Little Miss Sunshine cast: Where are they now?

Little Miss Sunshine, then and now

On July 26, 2006, a multigenerational crew of misfits piled into a yellow VW bus and made indie movie magic. To honor this Sundance classic, which won Oscars for Alan Arkin and screenwriter Michael Arndt, catch up with the cast of Little Miss Sunshine and see what they've been doing since pushing the little yellow bus.

Greg Kinnear (Richard Hoover)

Audiences knew Greg Kinnear from movies like Sabrina (1995), As Good as It Gets (1997), and You've Got Mail (1998), in which he played Meg Ryan's academic boyfriend Frank Navasky.

Since his role as failed businessman Richard Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine, Kinnear racked up roles in Fast Food Nation (2006), Invincible (2006), Baby Mama (2008), Ghost Town (2008), The Last Song (2010), Green Zone (2010), I Don't Know How She Does It (2011), Stuck in Love (2012), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).

Kinnear tried his hand at political productions, starring in the TV miniseries The Kennedys (2011) as Jack Kennedy, for which he received an Emmy nomination, and as Joe Biden in HBO's Confirmation (2016). He continued his big-screen turns in Misbehaviour (2020), and Crisis (2021), and starred in miniseries such as The Stand on Paramount+ and Black Bird on Apple TV+, and on the ongoing comedy Shining Vale on Starz.

Paul Dano (Dwayne Hoover)

Paul Dano made a name for himself in the early-2000s, popping up in L.I.E. (2001), The Emperor's Club (2002), The Girl Next Door (2004), and on HBO's The Sopranos. Since his turn as Dwayne in Little Miss Sunshine, he has picked up critical acclaim, earning credits for Academy Award winners There Will Be Blood (2007) and 12 Years a Slave (2013), and landing his first Golden Globe nomination for playing the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson in 2014's Love & Mercy.

He also starred with his longtime partner Zoe Kazan in the indie rom-com she wrote, Ruby Sparks (2012), and went dark in the kidnapping thriller Prisoners (2013) with Hugh Jackman. Dano played Hank in Swiss Army Man (2016), alongside Daniel Radcliffe's farting corpse. His busy 2022 included roles as the Riddler in The Batman and Burt Fabelman in The Fabelmans, which scored him a Screen Actors Guild award nomination.

Alan Arkin (Edwin Hoover)

Alan Arkin won an Oscar for his endearing portrayal of Grandpa Edwin Hoover, but audiences knew him long before Little Miss Sunshine. The actor's early roles included The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), and Inspector Clouseau (1968). He went on to hit the small screen on Sesame Street and St. Elsewhere, and appeared in the Tim Burton classic Edward Scissorhands in 1990.

After Little Miss Sunshine, he reunited with his costar Steve Carell for Get Smart (2008), and again in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013). Arkin was part of the cast of the Academy Award-winning film Argo (2012).

His other prominent movie roles include Stand Up Guys (2012), Grudge Match (2013), Dumbo (2019), and Spenser Confidential (2020). Arkin also starred on Netflix's The Kominsky Method alongside Michael Douglas, for which he received two Emmy nominations. In 2022, Arkin voiced Wild Knuckles in Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Toni Collette (Sheryl Hoover)

Toni Collette was no stranger to the silver screen by 2006, having previously appeared in Muriel's Wedding (1994), Emma (1996), The Sixth Sense (1999), About a Boy (2002), and In Her Shoes (2005).

After playing Sheryl Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine, Collette received accolades for her performance on Showtime's United States of Tara, including a Primetime Emmy win. She reunited with Steve Carell in 2013 for another indie comedy, The Way Way Back.

Other roles Collette took on are Anne in the French comedy-drama Madame (2017), Scottie in the indie movie Please Stand By (2017), and Annie in the popular psychological horror flick Hereditary (2018). She played Joni in Knives Out (2019) and Zeena the Seer in Nightmare Alley (2021). The Aussie actress also starred in the HBO Max miniseries The Staircase (2022) and the movie The Estate (2022) with Anna Faris.

Steve Carell (Dr. Frank Ginsburg)

Steve Carell worked on The Daily Show as a correspondent while taking on comedy roles in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). He went on to star on another hit show, the American version of The Office, for which he won a Golden Globe in 2006. Carell kept up his impressive film career with more hit comedies: Get Smart, Date Night (2010), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), and forayed into more dramatic parts in Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and The Way Way Back.

Carell gained his first Oscar nomination for his transformative portrayal of John du Pont in 2014's Foxcatcher and was lauded for his work in The Big Short (2015). Audiences saw him in Café Society (2016), Battle of the Sexes (2017), Beautiful Boy (2018), on The Morning Show on Apple TV+, and in The Patient on Hulu. Carell voiced Gru in the Despicable Me franchise, reprising the role in 2022's Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Bryan Cranston (Stan Grossman)

Bryan Cranston played the vile Stan Grossman in Little Miss Sunshine, and was famous for his role as Hal on the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. He guest-starred on several famous TV comedies including Seinfeld, American Dad, and How I Met Your Mother before joining a little show called Breaking Bad in 2008, which earned him four Primetime Emmys and capitulated his career to new heights.

Cranston joined fellow Little Miss Sunshine actor Alan Arkin in Argo. He went on to earn praise for his portrayal of famous historical figures like Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo (2015) and President Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way (2016), for which he earned nominations from the Oscars and Emmys, respectively.

Since then, Cranston has been no stranger to the big screen, starring in The Infiltrator (2016), Wakefield (2016), Why Him? (2016), The Upside (2017), Last Flag Flying (2017), and Jerry and Marge Go Large (2022). He played the president in the miniseries The Stand, and the main character, Michael Desiato, on the Showtime series Your Honor.

Mary Lynn Rajskub (Pageant Assistant Pam)

Audiences remember Mary Lynn Rajskub for her parts in rom-com favorites Sweet Home Alabama (2002) and Punch-Drunk Love (2002), though she might be the most recognized as Chloe O'Brian on 24.

Since her part as Pageant Assistant Pam in Little Miss Sunshine, she was in the indie gem Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), and guest-starred on New Girl, Arrested Development, 2 Broke Girls, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Rajskub also played Erin Roberts on The Girlfriend Experience on Starz.

The actress guest-starred as Gail the Snail on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She played Lorraine Fuisz in the Hulu miniseries The Dropout and Charlie on Big Shot on Disney+. On the big screen, Rajskub appeared in Night School (2018), A World Away (2019), The Tomorrow War (2021), Please Baby Please (2022), and Daniel's Gotta Die (2022).