member on Moesha.

After appearing in Good Burger, Jackson would eventually have one more role in a notable movie, the romantic drama Love & Basketball, in 2000. Her film career would continue on through the next couple of decades but only in low-budget, limited-released productions. Jackson’s work on television has been much like it was prior to Moesha and Good Burger, making numerous guest appearances on sitcoms and even reality shows like Celebrity Fit Club, Life After, and Hollywood Divas. She last had a guest role in a 2021 episode of Shameless.

Linda Cardellini

Cardellini had a small role in Good Burger as Heather, a young girl who had a playful crush on Ed. As an actress, she’s had a career that would rival, if not surpass Kenan Thompson’s, according to some folks. She had only appeared in small guest roles on TV shows like 3rd Rock from the Sun, Clueless, and a 10-episode stint of the children’s horror series Bone Chillers, before her first film role in Good Burger. From there, Cardellini actually had a guest role in an episode with Mitchell and Thompson in their Nickelodeon sitcom Kenan & Kel before starring in the TV comedy Freaks and Geeks and as a regular cast member on the legendary hospital drama ER for seven seasons.

During that time, she also had film roles in Legally Blonde, the very-popular live-action Scooby-Doo movies, and Brokeback Mountain. Over the last 10 years, she’s worked steadily on television, in both live-action and voice work, in productions like Regular Show, Gravity Falls, Mad Men, Bloodline, and the ongoing Netflix comedy Dead to Me. On the big screen, she had roles in The Founder, Daddy’s Home, and its sequel Daddy’s Home 2, and her most popular role, playing Laura Barton in various MCU titles such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Endgame, and Hawkeye.

Dan Schneider

Former actor Dan Schneider played Mr. Baily, the owner, and manager of Good Burger. By the time the movie came out, he had a decent amount of acting experience under his belt. During the 1980s, he had roles in Better Off Dead, The Big Picture, Hot Resort, and the popular sitcom Head of the Class. During the 90s though, he only made small cameo appearances in several Nickelodeon productions that he actually co-created or co-produced at the time. He was even a co-writer of Good Burger’s screenplay. Since then, Schneider’s only worked behind the camera, helping to develop the popular kids show Henry Danger, but is now rumored to be working on some unknown projects that are geared towards older audiences.

Ron Lester

Lester played Spatch, the head fry cook of Good Burger. This movie was the first acting role in his career. From there, he went on to co-star in the popular high school drama Varsity Blues,  Not Another Teen Movie, and then went into TV roles in Cousin Skeeter, Freaks and Geeks, and Popular. His work tailed off during the early 2000s, as he focused on his physical health. In 2005, he got back into acting by taking a couple of small guest roles on television and also appeared in low-budget short film projects. By 2015, he wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in a family drama called Racing Legacy, his final project. He passed away from liver and kidney failure in 2016.

Josh Server

Many fans of Good Burger would likely recognize Server from his six years on All That, alongside Mitchell and Thompson. He was cast in the movie as Fizz, the drive-thru employee of Good Burger. By the time the movie was released, he was pretty popular with young audiences and continued to find steady work by appearing in several sitcoms like Kenan & Kel, 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, and Drake & Josh, to name a few. He would take a break from performing before getting right back into things with more small roles. In 2016, he would appear for a handful of episodes in Amazon’s Good Girls Revolt and then eventually back to the 2019 revival of All That. He most recently wrapped up work on two indie films that are currently in post-production.

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