Sliding Doors Cast: Catch the Train and Learn All About Them All

Every commuter understand the frustration of missing your train, but there is one person who hates it more than most: Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) from the hit 1998 movie Sliding Doors. More accurately, one version of Helen hates it, the other isn't sure. After all, the one who catches the train comes home to find her husband in bed with another women, while the one who doesn't is now miserable and lonely.

Which of these versions is the real Helen? Well, you'll have to watch and find out! But before you do that, you might want to check in with The Sliding Doors cast. 

Sliding Doors is available for streaming on Tubi

Gwyneth Paltrow

CHARACTER PLAYED: Helen

BORN: September 27, 1972 in Los Angeles, California.

BEST KNOWN FOR: Hook (1991), Emma (1996), Great Expectations (1998), Shallow Hal (2001), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and The Politician (2019 t0 2020).

PERSONAL: Paltrow was married to Chris Martin from 2003 until 2016, and they had two children together. Now she is married to Brad Falchuk and has been since 2018.

THOUGHTS ON SLIDING DOORS: A large part of the film revolves around Helen's (Paltrow) look, with costume designer  Jill Taylor remembering "It was very difficult to make Gwyneth look down, which we discovered to our horror because she looks great in everything."

FUN FACT: Minnie Driver was originally offered the role of Helen, but after she declined Paltrow won the role.

John Hannah: Sliding Doors cast

CHARACTER PLAYED: James

BORN: April 23, 1962 in East Kilbride, Scotland.

BEST KNOWN FOR: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Mummy (1999), The Hurricane (1999), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon (2008), Spartacus (2010), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016 to 2017), Transplant (2020 t0 2024) and A Gangster's Kiss (2024). 

PERSONAL: Hannah has been married to Joanna Roth since 1996. They have two children together.

THOUGHTS ON SLIDING DOORS: Hannah and the film's director, Peter Howitt, had been friends for a little while before the Sliding Doors came out. In a press interview at the time of the movie's release, Hannah, he said, "When Peter came up with the script, and he asked me to read it and be in the film, it was kind of really annoying to see that he was also very talented as a writer. And now that I've seen the film, he turns out to be bloody talented as a director as well. It's just so unbearable. I hate him."

FUN FACT: A lot of the funding for the film came from a lunch meeting Hannah had with Sydney Pollack, where he practically begged him to help get the film off the ground.

John Lynch

CHARACTER PLAYED: Gerry

BORN: December 26, 1961 in Corrinshego Newry, Northern Ireland.

BEST KNOWN FOR: The Secret Garden (1993), In The Name of the Father (1993), Best (2000), Lassie (2005), Black Death (2010), The Fall (2013 to 2016), The Head (2020 t0 2022) and The Watchers (2024).

PERSONAL: Lynch was married to Mary McGuckian from 1997 until 2012.

FUN FACT: Much like his character, Lynch is also an author.

Jeanne Tripplehorn: Sliding Doors cast

CHARACTER PLAYED: Lydia

BORN: June 10, 1963 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

BEST KNOWN FOR: Basic Instinct (1992), The Firm (1993), Waterworld (1995), Big Love (2006 to 2011), Grey Gardens (2009)

Criminal Minds (2012 t0 2014), Exeter (2018 to 2023).

PERSONAL: Tripplehorn has been married to Leland Orser since 2000. They have one child together.

THOUGHTS ON SLIDING DOORS: "I didn't look at her as the other woman or the evil woman. I looked at her as a character in search of the truth, and she was frustrated because she wasn't getting it."

FUN FACT: Tripplehorn was 36 years old during filming.

Zara Turner

CHARACTER PLAYED: Anna

BORN: 1968 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

BEST KNOWN FOR: McCallum (1995 t0 1998), On the Nose (2001), Holy Cross (2003), The Brief (2004) and The Body Farm (2011). 

PERSONAL: Turner has one child.

FUN FACT: Turner's character was accused of asking "more questions than Jeopardy!" by Helen (Paltrow), but Jeopardy! isn't nearly as popular in The United Kingdom as it is in The United States.

Peter Howitt: Sliding Doors cast

CHARACTER PLAYED: Cheeky Bloke

BORN: May 5, 1957 in Manchester, England, UK.

BEST KNOWN FOR: How We Used to Live (1984 to 1985), Bread (1986 to 1988), In the Name of the Father (1993), Antitrust (2001), Johnny English (2003), Dangerous Parking (2007) and Defying Gravity (2009).

PERSONAL: Howitt has two children.

THOUGHTS ON SLIDING DOORS: Wondering where the idea for the film came from? Howitt says, "I was walking down a very famous road in London called Charing Cross Road, towards Leicester Square. I had to phone a friend of mine about some play we were doing, and I saw this phone box on the other side of the road and for whatever reason, what I call the cerebral flipping of the coin —we make a thousand of these decisions a day — I came down on phone him now. I obeyed that instruction and just walked straight into the round without looking where I was going — and I nearly got hit square-on by a car, which screeched to a halt within an inch of me."

"Now, what would have happened if he had hit me? Any number of things could have happened just because I decided to cross the road. Of the two choices I felt like I had, I only knew one version of that moment. In that instant I thought: That’s a great idea for a film. You take an everyday occurrence like crossing the road or running for the train, split it in two, and follow them both. And that’s why Sliding Doors exists. Simply because of that one moment.”

FUN FACT: Howitt wrote, directed and starred in the film.

 For more 1990s movies, keep scrolling! 

Get to Know the Stars From ‘The Cutting Edge’

Get to Know the 'Little Women' 1994 Cast

Catch Up With the Hilarious 'Billy Madison' Cast