The Cast of Twister (1996) is One of the Best and Weirdest of All Time

Note: For readers in Central Alabama, I promise I watched Twister like two weeks ago and I started writing this piece last week. I am not capitalizing on current weather events. I hope you and your loved ones all fared well last night!

Twister has to be one of the most watched but least remembered films of the 1990s.* If you were old enough to see it when it came out, you probably saw it—and ever since then, you’ve probably thought there’s no reason to rewatch it. “I already saw Twister,” you might be saying to yourself. “What more could be gained from revisiting such a film?”

Well, reader, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. Well, kinda wrong, at least. Twister is probably what you remember it being, but I find it to be highly rewatchable. Because it’s less about what happens and more about who it happens to. This cast is like a cinematic time capsule.

I’m not talking about the celebrity factor, though. You could easily name several films that contain more star power. But sometimes, when there’s too much star power, a film can resemble an All-Star Game where the chemistry and balance are hard to maintain. A perfect cast more closely resembles a championship team, I think. And that’s what we’ve got here.

Let’s start with the leading lady and the main man. Helen Hunt absolutely dominated this decade, winning a slew of Emmys for Mad About You and culminating with an Academy Award for As Good As It Gets where she went toe-to-toe with one of our most celebrated living actors. Her shine faded a bit after Cast Away in 2000, which makes her both a) an absolute movie star at the time but also b) somewhat unassuming for anyone who didn’t live through the 90s.

And while Bill Paxton was never exactly an Oscar-caliber actor that many of his contemporaries became—possibly because his life was cut tragically short just a few years ago (R.I.P.)—he’s nonetheless a beloved figure among genre film circles. Did you know that Bill Paxton is the only actor to die on screen at the hands of the titular monsters from an Alien film, a Predator film, and a Terminator film?** (If you did, guess what: You’re a nerd.)

The supporting cast is where things get really groovy, though. The most prominent one, of course, is the legendary Philip Seymour Hoffman (R.I.P.), who was on the come up with Paul Thomas Anderson at the time but nonetheless enjoying prominent screen time in his first real blockbuster. Watching him in this film is such a treat; he’s young, he’s weird, he’s overjoyed, and you can just tell that he’s genuinely happy to be there.

Then there’s Jami Gertz, who enjoyed breakout success by playing Kiefer Sutherland’s love interest in The Lost Boys, and then almost a decade later she played Bill Paxton’s love interest in Twister, which kinda feels like the same thing, and no I will not explain that statement. Did you know that Jami Gertz is a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks? You are learning all kinds of useless information today, reader. (Too bad the Hawks are trash.)***

I’m particularly fond of the casting of Cary Elwes too, because it’s such a wonderful departure for him. After playing the utterly charming hero roles in The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men In Tights, he plays fully against type as the rival scientist who’s competing with Hunt and Paxton. The best part is that I don’t think the film even needs this character really, but he makes it feel essential.

Perhaps the film’s biggest rewatchability strength, though, is the bullpen of minor supporting players. The recognizability here is off the charts. You’ve got Alan Ruck, who you’ll know as either Connor from Succession or Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. You’ve got Scott Thomson from three of the Police Academy films. You’ve got Jeremy Davies, whom I immediately recalled as Dickie Bennett from Justified.**** You’ve got dudes like Zach Grenier and Patrick Fischler who’ll have you pointing at the screen and racking your brain to remember how you know them.***** You’ve got Todd Field, who I don’t know from anything, but he went on to write two Oscar-nominated screenplays, and for that he has my admiration. Then there’s the timeless Lois Smith, who has appeared in pretty much everything and deserves your respect.

So no, the cast of Twister may not be full of Hall of Famers. But if you ask me, they won the retroactive championship for Best Ensemble Cast in 1996. And maybe that’s all the rewatchability you need.

*Some friends and I attended a “90s movie trivia” earlier this week. We named our team The Suck Zone after this film. We won first place even though we missed several Disney questions. Nobody seemed to get the reference, even in a room full of people who like to reference things.

**I should mention that Lance Henriksen almost qualifies for this honor as well. He gets killed by a T-800 in The Terminator, and he gets killed in Alien vs. Predator by the latter, but in Aliens, since he plays an android, he is merely ripped to shreds but technically not, well, terminated. That doesn’t happen until Alien 3 when Ripley shuts him down for good.

***Go Grizzlies.

****My buddy Russell tells me that Jeremy Davies is also in Lost. I did not watch Lost. Please do not ask me to watch Lost.

*****For me, it’s Deadwood and Twin Peaks: The Return, respectively. At least it is for now.

Twister is now streaming on HBO Max, and it’s available to rent elsewhere.