Where is the “True Lies” cast now? See the stars more than 30 years later
Where is the “True Lies” cast now? See the stars more than 30 years later
Danny HornSat, September 5, 2026 at 10:00 PM UTC
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The spy who loved me (while pretending to be a computer parts salesman)Credit: Getty
It’s been over three decades since Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis teamed up in James Cameron’s explosive 1994 action comedy True Lies, the story of a man struggling with work-life balance like you wouldn't believe.
Schwarzenegger’s Harry Tasker spends his days taking down terrorists, while his wife Helen (Curtis) wonders why he’s always late for dinner. Combining family comedy and fanciful spy-fi thrills, the film was Cameron’s hotly anticipated follow-up to Terminator 2.
The supporting cast includes Tom Arnold as Harry’s sidekick, Bill Paxton as an impostor on the make, and Tia Carrere as a glamorous femme fatale. Read on to find out what happened to the True Lies cast in the decades since.
01 of 09
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Harry Tasker)
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker / Schwarzenegger at a climate summit in Austria in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Harry, a superagent whose alter ego is the most boring suburban husband on Earth. His carefully modulated double life gets turned upside down when he tries to spice things up with his frustrated wife… and inadvertently gets her wrapped up in his international mess.
Schwarzenegger is one of the great action heroes of all time. His hulking frame made him a natural for the genre, but it was his inimitable personality that made him a generational movie star in both serious and lighthearted fare.
As his physique implicitly suggests, he gained notoriety as a bodybuilder, winning the title of Mr. Universe five times. He dipped his toes into acting — Bob Rafelson’s Stay Hungry (1976) is an early highlight — and eventually made the side hustle his full-time job. A starring opportunity came in Conan the Barbarian (1982), but it was his unstoppable cyborg assassin in The Terminator (1984) that launched him to true stardom.
The Austrian strongman proved his staying power with action hits like Predator (1987) and Total Recall (1990), while honing his comedic chops in Twins (1988) and Kindergarten Cop (1990). Then came his iconic face-turn in the groundbreaking Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
The action star parodied his onscreen persona in Last Action Hero (1993), got himself knocked up in Junior (1994), and delivered two hours of ice-cold puns as Mr. Freeze in the camp-fest Batman & Robin (1997).
But after fighting Satan in End of Days (1999) and reprising the Terminator for a third go-round, Schwarzenegger pivoted to politics, getting elected governor of California in 2003. “The Governator” served two terms in office, leaving the job in 2011.
His return to acting was more muted, with ensemble team-ups like the Expendables franchise mixed with smaller-scale changeups, including the grizzled sheriff actioner The Last Stand (2013) and the zombie flick Maggie (2015). He made two more Terminator films, including the well-reviewed Dark Fate (2019), and crossed over into television to play a CIA operative and loving father on Netflix’s action comedy FUBAR, which ran for two seasons.
Schwarzenegger has five children, including four with TV journalist Maria Shriver, whom he married in 1986. The couple separated in 2011 and finalized their divorce in 2021. He has three grandchildren through daughter Katherine and her husband, actor Chris Pratt. His son Patrick is now a successful actor in his own right.
02 of 09
Jamie Lee Curtis (Helen Tasker)
Jamie Lee Curtis as Helen Tasker / Curtis at the California Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Helen, a bookish legal secretary looking for a little excitement in the wrong places — which turns out to have an ironic punchline.
Curtis, of course, made her film debut in John Carpenter's seminal slasher Halloween (1978) and went on to cement her reputation as a scream queen in The Fog (1980), Prom Night (1980) and Halloween II (1981).
She soon spread her wings into comedy for the Eddie Murphy-Dan Aykroyd hit Trading Places (1983) and romantic drama with Love Letters (1983). Her stardom rose further with the slapstick caper A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Kathryn Bigelow’s cop thriller Blue Steel (1990). She even became a leading lady on the small screen on Anything But Love, opposite Richard Lewis. It ran for four seasons.
The veteran actress found herself in another generational touchstone in 2003, this time a remake of Freaky Friday, opposite Lindsay Lohan as her daughter. And yet even while churning out popular comedies, her horror-film past kept coming back. Her signature character, Laurie Strode, took center stage once again in a trilogy of retconned Halloween sequels beginning in 2018.
Curtis had a meaty ensemble role in Rian Johnson’s crime caper Knives Out (2019) before donning a frumpy wig and hot dog fingers for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), which landed her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
More recently, Curtis has recurred on FX's The Bear as Carmy's troubled mother and starred opposite Nicole Kidman on Prime Video's Scarpetta.
