By Topher Gauk-Roger
5:48am PDT, Aug 4, 2020
Light it up! Back in the summer of 2005, the dark comedy "Weeds" premiered on Showtime to major acclaim. The series is about a suburban widow who launches a marijuana business so she can raise her two sons, and over the show's eight seasons, she becomes increasingly entangled in illegal activity. "Weeds" became Showtime's highest rated program, won two Emmy Awards and launched a lineup of hit half-hour dramedies for the network including "Nurse Jackie," "United States of Tara" and "The Big C." To celebrate the show's 15th anniversary on Aug. 8, 2020, join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at what its stars are up to now…
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Mary-Louise Parker got her start on the TV soap "Ryan's Hope" in the late 1980s before moving to New York City to work in theater. After a few minor roles, she made her Broadway debut in a 1990 production of "Prelude to a Kiss," which earned her a Tony Award nomination. In 1989, Mary-Louise made her big-screen debut in the dramas "Signs of Life" and "Longtime Companion." The South Carolina native garnered acclaim for her film work throughout the 1990s, including 1991's "Grand Canyon" and "Fried Green Tomatoes," 1994's "The Client" and "Bullets over Broadway," 1995's "Boys on the Side," 1996's "The Portrait of a Lady" and 1997's "The Maker." She then moved into doing indies and more theater, winning a Tony for her work in 2001's "Proof." Mary-Louise also started doing more TV, landing an Emmy-nominated recurring role on "The West Wing" and delivering an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning performance in the 2003 miniseries "Angels in America." Shortly after, she landed the lead role on "Weeds," which earned her three Emmy nominations and two more Golden Globes. Beyond "Weeds," Mary-Louise took on more mainstream film roles in projects like "The Spiderwick Chronicles" in 2008, "Red" in 2010 and "R.I.P.D." and "Red 2" in 2013. In 2015, she published the memoir "Dear Mr. You." More recently, the actress was seen in the 2017 miniseries "When We Rise" as well as in a guest arc on the second season of Showtime's "Billions." She was set to star in a Broadway production of "How I Learned to Drive" in 2020, but that was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. She gave birth to a son in 2004 following the end of a long romance with actor Billy Crudup, and adopted a daughter from Ethiopia in 2007. She was also engaged to actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan for a few months in 2008.
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Justin Kirk played Nancy's brother-in-law, Andy Botwin, a fun-loving, irresponsible slacker who helps Nancy with both her business and her sons after her husband dies. Andy has a longstanding love for Nancy that she never reciprocates.
Justin Kirk began as a theater actor, landing his first role in 1993's "Spine." He made his Broadway debut in the play "Any Given Day" that same year. Shortly after, he had a part in the 1995 production of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and made his film debut in the big-screen adaptation of the project. Justin had guest roles on the TV series "New York News" and "The Pretender" before scoring his first lead role in the WB drama "Jack & Jill" in 1999. In 2003, the Oregon-born actor received raves for his Emmy-nominated work in HBO's "Angels in America" miniseries. While starring on "Weeds" from 2005 to 2012, Justin also starred in a number of indies like 2006's "Ask the Dust," 2009's "Against the Current" and 2010's "See You in September." After "Weeds," he had a recurring role on "Modern Family" and starred in the short-lived comedy "Animal Practice" in 2012 and the first season of the drama "Tyrant" in 2014. Justin also continued doing theater, like 2011's "Other Desert Cities" and 2014's "The Invisible Hands." He more recently starred on the short-lived FOX procedural "AFB" in 2017 and the Showtime comedy "Kidding," which finished in 2020 after two seasons. He also popped up in the 2018 political satire "Vice" opposite Christian Bale. He currently has a recurring role on the HBO period drama "Perry Mason."
Hunter Parrish starred as Silas Botwin, Nancy's eldest son. The teen is impulsive and naive, often taking the pain of losing his father out on his family. Later in the show, Silas follows in his mother's footsteps by becoming a dealer, grower and dispensary operator.
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Hunter Parrish made his screen debut on a 2003 episode of the TV drama "The Guardian" and followed it with his film debut in the 2004 teen comedy "Sleepover." While filming "Weeds," the Virginia native also starred in the big screen hits "RV" in 2006, "Freedom Writers" in 2007 and "17 Again" and "It's Complicated" in 2009. In 2008, Hunter made his Broadway debut in the Tony-winning hit "Spring Awakening," taking over the lead role from Jonathan Groff. He also starred in the Broadway revival of "Godspell" from 2011 to 2012. Since "Weeds," Hunter has had a string of recurring TV roles on shows like "The Good Wife," "The Following" and "Quantico." He also had a lead role on the short-lived Amazon show "Good Girls Revolt," a part in the Oscar-winning drama "Still Alice" opposite Julianne Moore and will next star on the Ryan Murphy-produced Netflix series "Ratched" later in 2020. In 2012, Hunter released an EP. He married actress Kathryn Wahl in 2015.
