When the American version of The Ring came out in 2002, it terrified people. Not to say that the original Ring from 1998 directed by Hideo Nakata wasn’t terrifying, but people were generally less open to having to read subtitles for international horror movies until recently. Similar to The Blair Witch Project, this movie cultivated instant speculation that the events portrayed in the film could possibly happen to viewers if they ever came across the dreaded VHS tape. The story has permanently embedded itself in the catalog of urban legends, and has even been parodied in the satirical Scary Movie franchise and Saturday Night Live skits.
But what happened to the cast after this film made its mark? Fangoria Chainsaw Award-winner Naomi Watts aside, there are many familiar faces hidden within this movie that have continued in their acting careers since The Ring was released. Let's get caught up and see what they’ve been doing lately!
Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller
Naomi Watts starred as the lead protagonist in The Ring, desperately trying to solve the mystery of the cursed VHS tape before her seven days were up. Her major breakout role prior to this film was in David Lynch’s 2001 psychological thriller, Mulholland Drive. Known for playing characters who experience some form of loss or suffering, the British actress went on to continue her rise to fame with roles in films such as 21 Grams, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She also starred in the 2005 film King Kong, opposite Jack Black and Andy Serkis, Eastern Promises with Viggo Mortenson, and The International with Clive Owen. In 2012, she received another “Best Actress” Academy Award nomination for her performance in the film The Impossible. This film was based on the true story of a family’s struggle for survival during the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Thailand.
Since then, she has also starred in the 2014 films Birdman and St. Vincent, While We’re Young (2015), The Glass Castle (2017), and Luce (2019). Watts has also made appearances in the Divergent franchise, as well as the Showtime drama Twin Peaks. The most recent appearances she has made are the miniseries The Loudest Voice, the remake of the Austrian film Goodnight Mommy, and the Netflix original series, The Watcher. Watts also serves as an ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and just recently announced her marriage to American actor Billy Crudup in June 2023.
Martin Henderson as Noah Clay
Played by Martin Henderson, Noah Clay is Rachel’s ex-boyfriend who agrees to help her investigate the video and the strange deaths that are tied to the VHS. Prior to his role in The Ring, the New Zealand-based actor performed in Shortland Street, New Zealand’s longest-running drama and soap opera. In the late 90s, he moved to the United States, where the late actor Heath Ledger reportedly assisted him financially until he caught a break with a supporting role in John Woo’s 2001 film Windtalkers. The following year he got the role of Noah Clay in The Ring, opposite Naomi Watts.
Since then, he has starred in Joe Carnahan’s 2006 film Smokin’ Aces, Devil’s Knot opposite Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon, and the television drama series Grey’s Anatomy. Additionally, he was recently in the A24 horror film X, directed by Ti West, as well as the television series Virgin River as Jack Sheridan.
David Dorfman as Aidan Keller
The little boy who drew scary images is all grown up! Since his performance as Rachel Keller’s son Aidan, David Dorfman has reprised his role as Aidan in the 2005 sequel, The Ring Two, but not before playing Jedidiah Hewitt in the 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He attended UCLA at the age of just 13 years old and eventually moved on to be accepted at Harvard Law School at 18 years old. Throughout his education, he continued acting in small roles in films such as Drillbit Tailor and Zombie Roadkill. He has also made appearances in television series including Joan of Arcadia and Ghost Whisperer, and his final acting role was as a Lannister soldier in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Dorfman has since retired from acting and has now taken on the "role" of an attorney of law, working in the US House of Representatives as Legislative Director/General counsel to the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Vice Chair and Homeland Security Committee's Cybersecurity Subcommittee Emeritus Chair. Talk about a career change!
Daveigh Elizabeth Chase as Samara Morgan
Daveigh Elizabeth Chase first kicked off her acting career in the 2001 film Donnie Darko, as Donnie’s younger sister. At this time, she also voiced Chihiro in the English-dubbed version of Spirited Away. In 2002, she would go on to play the villain Samara in The Ring, but she also got a much different role that same year, voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. In both roles she received awards from MTV Movie Awards for “Best Villain,” and the Young Artist Award for “Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role: Aged 10 or Under,” respectively. She would go on to reprise these roles as more sequels and spinoffs came to fruition, including Leroy & Stitch, The Ring Two, and Rings.
Another role she reprised was that of Samantha Darko, in the 2009 direct-to-video sequel S. Darko. She joined the cast of HBO’s Big Love series, in which she plays Rhonda Volmer, a teenager struggling to deal with her polygamous family. Most recently, Chase appeared in the 2016 films Jack Goes Home and American Romance, with her latest credit being a voice-over role in the video game Let It Die.
Brian Cox as Richard Morgan
As "electrifying" as his role as Samara’s father in The Ring was, Brian Cox has had no shortage of performances in films and TV shows since. Shortly after The Ring, Cox played the villainous William Stryker in X2. In 2004, he starred as Agamemnon in Troy as well as Ward Abbott in The Bourne Supremacy. Jumping ahead, he took a lead role in the horror movie that even Stephen King had high praise for, The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Perhaps Brian Cox’s most prominent recent role is as the patriarch of the Roy family in HBO’s drama series Succession.
Jane Alexander as Dr. Grasnik
Jane Alexander starred in The Ring as the doctor who was finally able to give Rachel Keller some helpful information on the Morgan family history. Since then, she has continued her acting career with roles in movies such as Feast of Love, The Unborn, and Terminator Salvation. Her most recent film role was as Dr. Abraham in the 2017 film Three Christs. In television, Alexander has a variety of minor appearances, with the most notable and recent performances in The Blacklist, Elementary, and Tales From The Loop.
Amber Tamblyn as Katie Embry
Amber Tamblyn has a very short role in The Ring but is still responsible for the nightmares of millennials who were too young to watch the movie when it came out (but did so anyway). The horrific expression left on her character’s face when her body is discovered is still one of the most iconic horror scenes to this day. Since then, her acting career has taken off, with roles in Joan of Arcadia alongside former co-star David Dorfman, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and its sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. She also appeared in the 2010 biopic, 127 Hours, and most recently, she is starring in the 2023 film You Hurt My Feelings with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies.