'Saving Private Ryan' celebrates 25th anniversary: The cast then and now

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"Saving Private Ryan" is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The Steven Spielberg-directed war epic follows a group of soldiers on their way to rescue Private Jake Ryan during World War II, after his three brothers were killed in battle. It went on to become the second most successful film of 1998, making over $482 million at the box office worldwide.

Spielberg wanted the film to be as accurate as possible. He hired two writers to conduct interviews with veterans in order to incorporate their thoughts, and had his actors undergo a week-long boot camp. The film is considered among veterans to be the most realistic portrayal of war on the big screen.

The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, going on to win five, including best director and best cinematography. It also won two BAFTAS out of 10 nominations, had five Golden Globe nominations – winning in the best picture and best director categories – as well as winning three Critics Choice Awards. The stars were also nominated for best performance by a cast at the SAG Awards.

Here's a look at where the film's stars are now. 

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Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks had already won two Academy Awards before taking on the role of Capt. John Miller in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Tom Hanks was already a two-time Academy Award winner and three-time nominee – thanks to his roles in "Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump" and "Big" – before taking on the role of Capt. John Miller in "Saving Private Ryan," a role which earned him his fourth Academy Award nomination. Prior to his role in "Saving Private Ryan," Hanks had already starred in blockbuster movies like "Toy Story" and "Apollo 13."

Following the success of the war epic, Hanks starred in a series of successful films, such as "The Green Mile," "You've Got Mail" with Meg Ryan," "Cast Away," which earned him his fifth Academy Award nomination, "Road to Perdition" and "Catch Me If You Can."

He starred in the 2007 movie "Charlie Wilson's War" and 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle," which earned him additional Golden Globe nominations. He also starred in "The Post," alongside Meryl Streep, and reprised his role as Woody in the sequels to "Toy Story," including 2, 3, and 4. 

In 2013, Hanks made his Broadway debut in Nora Ephron's play "Lucky Guy," and was nominated for a Tony Award for best actor. He received his sixth Academy Award nomination for starring in the 2019 movie "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood." 

Hanks starred alongside Meryl Streep in "The Post." (Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images)

Most recently, he starred in the Academy Award-nominated movie "Elvis," as well as "Pinocchio," "A Man Called Otto" and "Asteroid City." Along with his many Oscars, Hanks has also received an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honors medallion, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a French Legion of Honor and the 2020 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Hanks married his first wife, actress Samantha Lewes in 1978. The couple had two children together, a son Colin and a daughter Elizabeth, before getting a divorce in 1987. 

He met his second wife, Rita Wilson, in 1981 when they were both on an episode of "Bosom Buddies," however they did not become a couple until meeting for a second time on the set of "Volunteers" in 1985. They got married in 1988 and have two sons together, Chet and Truman Hanks.

Matt Damon

Matt Damon was already an Academy Award-winning screenwriter for 1997's "Good Will Hunting," before starring in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Matt Damon got his start in Hollywood with smaller roles, before going on to win a Golden Globe and Academy Award for writing the screenplay for the 1997 movie "Good Will Hunting." Just one year later, he landed the role of Pvt. James Francis Ryan in the best picture nominated movie "Saving Private Ryan."

He received his third Golden Globe nomination for his starring role in "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In 2000, Damon teamed up with Ben Affleck to start their production company, LivePlanet, which has since gone on to produce the four-time Emmy nominated reality series, "Project Greenlight."

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In the early 2000s, Damon entered two successful franchises when he starred in "Ocean's Eleven" in 2001 and "The Bourne Identity" in 2002. 

He reprised his character Linus Caldwell for "Ocean's Twelve" and "Ocean's Thirteen," and continued to play the character of Jason Bourne in multiple Bourne movies, including, "The Bourne Supremacy," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Bourne Legacy" and "Jason Bourne."

During that time, he also starred in the Academy Award winner "The Departed," along with "The Informant" and "Invictus," both of which earned him Golden Globe nominations and the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination.

Damon starred in the Ocean's trilogy alongside Brad Pitt and George Clooney, starting with "Ocean's Eleven" in 2001. (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

He later appeared in "True Grit," a few episodes of "30 Rock," for which he was nominated for his fourth Emmy Award, and the Max movie, "Behind the Candelabra," for which he earned his fifth Emmy Award nomination, his first BAFTA, and his sixth Golden Globe nomination.

Damon then starred in "Interstellar" and "The Martian," which earned him his seventh Golden Globe nomination and second win, a BAFTA nomination, and an Academy Award nomination. Most recently, Damon starred in "Stillwater," "The Last Duel," "Air" and "Oppenheimer."

