Tom Cruise as Joel Goodsen

At only 21 years old, Tom Cruise helmed this teen drama and delivered such an outstanding performance he received his first Golden Globe nomination for best actor. After playing Joel, Cruise, as we know, went on to have an illustrious career.

As one of the most bankable actors of our time, he starred in blockbuster films such as The Outsiders, Rain Man, Interview with the Vampire, Jerry Maguire and the Mission Impossible franchise.

The now 61-year-old Hollywood veteran continues to bring people to the movies. His latest works include 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick and this year’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, which premiered in July.

Off-screen, Cruise’s colleagues hail him as the king of holiday desserts as stars such as Rosie O’Donnell, Emily Blunt, Tom Hanks and many others look forward to receiving his coveted Christmas coconut bundt cake.

Rebecca De Mornay as Lana

Playing the prostitute who sends Joel’s world into a spiral was Rebecca De Mornay.

“I understood the part of Lana so well,” she recently told The Wrap. “I’ve lived by myself as a young, young, 19-year-old in London, fending for myself. [I’ve] gone through a lot in my life in terms of upheaval and family stuff, and suddenly there was a part that just fit me like a glove, that I knew.” 

Though Lana’s profession wasn’t exactly highbrow, it was important to De Mornay, now 63, that the character was depicted with some grace and humanity.

“I wanted to maintain her dignity, regardless if she’s having sex for money. She maintained some source of integrity and soul,” De Mornay told the outlet. “I wanted to present the underdog who was reduced to having to be a prostitute, exploited in our capitalist system, trying to get by as best she could without the cushion of having a family of money and connections.”

Following Risky Business, De Mornay went on to star in And God Created Woman, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, The Three Musketeers and more.

Joe Pantoliano as Guido

Playing Lana’s pimp, Guido, was Joe Pantoliano.

The actor’s career spans a whopping 50 years, dating back to the ’70s. Pantoliano, 71, has been in blockbusters and cult favorites such as Memento, The Goonies, The Matrix and Bad Boys, among a slew of other credits. Fans may also recognize him from his recurring role as Ralph Cifaretto on HBO’s The Sopranos.

Curtis Armstrong as Miles Dalby

Curtis Armstrong played Joel’s best friend Miles Dalby, who encouraged him to throw a bash while his parents were away.

Since the 1983 film, Armstrong, 69, has continued to find steady work. He starred in the drama series Moonlight opposite Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis in the ’80s, appeared in 2000’s National Lampoon’s Van Wilder and has been a fixture in the Revenge of the Nerds franchise since its debut in 1984.

Bronson Pinchot as Barry

Bronson Pinchot also portrayed another one of Cruise’s friends in the film. After Risky Business, Pinchot, now 64, scored parts in the ABC series Perfect Strangers, plus Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop III opposite Eddie Murphy and True Romance with Patricia Arquette, Christian Slater and Gary Oldman.

He took a mini-break from acting in the early aughts and ventured into home restoration, even launching his own show, The Bronson Pinchot Project, between 2012 and 2013.

Richard Masur as Rutherford

Since playing Mr. Rutherford, the recruiter from Princeton in the 1983 film, 74-year-old Richard Masur has generally kept a low profile all while continuing to work steadily in the business. He can be seen in small roles on Orange Is the New Black, The Good Fight, Bull and The Equalizer.

Raphael Sbarge as Glenn

Many may not know, but Raphael Sbarge is a former child actor. Though his role as Glenn in Risky Business was his first in a major movie, he had been acting since he was a tot. Sbarge got his start on Sesame Street at the tender age of 4, and was on Broadway by 16, per IMDb.

The now 59-year-old actor has been in every procedural drama one can think of — Criminal Minds, NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Wife, CSI: Miami and then some. He also appeared in other blockbuster films such as Independence Day and Pearl Harbor.