Rounding out the Botwin family is Alexander Gould as Shane, Nancy's youngest son. Highly intelligent but socially awkward, Shane faces lasting psychological effects from his dad's passing, leading him to eventually kill to protect his mother. Shane goes on to become an NYPD officer.
Alexander Gould's acting career began when he was just a toddler and saw him guest starring on TV shows like "Freaks and Geeks," "7th Heaven," "Ally McBeal," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Even Stevens." At 7, the Los Angeles-born actor landed the lead voice role as the titular missing clownfish in the Pixar smash "Finding Nemo" in 2003. While doing eight seasons of "Weeds," he also lent his voice to films like "Curious George" and "Bambi 2," guested on TV hits like "Criminal Minds," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Supernatural" and starred in the children's film "How to Eat Fried Worms." After "Weeds," Alexander stepped away from acting to attend college, graduating from Brandeis University in 2017 with a dual major in philosophy and politics. His most recent work was a cameo in the 2016 sequel "Finding Dory." He married Lieba Hall in 2018.
Kevin Nealon played Doug Wilson, city councilman in Nancy's quiet suburb community who helps get her business off the ground before losing his job. The drifter then becomes an extended part of the Botwin clan, assisting with their company while falling head first into various other failed business ventures.
Before landing "Weeds," Kevin Nealon was a veteran comedian who got his start doing improv and stand-up around Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He made his TV debut in 1984 on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and eventually became a regular on both that and "Late Night with David Letterman." The St. Louis native joined "Saturday Night Live" in 1986 where he remained a cast member for a then-record nine seasons until 1995. Kevin scored his first major film role in the 1991 comedy "All I Want for Christmas" and followed it with hits like 1996's "Happy Gilmore," 1998's "The Wedding Singer," 2000's "Little Nicky," 2003's "Daddy Day Care," 2008's "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," 2009's "Aliens in the Attic" and 2011's "Just Go with It." He also had recurring roles on the sitcoms "Still Standing" from 2003 to 2006 and "'Til Death" in 2010. After "Weeds," Kevin had parts in films like "Blended" in 2014, "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" in 2016 and "Father of the Year" in 2018. He was also a supporting player on all four seasons of the Matt LeBlanc sitcom "Man with a Plan" from 2016 to 2020. In 2020, he lent his voice to the animated shows "Family Guy" and "Mike Tyson Mysteries." Outside of acting, Kevin published a book in 2008 titled "Yes, You're Pregnant, But What About Me?" and hosts the YouTube series "Hiking with Kevin." He was married to model and stuntwoman Linda Dupree from 1989 to 2002 and wed actress Susan Yeagley in 2005. The pair have one son.
Elizabeth Perkins starred on the first five seasons of "Weeds" as Nancy's neighbor and frenemy Celia Hodes. Manipulative and self-obsessed, Celia annoys almost everyone in her presence while also dealing with breast cancer, divorce, the DEA, rehab and being held for ransom in Mexico.
Elizabeth Perkins made her film debut in 1986's "About Last Night…" before landing a breakthrough role opposite Tom Hanks in 1988's "Big." The New York City-born actress received critical acclaim for her work in the 1990 drama "Avalon" and 1991's "The Doctor." Elizabeth followed these with big-screen hits like "The Flintstones" and "Miracle on 34th Street" in 1994, "28 Days" in 2000, "Cats & Dogs" in 2001, "Finding Nemo" in 2003 and "The Ring Two" and "Must Love Dogs" in 2005. She had a lead role on the short-lived sitcom "Battery Park" in 2000 before getting her next major TV role in "Weeds," which earned her three Emmy nominations. Elizabeth left "Weeds" after the fifth season to pursue other television projects including 2013's "How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)" and guest parts on "How to Get Away with Murder," "This Is Us" and "GLOW." More recently, the star appeared in 2018's "Sharp Objects" miniseries, the 2019 FOX comedy "The Moodys" and the 2020 Apple+ drama "Truth Be Told." She was married to actor Terry Kinney from 1984 to 1988 and wed cinematographer Julio Macat in 2000. She has one daughter from a previous relationship.
