- Annabeth Gish, left (Kat Arujo)
- Annabeth Gish (Kat Arujo)
Gish was just 16 when she played future Yale freshman Kat in “Mystic.” She was the youngest of the three stars but had already appeared in two features, “Desert Bloom” with Jon Voight and high school action comedy “Hiding Out” with Jon Cryer. After “Mystic,” she went on to star in “Shag” and “Beautiful Girls.” In recent years, she’s been known for her recurring roles on TV, from “The X-Files” and
“The West Wing” to current series “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Bridge.” The 42-year-old’s next film, drama “Grass Stains,” is due next year.
- Julia Roberts (Daisy Arujo)
- Julia Roberts (Daisy Arujo)
Before playing the beautiful and headstrong Daisy in “Mystic,” Roberts, then 20 had one major film role to her credit, a supporting part behind Justine Bateman in “Satisfaction.” But “Mystic” brought her to the attention of the makers of “Steel Magnolias” (which earned Roberts her first Oscar nod) and “Pretty Woman,” which made her the Queen of Hollywood in 1990, a title she’s pretty much held onto ever since. She finally won that Oscar in 2001 for “Erin Brockovich.” Now 45, she next appears in the ensemble drama “August: Osage County,” due at Christmas.
- Lili Taylor (Jojo)
- Lili Taylor (Jojo)
At 21, Taylor enjoyed her first major film role as commitment-shy Jojo in “Mystic.” She quickly followed that with a memorable role as John Cusack’s heartbroken, guitar-strumming pal in “Say Anything.” While co-star Julia Roberts went on to become queen of Hollywood, Taylor became queen of Sundance, starring in such indie films as “Dogfight,” “Short Cuts,” Household Saints” (reteaming with “Mystic” beau Vincent D’Onofrio), “The Addiction,” “I Shot Andy Warhol,” “Girls Town,” “Pecker,” and “Factotum.” She’s also appeared occasionally in Hollywood fare, including “Rudy,” “Ransom,” “High Fidelity” (again with Cusack) and “Public Enemies.” In fact, mainstream audiences know the 46-year-old best for her work in such horror films as “The Haunting” and her most recent film, this year’s hit “The Conjuring.”
- Adam Storke (Charles Gordon Winsor Jr.)
- Adam Storke (Charles Gordon Winsor Jr.)
Storke was 25 when he made his screen debut in “Mystic” as Charlie, the rich, WASP-y law school dropout who pursues Daisy. Since then, he’s made few films, notably “Death Becomes Her” (where he played Meryl Streep’s boytoy) and the 2012 comedy “Broadway’s Finest.” He’s also done some TV, most notably, the 1994 mini-series version of Stephen King’s “The Stand.” Now 51, Storke recently told Entertainment Weekly that his next project is a movie adapted from a novel to which he purchased the rights.
- William R. Moses (Tim Travers)
- William R. Moses (Tim Travers)
“Falcon Crest” star Moses was 30 and a veteran of just two previous films when he landed the “Mystic” role of Tim, the married man who hires Kat as a babysitter and has an affair with her. Afterwards, he made a handful of movies, including “Trial By Jury,” “Hangman’s Curse,” and his most recent movie 2009’s “Accused at 16.” On TV, he made a dozen “Perry Mason” movies and eight “Jane Doe” movies. He was a regular for three years on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” Now 55, his most recent appearance was in the 2013 TV movie “Assumed Killer.”
- Vincent D’Onofrio (Bill)
- Vincent D’Onofrio (Bill)
D’Onofrio made such an indelible impression in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 “Full Metal Jacket” as the rotund, head-shaved, psychotic Private Pyle that critics hardly recognized the 29-year-old when he played Jojo’s fiancé, the handsome, stable, muscular, curly-haired Bill, in “Mystic.” The chameleonic actor went on to appear in “Dying Young” (opposite “Mystic” co-star Julia Roberts), “The Player,” “Ed Wood” (as Orson Welles), “Men in Black,” “The Cell,” and “Brooklyn’s Finest,” He’s best known for his decade-long stint on TV’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Now 54, he can currently be seen in the new Sylvester Stallone-Arnold Schwarzenegger film “Escape Plan.”
- Conchata Ferrell (Leona)
- Conchata Ferrell (Leona)
Aside from playing the lead opposite Rip Torn in 1979’s “Heartland,” Conchata Ferrell was primarily a stage and TV character actress when, at 45, she won the role of feisty pizza chef Leona in “Mystic.” She’s since appeared in such films as “Edward Scissorhands,” “True Romance,” “Erin Brockovich” (alongside her former “Mystic” employee, Julia Roberts), “Mr. Deeds,” and most recently, 2012’s “Frankenweenie.” The 70-year-old is best known, however, for her long-running TV role (10 seasons and counting) as sharp-tongued housekeeper Berta on the sitcom “Two and a Half Men.”
- Matt Damon (Steamer)
- Matt Damon (Steamer)
Yes, Matt Damon made his screen debut in “Mystic Pizza.” He was 17 and played a character named “Steamer,” a young relative at the Winsor dinner party who gets one line during Charlie and Daisy’s ill-fated meet-the-parents meal. After that inauspicious debut, it would be four more years before his first major screen role (as a prep student in “School Ties”) and another five years after that before his breakthrough in “Good Will Hunting,” in which he not only played the lead but won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with co-scripter/co-star Ben Affleck. Since then, Damon’s been in demand for such ensemble films as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Oceans Eleven” and its sequels (in which he reteamed with “Mystic” co-star Julia Roberts), “True Grit,” and “Contagion.” He graduated to A-List leading man as amnesiac spy Jason Bourne in the first three “Bourne” movies and continues to star in such films as “The Departed” and this summer’s “Elysium.” Now 43, Damon will have an ensemble part again this December in “The Monuments Men.”
- Louis Turenne (Hector Freshette)
- Louis Turenne (Hector Freshette)
Turenne was 54 when he played a small role that’s probably his most memorable one: as the persnickety “Fireside Gourmet” food critic who gives Mystic Pizza a rave. Before that, the Canadian actor had appeared in such films as “Mandingo” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” Afterwards, the character actor popped up in such movies as “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” and “Major League II.” Now 79, he’s been inactive since 1996, which was a busy year for him: he played a recurring role on TV’s “Babylon 5” and appeared in two movies: “Hellraiser: Bloodline” and “The Associate.”
- Joanna Merlin, left (Mrs. Arujo)
- Joanna Merlin (Mrs. Arujo)
Merlin was a seasoned Broadway actress who’d appeared in countless Stephen Sondheim musicals when she was cast, at 57, as Daisy and Kat’s blue-collar mom in “Mystic.” She’d also had a long film career, going back all the way to the 1956 classic “The Ten Commandments,” in which she played one of Jethro’s eligible daughters. Her movies since “Mystic” have included “Class Action,” “Mr. Wonderful” (alongside “Mystic” co-star Vincent D’Onofrio), “City of Angels,” and most recently, 2010’s “Sarah’s Key.” On TV, the 82-year-old was just seen in the recent third season premiere of Showtime’s “Homeland.”