Curtis has been married to filmmaker Christopher Guest since 1984. They have two daughters.
03 of 09
Tom Arnold (Gib Gibson)
Tom Arnold as Gib / Arnold at the 'Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties' premiere in 2024Credit: Everett; Getty
Tom Arnold is Gib, Harry’s right-hand man in the field, who also helps Harry maintain his cover story.
Arnold began his career as a stand-up comedian, which is how he met fellow comic Roseanne Barr. In 1989, she brought him onto the writing staff of her sitcom Roseanne; he also took on the recurring role of Arnie Thomas, whom he played off and on until 1993.
The two married in 1990, and their turbulent relationship became frequent tabloid fodder. Their notoriety helped fuel the Arnold-led sitcom The Jackie Thomas Show, which the comedy power couple cocreated. It didn’t last a full season, and the marriage dissolved not long afterward.
Arnold’s role as Schwarzenegger's sidekick was one of the most successful and memorable of his career, and it led to starring roles in movies like Big Bully (1996), The Stupids (1996), and McHale's Navy (1997).
In 2001, the Iowa native pivoted to cohosting Fox Sports' The Best Damn Sports Show Period, staying on as a regular until 2005. In the years since, he’s booked steady work on both the big and small screens. His TV guest spots include Sons of Anarchy, ER, NCIS: New Orleans, and Psych.
The veteran comic returned to True Lies, guest-starring on CBS' TV adaptation, and reunited with Schwarzenegger on FUBAR.
Arnold has two children with his fourth wife, Ashley Groussman. They divorced in 2020.
04 of 09
Bill Paxton (Simon)
Bill Paxton as Simon / Paxton at the NAACP Image Awards in 2017Credit: Everett; Getty
Bill Paxton plays the delightfully sleazy Simon, a used car dealer who pretends to be an international man of mystery in order to seduce the bookish, desperate-for-excitement Helen.
The beloved character actor had a long history with Cameron dating back to a bit part in The Terminator (1984). His supporting role in Aliens (1986) needs no explanation — “Game over, man, game over!” will suffice — and he later went on to serve as Cameron’s treasure hunter in Titanic (1997).
In between, his career got progressively bigger thanks to standout performances in Near Dark (1987) and Tombstone (1993). By the mid-1990s, he was a viable leading man, starring in Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), and Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan (1998).
Paxton also found success on the small screen, headlining HBO’s polygamy drama Big Love for five years and earning an Emmy nomination as Randall McCoy on Hatfields & McCoys.
In subsequent years, the native Texan continued to do memorable work, particularly in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire (2011), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Nightcrawler (2014).
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Paxton died at age 61 in 2017 after suffering a stroke following complications from heart surgery. He was survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Louise Newbury. They had two children.
05 of 09
Tia Carrere (Juno Skinner)
Tia Carrere as Juno Skinner / Carrere at an Operation Smile event in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Tia Carrere plays Juno, the art dealer-turned-terrorist who memorably battles Helen in a limo careening toward a sudden drop off a bridge.
Carrere got her big break on the soap opera General Hospital in the mid-1980s, which she supplemented with guest work. Her career jumped another level when she was cast as the rock-star romantic lead Cassandra in Wayne's World (1992). The Hawaiian actress returned for the 1993 sequel and played a major role in the Sean Connery-Wesley Snipes thriller Rising Sun (1993).
On the heels of True Lies, Carrere pivoted back to comedy for Pauly Shore's Jury Duty (1995) and High School High (1996). She eventually wound up in Canada headlining her own supernatural adventure series, Relic Hunter.
Carrere’s voice work includes Lilo’s sister Nani in Lilo & Stitch (2002) and its subsequent films and TV series. But she’s put her voice to even better use elsewhere, with a decorated singing career. She released her first pop album, Dream, in 1993, and later won two Grammys for her Hawaiian albums, 'Ikena and Huana Ke Aloha.
Carrere went on to play Lady Danger on RuPaul's Netflix series AJ and the Queen and also appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles and Never Have I Ever. In 2025, she returned to the Lilo & Stitch franchise in the live-action remake, this time playing social worker Mrs. Kekoa.
Carrere shares a daughter with her ex-husband Simon Wakelin.