Romany Malco played Conrad Shepard on the first three seasons of "Weeds." Conrad is Nancy's initial supplier who eventually partners with her to sell his own strain. He left the show when the Botwins moved out of their burning suburb but returned for the final season to join Nancy in her new growing and selling venture.
Romany Malco started as a musician, working as a member of the rap group College Boyz after completing high school. They released albums in 1992 and and 1994 before calling it quits. Romany then went on to pursue acting, making his debut on a 1998 episode of "Touched by an Angel" before appearing in the 1999 horror film "Urban Menace" starring Snoop Dogg. He then earned a lead role on the UPN sci-fi series "Level 9" and a part in the Jackie Chan action flick "The Tuxedo" in 2002. Romany got his major break in the summer of 2005 with the premiere of "Weeds" as well as a large role in the hit "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Since then, the New York City native has worked steadily with films like 2007's "Blades of Glory," 2008's "Baby Mama," 2010's "Gulliver's Travels," 2012's "Think Like a Man" and 2014's "Think Like a Man Too," 2015's "The DUFF," 2016's "Almost Christmas" and 2018's "Night School." He also starred on the ABC dramedy "No Ordinary Family" in 2010 and the Amazon thriller "Mad Dogs" in 2016. Romany, currently stars on the hit drama series "A Million Little Things" and in 2019 led the Netflix holiday film "Holiday Rush." He was married to former ice skater Taryn Dakha from 2008 to 2016.
Andy Milder starred as Dean Hodes, Cecilia's husband — and eventual ex-husband. Dean is also Nancy's lawyer and Doug's BFF who, over the series' run, begins to make a full-time career out of being a "pot attorney."
Andy Milder was a longtime character actor before taking on "Weeds," having appeared in films like 1991's "For The Boys," 1994's "I Love Trouble," 1995's "Apollo 13," 1998's "Armageddon" and 2005's "Rumor Has It." He also guested on a long list of television shows, making his screen debut on "Empty Nest" in 1991. He went on to appear on hits like "Married… with Children," "The Wonder Years," "Murphy Brown," "NYPD Blue," "Dharma & Greg," "Yes, Dear," "House," "CSI: NY," "Medium" and "Six Feet Under." Andy also had a multi-episode arc on "The West Wing." Outside of "Weeds," Andy was busy with parts in "Transformers" in 2007, "Frost/Nixon" and "Seven Pounds" in 2008 and "The Artist" in 2011. The Nebraska-born actor has also stayed booked on TV with parts on "Private Practice," "Parks and Recreation," "The Middle," "Criminal Minds," "Grey's Anatomy," "Austin & Ally" and "Rosewood." He was more recently seen on the web series "Chicken Girls" in 2018. Andy is married to doctor Betty Lee.
Tonye Patano played Heylia James on the show's first three seasons and returned for the seventh season. Heylia is Conrad's aunt and Nancy's supplier and has a no-nonsense approach to dealing. She's wary of Nancy and how she operates her business and despite working with her is quick to lay down the law when necessary.
Tonye Patano had a list of small roles to her name before scoring her best known part on "Weeds." She made her debut in 1984's "The Jesse Owen Story" and went on to appear in 1994's "Fresh," 1999's "The Hurricane" and 2004's "Imaginary Heroes." Tonye appeared on nine episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and had guest parts on shows like "New York Undercover," "Sex and the City," "Hope & Faith," "Monk" and "Third Watch." She was also in the original cast of the Broadway play "45 Seconds from Broadway" in 2001. Since starring on "Weeds," Tonye has enjoyed roles on shows such as "One Life to Live," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Americans," "The Blacklist" and "Younger." More recently, she was seen on "Madam Secretary" in 2019.
Allie Grant rounded out the main cast of "Weeds" as Isabelle Hodes on the show's first five seasons. Isabelle is Celia and Dean's daughter who drives her mother nuts with her refusal to lose weight and her open homosexuality. Isabelle befriends Shane and the two bond over their unusual mothers.
Allie Grant had only appeared on one episode of "That's So Raven" before landing "Weeds." While making the hit comedy, she also had parts on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" and "Private Practice." The Mississippi-born actress also had minor roles in the films "Fanboys" in 2009 and "The Runaways" in 2010. In 2011, Allie joined the hit comedy "Suburgatory," remaining part of the main cast until the show ended in 2014. She appeared in the 2012 film "Struck by Lightning" as well as on TV shows "Red Band Society," "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Goldbergs." Allie was more recently seen on the Hulu comedy "All Night" in 2018 and an episode of the ABC series "Schooled" in 2019.