Damon met his wife Luciana Bozán in 2003 when filming "Stuck On You," and after two years of dating, the two got engaged in September 2005. They officially tied the knot in December of that year. 

Since getting married, the two have welcomed three daughters, Isabella, Gia and Stella, as well as Damon's stepdaughter Alexia Barroso, Bozan's daughter from a previous marriage.

Vin Diesel 

Vin Diesel had only a few credits to his name before starring as Adrian Caparzo in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Prior to landing the role of Adrian Caparzo in "Saving Private Ryan," Vin Diesel had only acted in a few projects. The movie ended up giving Diesel his big break, leading to his first lead role in the 2000 movie "Pitch Black."

Diesel gained international attention when he first starred as Dominic Toretto in "The Fast and the Furious," in 2001. The movie was the first in a 10-film franchise, all of which he starred in, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. 

The actor is also in "The Chronicles of Riddick" franchise, starting with the 2000 film "Pitch Black," followed by 2004's "The Chronicles of Riddick, and 2013's "Riddick." In 2014, Diesel announced on social media a fourth movie was in the works, however it has yet to move past the pre-production phase.

He has also starred in 2002's "xXx" and 2020's" "Bloodshot."

Diesel began starring as Dominic Toretto in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise in 2001. He is pictured here with his late co-star and friend, Paul Walker. (Universal/Getty Images)

In 2014, the actor began voicing the character of Groot in Marvel's "The Guardians of the Galaxy." He later reprised the role, not only for the movie's sequels "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," but also a number of other Marvel movies, including "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Endgame" and "Thor: Love and Thunder." 

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Diesel has been with his longtime girlfriend, Paloma Jiménez, since 2007. The two have three children together, daughter Hania, 15, son Vincent, 12, and daughter Pauline, 8, who was named after his co-star and friend, the late Paul Walker.

Giovanni Ribisi

Giovanni Ribisi had been acting on various television shows before taking on the role of Irwin Wade in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Giovanni Ribisi had a long career in television as both a guest star and a main character before transitioning to feature films, eventually landing a starring role as medic Irwin Wade in "Saving Private Ryan."

From 1995 to 2003, Ribisi was a recurring character on the NBC sitcom "Friends," playing the half-brother of Lisa Kudrow's character. In 2005, Ribisi began appearing as a guest on "My Name Is Earl," making appearances until 2008, going on to earn an Emmy Award nomination in 2007 for his role. He then appeared in James Cameron's 2009 epic "Avatar," playing Parker Selfridge.

He later starred in "Selma," "Ted 2" and "A Million Little Pieces." From 2015 to 2019, Ribisi starred in the Amazon original series "Sneaky Pete," which lasted three seasons. Most recently, the actor starred in "On the Verge," "The Offer," "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Waco: The Aftermath."

Ribisi married actress Mariah O'Brien in 1997, and the couple had one daughter, Lucia Santina Ribisi, before getting a divorce in 2001. He later married English model Agyness Deyn in June 2012, and was married to her for nearly three years before getting a divorce in January 2015. 

In 2018, Ribisi announced he and his girlfriend Emily Ward had welcomed twins, Enzo and Maude.

Jeremy Davies

Jeremy Davies was no stranger to the big screen by the time he starred in "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998. (Getty Images)

Jeremy Davies had appeared in a number of films and TV shows, such as "Twister" and "Melrose Place," before taking on the role of Timothy Upham in the film "Saving Private Ryan."

He continued to act throughout the 2000s, appearing in the films, "The Million Dollar Hotel," "Intimate Affairs," "Secretary," "Solaris," "Helter Skelter," in which he portrayed Charles Manson, and "Rescue Dawn."

In 2008, Davies joined the cast of the hit ABC drama series, "Lost," in its fourth season, playing Daniel Faraday. Most recently, he has appeared in "The Rookie," "The Black Phone," "Justified," "The Infernal Machine" and "Bitcon."

Adam Goldberg

Adam Goldberg had appeared in a number of projects, prior to getting his big break playing Stanley Mellish in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Adam Goldberg made his big screen debut in 1992's "Mr. Saturday Night," going on to appear in TV shows such as "Friends" and "Relativity." However, his breakthrough into the business didn't come until the 1998 film "Saving Private Ryan," in which he played Stanley "Fish" Mellish.

Following his big break, Goldberg appeared in "A Beautiful Mind" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," and the true-crime thriller, "Zodiac," alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal. 