06 of 09
Art Malik (Salim Abu Aziz)
Art Malik as Salim Abu Aziz / Malik at a 'Hamlet' screening in London in 2025Credit: Everett; Getty
Art Malik plays Salim Abu Aziz, the trigger-happy leader of the film’s terrorist faction.
The British actor first became known for his BAFTA-nominated starring role on the ITV serial The Jewel in the Crown before gaining wider recognition as a Mujahideen leader Kamran Shah, who allies with James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987). He also played a Calcutta-based gangster in the Patrick Swayze film City of Joy (1992).
Following True Lies, Malik played the heavy once again in A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995). He’s remained a semi-regular presence in major studio films, appearing in The Wolfman (2010), John Carter (2012), The Woman in Cabin 10 (2025), as well as playing Grimsby in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid (2023).
The veteran actor has also been a small-screen fixture, with appearances on Homeland, Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer.
Malik and his wife, Gina Rowe, have been married since 1980 and have two daughters.
07 of 09
Eliza Dushku (Dana Tasker)
Eliza Dushku as Dana Tasker / Dushku at a 'Mapplethorpe' screening in 2019Credit: Everett; Getty
Eliza Dushku plays Harry’s mischievous daughter Dana, who after years of boredom gets swept up in one of her father’s life-or-death international missions.
Dushku, who was just 12 when she shot True Lies, is now best known as Faith, the rebellious Slayer on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel. Meanwhile, she became a regular in teen comedies, including the cheerleader classic Bring It On (2000) and The New Guy (2002).
After her Buffy run ended, the Boston native landed her own supernatural drama, Tru Calling. In 2009, she reunited with Buffy showrunner Joss Whedon for the sci-fi series Dollhouse. After a brief stint on the legal drama Bull in 2017, Dushku stepped away from acting. She has since made a career change, earning a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling and working as a behavioral health counselor.
Dushku married businessman Peter Palandjian in 2018, and the pair have two sons.
08 of 09
Grant Heslov (Faisil)
Grant Heslov as Faisil / Heslov at a Clooney Foundation event in London in 2025Credit: Everett; Getty
Grant Heslov plays Faisil, the third member of Harry’s team — the sidekick to Harry’s sidekick, if you will.
Today he’s known primarily for his work behind the scenes, but he was a regular onscreen player for a few years. He graduated to larger roles in Congo (1995), Dante's Peak (1997), and The Scorpion King (2002), but found his true calling as a writer and producer.
In 2005, he teamed up with George Clooney to cowrite and produce Good Night, and Good Luck, a historical drama about the battle between newscaster Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. The film earned Heslov two Oscar nominations, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
Shortly thereafter, the two formed a production company Smokehouse Pictures, collaborating on The American (2010), The Ides of March (2011), and August: Osage County (2013), among others. Heslov went on to take home a Best Picture statuette for producing Ben Affleck’s thriller Argo (2012).
His collaborations with Clooney also include The Monuments Men (2014), Suburbicon (2017), The Midnight Sky (2020), and The Boys in the Boat (2023).
Heslov is married to producer Lysa Hayland. They have two daughters.
09 of 09
Charlton Heston (Spencer Trilby)
Charlton Heston as Spencer Trilby / Heston at his home in 2004Credit: Everett; Getty
Charlton Heston plays Trilby, Harry and Gib’s stern, eyepatch-wearing boss – who never seems satisfied with the agents' progress.
Heston, a true Hollywood legend, made his Hollywood film debut in the noir Dark City (1950), but his breakthrough role was as a circus manager in the Oscar-winning The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
Heston went on to embody Moses himself in The Ten Commandments (1956), which became one of the biggest box-office sensations of all time. In addition to toplining Orson Welles’ classic Touch of Evil (1958), Heston carved out a niche in large-scale productions. Most famously, there was his Best Actor-winning performance in Ben-Hur (1959), but his streak of big-budget epics continued with the likes of El Cid (1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), as John the Baptist.
Not long afterward, he became a science-fiction icon thanks to Planet of the Apes (1968), which he followed with The Omega Man (1971) and Soylent Green (1973). He also headlined such disaster hits as Earthquake (1974) and Airport 1975 (1974).
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With nothing left to prove, Heston's theatrical output slowed in the 1980s as he shifted toward television, taking the lead role in the primetime soap The Colbys and starring in a string of TV movies. His late-career big-screen work included Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (1996) and a cameo as an elderly chimpanzee in Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes (2001).
Heston and Lydia Marie Clarke were married for 64 years, from 1944 until his death in 2008. They had two children.
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