The Cast of “Smash”: Where Are They Now?

See what Debra Messing, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and the rest of the stars have been up to since the beloved musical series ended

Smash may have only aired for two seasons, but there’s no question that in the years since it wrapped in 2013, it’s gone on to become a cult favorite. The short-lived NBC musical drama about a troubled Broadway-bound production has provided a generation of musical theater kids with audition and karaoke songs and drag queens with crowd-pleasing numbers.

As a stage adaptation of Smash heads to Broadway next year, fans are in for an early treat: this week both seasons of the Emmy-winning show hit Peacock, allowing Bombshell diehards to revisit every moment.

Here, take a look back at the show’s cast then and now.

Debra Messing as Julia Houston

Best known for her starring role in Will & Grace — for which she won a 2003 Emmy — Debra Messing entered a period in which she starred in films like The Wedding Date and the 2008 remake of The Women in the mid-2000s and early 2010s.

In 2012, however, she returned to full-time series television, taking on the role of Julia Houston, one of the co-writers behind Smash’s musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.

After the show ended in 2013, Messing appeared in a few more films — 2014’s Like Sunday, Like Rain, 2018’s Searching — and starred in NBC’s short-lived The Mysteries of Laura before reprising her role as Grace Adler in the 2017 Will & Grace reboot.

Since then, she has appeared in the 2020 political comedy Irresistible, directed by Jon Stewart, and made a memorable cameo as herself in 2022’s Bros. Next up for Messing: starring opposite Robert De Niro in director Barry Levinson’s 2025 crime drama Alto Knights.

During a 2020 livestream that reunited the Smash cast, Messing told PEOPLE that if a reboot of the show were to film in New York, “I’m in.”

Messing married actor and screenwriter Daniel Zelman in 2000. The couple welcomed a son, Roman, in 2004. In 2011, Messing and Zelman separated and their divorce was finalized in 2016.

Jack Davenport as Derek Willis

A mainstay of British TV, Jack Davenport also appeared in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, several films in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and was opposite Messing in The Wedding Date, before taking on the role of musical theater director Derek Willis in Smash.

He has continued to work steadily in film and TV since the series ended, most notably appearing in 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and in guest roles on American TV shows like The Good Wife, The Mindy Project, The Morning Show, and most recently, season 2 of Dr. Death.

Davenport has been married to Scottish actress Michelle Gomez since 2000. The couple have one son, born in 2010.

Katharine McPhee as Karen Cartwright

Katharine McPhee rose to fame in 2006 as the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol. She released three albums and appeared in films like The House Bunny and shows like Ugly Betty and Community before landing a starring role as Karen Cartwright, a New York newbie vying for the role of Marilyn Monroe in Smash’s in-world musical Bombshell.

In the years since, McPhee has continued to make music, releasing three albums between 2015 and 2023. She’s also appeared in movies like Bayou Caviar and The Tiger Rising, and starred on the CBS action drama Scorpion from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, she made her Broadway debut starring in Waitress, reprising the role in the show’s West End production the following year before returning to Broadway. Most recently, she appeared on The Masked Singer in 2021 alongside record producer husband David Foster.

In 2022, McPhee launched a her KMF Jewelry collection, which led to a collaboration with HSN last year.

McPhee’s first marriage to Nick Cokas lasted from 2008 to 2016. She married foster in 2019, and the couple welcomed a son, Rennie, in 2021.

Megan Hilty as Ivy Lynn

Megan Hilty brought some major Broadway cred to the role of Ivy Lynn in Smash. Before taking on the role, she starred as Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked from 2005 to 2006, originated the role of Doralee Rhodes in the 2009 Broadway musical adaptation of 9 to 5 and starred in the 2012 Broadway revival of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

TV guest roles on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and other hit series preceded Smash, and following the show’s cancellation, she starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sean Saves the World with Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes.

