Since their inception in 1958 by cartoonist Charles Addams, the altogether kooky Addams family have become one of the world’s most culturally significant fictional families. This has only continued to grow with the latest iteration as featured on the recent record-breaking Netflix series Wednesday. While Tim Burton’s Wednesday is a great place for newcomers to the franchise to be introduced to Wednesday Addams and her macabre family of ghoulish outcasts, those of us of a certain age will always have fond memories of the 1991 hit movie The Addams Family and its sequel The Addams Family: Family Values.

Prior to this movie, there had been the original comic series, which ran in The New Yorker over a 50-year period, plus televisions series running both in the 60s and another in the 70s. Initially met with mixed reviews,1991’s The Addams Family has amassed a strong cult following and thrust many of its actors into the limelight. Below, we take a look at what the main cast has been up to over the past two decades since the film’s initial release.

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Anjelica Huston — Morticia Addams

     Paramount Pictures

The craft (and art) of acting is in Anjelica Huston’s blood. Following her breakthrough performance in Prizzi’s Honor (1985), also directed by her father, she became the third generation of her family to receive an Academy Award when she won Best Supporting Actress, like both John and Walter Huston before her. During the 90s, some of her most memorable roles included the part of the Grand High Witch in Roald Dahl’s The Witches adaptation and, of course, as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Family Values.

Since then, Huston has worked consistently in many highly acclaimed movies, including several projects with directing auteur Wes Anderson, including The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited. Never one to stagnate, she has proved her versatility by appearing in a variety of roles across multiple genres, including family flicks (Daddy Day Care), crime thrillers (Buffalo ’66) and comedy (50/50). More recently, she can be seen playing The Director in 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Outside of movies, Huston has also appeared in a number of TV series, including prominent roles in Huff, Medium and Transparent.

Raul Julia — Gomez Addams

Puerto Rican-born Raul Julia was already a highly accomplished actor in his own right, having been acting in movies since the early-70s, before landing the role of Gomez Addams, the suave and doting patriarch of the macabre Addams Family. Following the movie’s release in 1991, Julia only appeared in two theatrically released movies before his untimely death in 1994. One of these was the sequel, with the others being the dark drama The Plague alongside William Hurt and Robert Duvall, and opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Street Fighter, which was released posthumously.

Christopher Lloyd — Uncle Fester

Christopher Lloyd is one of Hollywood’s most respected character actors, who is probably best known for his role as the eccentric Doc Brown in the Back to the Future franchise. Like most of the main cast, Lloyd returned for Family Values. He has continued to appear in many films, and continues to do so to this day at the ripe old age of 84. Often appearing as eccentric or even unhinged characters, he made memorable appearances in the likes of the bloody splatter fests Piranha 3D and 3DD, the Bob Odenkirk-led action romp Nobody, and the Robert Rodriguez stylish noir-thriller Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Possessing a very distinctive and expressive voice, Lloyd has made somewhat of a name for himself as a prolific voice actor, having voiced characters in Anastasia, The Tale of Despereaux, Hey Arnold!: The Movie, and even The Simpsons, to name a few.

Christina Ricci — Wednesday Addams

At just 11 years of age, Christina Ricci absolutely nailed the role of Wednesday, delivering every monotonal quip and emotionless glare with utter conviction, so much so, in fact, it led to her being somewhat typecast for much of her career. Not that it is something that seems to bother Ricci as she has fully embraced this dark side. Following the release of The Addams Family, she went on to appear in the movie’s sequel, which was shortly followed by a lead role in Casper, another dark family fantasy / horror film.

As an adult, Ricci continued to receive critical acclaim as he she began to demonstrate more dramatic acting abilities in the likes of Sleepy Hollow, Monster, Prozac Nation, Penelope, and Black Snake Moan. More recently, she appeared as a supporting character in the Matrix: Revelations and even made an appearance, to the joy of millions of fans worldwide, in the new Wednesday TV series, this time as Marilyn Thornhill, the dorm mom of Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday.

Jimmy Workman — Pugsley Addams

Jimmy Workman’s major acting debut was as Pugsley, the troublemaking son in the Addams family, and he reprised his role for the sequel. However, after a number of extensive family legal battles, it would end up being his last major movie role. He appeared in minor roles in Black Sheep, As Good As It Gets, and The Biggest Fan. He is now working behind the camera as part of the technical team and even served as production assistant on Star Trek: Insurrection.

Carel Struycken — Lurch

The silent but committed butler Lurch was played by Carel Struycken, who appeared not only in the 1991 movie and its sequel, but also in the TV movie Addams Family Reunion, which saw Darryl Hannah and Tim Curry taking over the roles of Morticia and Gomez, respectfully. Struycken’s work in Hollywood is fairly limited and his true passion lies in photography. Fans of horror and Stephen King might recognize him, however, as the mysterious Moonlight Man in the Gerald’s Game adaptation or as Grandpa Flick in Doctor Strange.