The Cast of Felicity.Photo:Touchstone Television / WB
Touchstone Television / WB
It’s a classic tale: girl loves boy, girl decides to follow boy to college, girl and boy break up — but never quite all the way.It’s the storyFelicityspun into four dramatic, delightful seasons, following Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) as she ditches Stanford for the University of New York in pursuit of her crush, Ben Covington (Scott Speedman).In a 1998 review of season 1,Teen Peoplecalled the show “sensitive without being soapy,” dubbing it a “promising freshman” while celebrating Russell as an actress with “an unassuming sort of star quality that draws us to her character.“Here, as the show celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Sept. 29, 1998, premiere, catch up with the cast, then and now.
It’s a classic tale: girl loves boy, girl decides to follow boy to college, girl and boy break up — but never quite all the way.
It’s the storyFelicityspun into four dramatic, delightful seasons, following Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) as she ditches Stanford for the University of New York in pursuit of her crush, Ben Covington (Scott Speedman).
In a 1998 review of season 1,Teen Peoplecalled the show “sensitive without being soapy,” dubbing it a “promising freshman” while celebrating Russell as an actress with “an unassuming sort of star quality that draws us to her character.”
Here, as the show celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Sept. 29, 1998, premiere, catch up with the cast, then and now.
01of 08
Keri Russell as Felicity Porter
Keri Russell on ‘Felicity’ and now.Frank Ockenfels/Online USA; Roy Rochlin/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Frank Ockenfels/Online USA; Roy Rochlin/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
The role of Felicity was hardly Russell’s first: a child star, she came up on the A-list'90s edition ofThe All New Mickey Mouse Cluband the seriesMalibu Shoresin addition to 1992’sHoney, I Blew Up the Kid.
She won her sole Golden Globe Award forFelicityin 1999;in her acceptance speech,she said it was “encouraging” to win. “Just to be able to do something you’re so proud of, and that to be acknowledged, it’s huge … [The show is] so special and different.”
Also special: her hair! In season 2, creator J.J. Abrams had Russell chop her long curly locks following a breakup, a move that upset fans.
In a 2017 interview withW,Russell said, “I didn’t care, like I loved it. I thought it was so true and great. I did not expect all the hysteria. I feel like it was so the right move and I’m really glad they did it.”
02of 08
Scott Speedman as Ben Covington
Scott Speedman on ‘Felicity’ and now.Getty; Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Getty; Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
When the two officially got together, Abrams toldTeen Peoplethey’d “earned each other.” (Fun fact: they dated for a while off-screen, too.)
And whileSpeedman joked in a 2017 interview withTodaythat fans rarely come up to tell him they were “Team Ben,” they do say “how much they loved the show or how much it meant at that time in their lives,” he shared.
03of 08
Scott Foley as Noel Crane
Scott Foley on ‘Felicity’ and now.Warner Bros; Dominik Bindl/WireImage
Warner Bros; Dominik Bindl/WireImage
In the 2017Todayinterview,he reflected on the series as “a simple story about falling in love at a certain time in your life. It’s like lightning in a bottle.”
And unlike Speedman, he had some fans. “People come to me and say, ‘Hey I loveScandalbut I’m still Team Noel,’ " he added.
Foley, now 51, had roles on the seriesThe UnitandScandal. He and wife Marika Dominczyk (ofGrey’s Anatomy) have three kids: Konrad, 8, Keller, 11, and Malina, 13.
04of 08
Tangi Miller as Elena Tyler
Tangi Miller on ‘Felicity’ and now.Getty; Marcus Ingram/Getty
Getty; Marcus Ingram/Getty
Elena — Felicity’s close friend and lab partner — was Miller’s breakout role.In a 2021 interview withVice,she recalled her quick career trajectory.
“I literally went from being a student to being in Hollywood,” she said. “When I gotFelicity, it was just like, wow. To be thrown right into the middle of the mix where you’re on a really hot show where the girl cuts her hair and everybody’s talking about it. It was wonderful. I wouldn’t change it.”
05of 08
Amy Jo Johnson as Julie Emrick
Amy Jo Johnson on ‘Felicity’ and now.Warner Bros; Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage
Warner Bros; Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage
Prior toFelicity,you probably knew Johnson as the Pink Power Ranger on the hit kids' action series. Once she enrolled at the University of New York, though, Johnson’s work was decidedly different as one of Felicity’s best friends.
Off-screen, however, she was dealing with a lot: her mother was dying of cancer.
She took a break from filming for a time, returning for a handful of episodes at the end of the series.
“They were amazing, they really took care of me that way,” she said of Abrams and the show’s writers.
06of 08
Ian Gomez as Javier Clemente Quintata
Ian Gomez on ‘Felicity’ and now.Richard Cartwright; Sami Drasin/Freeform via Getty
Richard Cartwright; Sami Drasin/Freeform via Getty
Gomez portrayed Dean & Deluca manager and friend to Felicity, Javier, who ultimately moved back to his native Spain after tying the knot with boyfriend Samuel.
Gomez, now 58, shares one daughter withex-wife Nia Vardalos.
07of 08
Greg Grunberg as Sean Blumberg
Greg Grunberg on ‘Felicity’ and now.Touchstone Television / Courtesy Everett; Ethan Miller/FilmMagic
Touchstone Television / Courtesy Everett; Ethan Miller/FilmMagic
“The moments we were all together were some of the best,” Grunberg said on a 2023 episode ofhis podcast,Talk About It!,sharing fond memories of the series.
In the same pod, he revealed that he and costar Amanda Foreman will co-host an upcoming rewatch podcast, bringing some “friends” along at times, too.
Grunberg, now 57, is also a producer, and has three sons with wife Elizabeth Dawn Wershow.
08of 08
Amanda Foreman as Meghan Rotundi
Amanda Foreman on ‘Felicity’ and now.Getty; Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Getty; Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
As Felicity’s first roomie Meghan, Foreman cast some spells and later fell for Sean (Grunberg).
“He’s hilarious,“she told CNN of her costar in 2000. “The great thing about this cast is that everybody is funny, and I guess if I had to say who’s really the biggest clown, it would probably have to be Greg.”
On a 2023 episode of Grunberg’s podcastTalk About It!,she opened up about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, which came after a winding road of symptoms, doctors' appointments and different diagnoses.
“It comes in stages of acceptance,” she shared of her diagnosis. “For me, for sure, it took me years. It was so overwhelming.”
Soon, she’ll join Grunberg for theFelicityrewatch podcast.
source: people.com