In the years since, she’s appeared on The Good Wife and spin-off The Good Fight, and done a tone of voice work in animated films and TV shows like Sofia the First, T.O.T.S. and Centaurworld.

Hilty returned to the stage in 2015, starring in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun. The following year, she appeared in the Broadway revival of Noises Off, earning her first Tony nomination for best featured actress in a play. In 2021, she appeared in NBC’s Annie Live!, and most recently has originated the role of Madeline Ashton in a musical adaptation of Death Becomes Her set to open on Broadway this fall.

Hilty has been married to fellow actor Brian Gallagher since 2013. In 2014, the couple welcomed a daughter Viola, followed by a son, Ronan, in 2017.

In 2022, Hilty's sister, brother-in-law and nephew sadly died in a plane that crashed in Puget Sound, killing everyone onboard. "The last three days have been the worst of our lives," Hilty wrote in a September 2022 Instagram post. "There are truly no words to appropriately convey the depth of our grief."

Christian Borle as Tom Levitt

Another Broadway veteran and multiple Tony nominee, Christian Borle’s pre-Smash credits included roles in Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spamalot, Legally Blonde, and Mary Poppins. In 2012, he won his first Tony for his role in Peter and the Starcatcher.

After starring in Smash as composer Tom Levitt, Borle had recurring roles in The Good Wife and Masters of Sex and appeared in NBC’s Peter Pan Live! In 2015, he won his second Tony for his role as William Shakespeare in Something Rotten!

Borle has continued to provide voices for animated characters in shows like Vampira and Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure while guesting on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, The Good Fight and Elementary. But his biggest roles have been on Broadway.

He earned Tony nominations for his roles in the 2016 revival of Falsettos and 2023’s Some Like it Hot, and starred as Willy Wonka in the 2017 Broadway adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

In June, it was announced that Borle would be taking over the role of Jim Bakker from Andrew Rannells when the London production of Elton John and Jake Shears’s Tammy Faye transfers to the Great White Way this fall.

Borle married fellow Tony winner Sutton Foster in 2006. The couple divorced in 2009, but have reported remained friendly.

Raza Jaffrey as Dev Sundaram

Before joining the cast of Smash as Karen’s boyfriend Dev, British Raza Jaffrey got his start on the London stage. He appeared in the West End production of Mama Mia! in 2001 and had also appeared in long-running British TV shows EastEnders and Casualty. From 2004 to 2007 he starred in the BBC spy drama Spooks. He appeared in a supporting role in director David Cronenberg’s 2007 film Eastern Promises and played Carrie Bradshaw’s butler in 2010’s Sex and the City 2.

Since 2013, Jaffrey has had recurring roles in American TV shows like Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Elementary and Homeland. From 2018 to 2021, he starred in a recurring role in Netflix’s Lost in Space reboot, and since 2022 he has starred in Starz’s The Serpent Queen.

Jaffrey was married to actress Miranda Raison from 2007 to 2009. In 2014, he married actress Lara Pulver. The couple have two children.

Anjelica Huston as Eileen Rand

Model, actress, director, author, Academy Award winner and all-around Hollywood icon Anjelica Huston’s pre-Smash resume goes on forever, but highlights include 1987’s The Dead (her director father John Huston’s final film), 1990’s The Witches, 1991’s The Addams Family and several Wes Anderson films, including The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Following her role as Broadway producer Eileen Rand in Smash, Huston had a recurring part on Transparent and as the voice of a character on BoJack Horseman. She re-teamed with Anderson to provide the narration for 2021’s The French Dispatch, and appeared as The Director in 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Huston will reprise her John Wick role in next year’s John Wick Presents: Ballerina.

She has also written two memoirs, 2013’s A Story Lately Told about her early life and 2014’s Watch Me which covers her career in the entertainment business.

Following high-profile relationships with Jack Nicholson and Ryan O’Neal in the 1970s and '80s, Huston married sculptor Robert Graham in 1992. The couple remained together until Graham’s 2008 death.