Goldberg continued to act as a guest in various TV shows into and throughout the 2010s before landing a recurring role in "NYC 22," as well as starring in "Los Angeles," "Anna Nicole," "Fargo," "Maron" and "No Way Jose." Most recently, the actor starred in 16 episodes of "Taken," the television adaptation of the popular action movie franchise of the same name.

Goldberg continued to act throughout the 2010s, including an appearance in the TV movie, "Anna Nicole." (Rob Kim/Getty Images)

In addition to his work as an actor, Goldberg also dabbled in the world of music, having composed and arranged the soundtracks for the films "I Love Your Work," "The Flaming Lips," and "No Way Jose." He also provided a song for the "Hebrew Hammer" movie soundtrack.

The musician released his first album, "Eros and Omissions," under the pseudonym LANDy in June 2009. He would go on to release three more albums, "The Goldberg Sisters," "Stranger's Morning" and "Home: A Nice Place to Visit," with his band, The Goldberg Sisters.

Goldberg married his longtime girlfriend Roxanne Daner on Halloween in 2014. The couple revealed they had a stillbirth in 2013. A year later they welcomed their second son, Bud, in November 2014, and their third son, Sonny, was born in September 2018. 

Tom Sizemore

Tom Sizemore had already made a name for himself as an actor, appearing in many films before starring as Mike Horvath in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Prior to getting the role of Sgt. Mike Horvath in "Saving Private Ryan," Tom Sizemore had already established himself as a successful actor, having starred in films such as "Natural Born Killers," "True Romance," "Where Sleeping Dogs Lie" and "Born on the Fourth of July" with Tom Cruise.

Sizemore enjoyed a successful run in Hollywood in the late 1990s to early 2000s starring in blockbuster films such as "Black Hawk Down" and "Heat." He also starred in "Witness Protection," for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination, "Pearl Harbor," alongside Ben Affleck, and "Swindle," alongside Sherilyn Fenn.

His career then took a hit following issues with substance abuse and arrests for DUI, domestic abuse and possession of a controlled substance. In 2013, he released a memoir detailing his "wild ride through Hollywood," titled, "By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There."

A synopsis of the book said Sizemore’s days had been "filled with overdoses, suicide attempts, and homelessness." 

Tom Sizemore died in March 2023 at the age of 61. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Previously married to actress Maeve Quinlan from 1996 through 1999, Sizemore had several run-ins with the law and openly discussed his journey to sobriety. In July 2005, Sizemore's girlfriend, Janelle McIntire gave birth to twins Jagger and Jayden Sizemore, however their relationship eventually ended.

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In February 2023, the actor suffered a brain aneurysm that occurred as a result of a stroke, leaving him in critical condition, his rep told Fox News Digital at the time. Things took a turn for the worse toward the end of the month, with doctors informing his family on Feb. 27 that they "recommended end-of-life decision." He passed away in March 2023 at the age of 61.

Edward Burns

Edward Burns is known for his role in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Edward Burns only had a few credits as an actor before getting cast in "Saving Private Ryan," playing the rebellious soldier Pvt. Richard Reiben.

In that time, he also starred in films such as "Life or Something Like It," "Confidence" and "The Breakup Artist," as well as three appearances on the show "Will & Grace." He then starred in "The Holiday," with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, "27 Dresses," alongside James Marsden and Katherine Heigl, and "Friends with Kids."

The actor then went on to star in a few more projects that he also wrote and directed, including the shows "Public Morals" and "Bridge and Tunnel," as well as the films, "Summer Days, Summer Nights" and "Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies."

Burns met his wife Christy Turlington in 2000 at a charity event and the two instantly hit it off, getting engaged six months later. The two went on to get married in June 2003, and welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Grace later that year.

The couple welcomed their son, Finn, three years later in 2006.

Barry Pepper

Barry Pepper had mostly appeared as a guest on a number of television shows before appearing in "Saving Private Ryan." (Getty Images)

Barry Pepper mostly appeared as a guest on various television shows, including "Neon Rider," "Viper" and "Madison," before getting the role of Pvt. Daniel Jackson in "Saving Private Ryan."

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He followed his performance in the war movie with starring roles in "Enemy of State," "The Green Mile," a role which earned him a second SAG Award nomination, the Max film, "61*," for which he was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award, "We Were Soldiers," "25th Hour" and "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story," for which he was nominated for his third SAG Award.

In 2011, Pepper starred in the anthology series "The Kennedys," alongside Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear. He played Bobby Kennedy on the show, a role that earned him his second Emmy Award nomination and first win.

Pepper married his wife Cindy Pepper in 1997. The couple welcomed their daughter, Annaliese Pepper, in 2000. She appeared alongside her father in the 2021 film "Trigger Point."

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