Brian d'Arcy James as Frank Houston

Another Broadway vet, Brian d’Arcy James first stepped onto the Great White Way in the 1993 musical Blood Brothers, and did time in Carousel, Titanic, Sweet Smell of Success and other productions in the ’90s and early 2000s before winning a Tony in 2009 for his lead role in Shrek the Musical.

After playing Julia’s husband and high-school chemistry teacher Frank Houston, in Smash, James went on to star alongside Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams in the Oscar-winning 2015 film Spotlight.

His subsequent film credits also include director Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game and 2019’s Dark Phoenix. In 2021, he starred as Officer Krupke in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story and has continued to appear on Broadway in Hamilton, The Ferryman, Into the Woods and opposite Smash co-star Christian Borle in Something Rotten. Most recently he starred in Days of Wine and Roses.

James has also appeared on TV in The Good Wife, Mozart in the Jungle, 13 Reasons Why, Hawkey and Evil, and has released an album of holiday tunes, 2004’s From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn.

James shares a daughter with wife Jennifer Prescott.

Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Strickland

A Tony and Grammy winner and a two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee, Leslie Odom Jr. first appeared on Broadway in 1998 in the cast of Rent during the beloved musical’s original 1996–2008 run. He’d also appeared in guest and recurring roles on numerous TV series — including CSI Miami, Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy and Supernatural — before joining the cast of Smash as Bombshell cast member Sam Strickland.

Odom returned to Broadway in 2015, winning a Tony for his performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, and has since starred in Purlie Victorious and Gutenberg! The Musical!

His film appearances since Smash have been relatively few, but certainly high impact. He was among the star-studded casts of 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express and 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. He starred alongside fellow Tony winner Cynthia Erivo in 2019’s Harriet, scored an Oscar nomination for his supporting role as Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami... and starred in the Sopranos spin-off film The Many Saints of Newark in 2021. Most recently, he starred in last year’s The Exorcist: Believer.

Since 2014, Odom has released five albums, including last year’s When a Crooner Dies.

Odom married actress Nicolette Kloe Robinson in late 2012. In 2017, the couple welcomed a daughter, Lucille, and in 2021 their son Phineas was born.

Will Chase as Michael Swift

Will Chase also came to Smash with an extensive list of Broadway credits. Like Odom, he appeared on Broadway in Rent in 1998, as well as Miss Saigon, The Full Monty and Aida before returning to Rent in the role of Roger in 2005. In 2013, he earned a Tony nomination for his role in The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

After playing Bombshell star — and Julia’s ex — Michael Swift in Smash, Chase appeared in Nashville as country music star Luke Wheeler from 2013 to 2018. His extensive TV credits also include guest and recurring roles on The Good Wife, The Deuce, Stranger Things and Madam Secretary. In 2021, he starred in the Hulu limited series Dopesick alongside Michael Keaton.

This summer, Chase returns to Broadway for the first time since starring in the 2019 revival of Kiss Me Kate. He’ll play Sir Harry in a new production of Once Upon a Mattress set to begin previews later this month.

Chase is the father of two children, Daisy and Gracie, from his first marriage to Lori Davis, who died in 2008. Chase reportedly began dating musician Ingrid Michaelson in 2015.

Jaime Cepero as Ellis Boyd

After playing conniving personal assistant Ellis Boyd in Smash, Jaime Cepero went on to appear in two 2015 films: I Am Michael, alongside James Franco, Zachary Quinto and Emma Roberts, and Daddy. Cepero also appeared in 2017’s Dating My Mother and in an episode of the 2020 pandemic series Connecting…

The non-binary actor, writer and activist has appeared in Broadway productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair and Porgy and Bess, according to Broadway World, and has written two musicals, Francois and The Rebels and A Punk Rock Ritual as well as song cycle, Songs About Anxiety. Cepero, who uses they/he pronouns, was recently featured on Playbill’s Songwriter Series.

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