Leaving no mystical stone unturned as we track the careers of the stars of the 1997 epic.

*The Fifth Element *cast, then and now: See the stars of the cult classic nearly 30 years later

Leaving no mystical stone unturned as we track the careers of the stars of the 1997 epic.

and Kevin Jacobsen

May 9, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

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Milla Jovovich as Leeloo, Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod, Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, Ian Holm as Vito Cornelius, and Gary Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in 'The Fifth Element' promotional art. Credit:

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

American viewers hadn't quite seen anything like *The Fifth Element* when it was released in 1997. Directed by French auteur Luc Besson, the futuristic sci-fi epic about a taxi driver who teams up with a humanoid woman to save the fate of Earth from a prophesied, world-ending evil. Add in some eccentric characters and gonzo commitment to world-building, and it makes sense that *The Fifth Element* has become a cult classic over the years.

The film's star-studded cast — including Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, and Chris Tucker — is a major contributing factor to its continued relevance. Ahead, on the 29th anniversary of the film's release in theaters, we're taking a look at the cast of *The Fifth Element* and examining where they've ended up since battling in the fight for humanity.

Bruce Willis (Korben Dallas)

Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas in 'The Fifth Element'; Bruce Willis poses on arrival for the European premiere of 'Glass' on Jan. 9, 2019, in central London.

Columbia Pictures; Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty

Bruce Willis plays Korben Dallas, whose life changes when an unintelligible, barely dressed woman crashes through the roof of his flying taxi.

At the time, Willis was a well-paid star who was too expensive for this strange French experiment, but after Willis met the director, he eagerly accepted a reduced salary. "I just liked Luc [Besson] — I liked the story, I liked the idea,” he told ** in 2017 as part of an oral history of how the film came to be. “I thought it would be fun to go to France and make a movie."

Following *The Fifth Element*, Willis starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s thrillers *The Sixth Sense *(1999) and *Unbreakable *(2000).

The *Die Hard* franchise alum helped launch a new one with *RED *(2010) and joined another in *G.I. Joe: Retaliation *(2013). He showed a sensitive side in two of the most lauded performances of his career, Rian Johnson’s *Looper *(2012) and Wes Anderson’s *Moonrise Kingdom *(2012). After reuniting with Shyamalan and Samuel L. Jackson for *Glass *(2019), Willis began working primarily on low-budget action vehicles.

In 2022, Willis' family announced that he was retiring from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia, which has affected his cognitive faculties. The condition later progressed to frontotemporal dementia.

Willis tied the knot with actress Demi Moore in 1987, and the pair welcomed three daughters: Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah. They divorced in 2000 but remained good friends. Willis married model Emma Heming in 2009; they share two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn.

Gary Oldman (Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg)

Gary Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in 'The Fifth Element'; Gary Oldman attends the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 5, 2025, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Columbia Pictures; Francis Specker/CBS via Getty

Gary Oldman plays industrialist Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, who plots to steal the four elemental stones and destroy life on Earth.

Oldman took the role as a favor after Besson helped him produce another film, *Nil by Mouth *(1997). Together, they refined his eccentric character. "It took some time to get the voice of the character, because he's so extreme, Zorg," Besson told EW in 2017. "Finally he proposed this sort of half-Texan accent, and it was very funny."

Long considered a darker, outsider figure in Hollywood, Oldman lightened up with two major franchise roles — first as Sirius Black in several Harry Potter films (starting with 2004's *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*), then as Commissioner Gordon in the *Dark Knight* trilogy. Not long after, the Academy started taking notice. He earned his first Oscar nomination for the spy thriller *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy *(2011) and won for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in *Darkest Hour* (2017).

The English actor earned another Oscar nod for *Mank *(2020) and made a one-scene cameo as President Truman in Christopher Nolan's *Oppenheimer* (2023). He is currently starring in Apple TV's acclaimed spy series, *Slow Horses*, for which he has earned multiple Emmy nominations.

Oldman has been married five times, first to actress Lesley Manville from 1987 to 1990. They share a son, Alfie. Oldman married Uma Thurman in 1990, and they divorced in 1992. His marriage to model Donya Fiorentino lasted from 1997 to 2001; they had two more sons, Gulliver and Charlie. He wed Alexandra Edenborough in 2008, and they split in 2015. Oldman married writer/curator Gisele Schmidt in 2017.

Milla Jovovich (Leeloo)

Milla Jovovich as Leeloo in 'The Fifth Element'; Milla Jovovich attends the 30th anniversary screening of 'Dazed and Confused' at the Contemporary Austin - Jones Center on Sept. 28, 2024, in Austin.

Columbia Pictures; Rick Kern/WireImage

Milla Jovovich is Leelo, the reconstructed perfect being with a language all her own, and an iconic white bandage costume designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Jovovich required months of preparation to play the character. “Where normally I would have been reading a book or talking on the phone or hanging out with my friends, I was at the zoo at the animal cages, like, imitating the lions and the birds and the wolves,” she told EW in 2017. “I spent months in this kind of seclusion, going from one lesson to another — acting and movement and dance and fight choreography.”

Following her supporting turn opposite Denzel Washington in *He Got Game *(1998), Jovovich played the title role in Besson’s *The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc *(1999). A few years later, she showed off her martial arts training in the video game adaptation *Resident Evil* (2002), directed by her future husband, Paul W.S. Anderson. The film established a franchise that kept her employed for five more installments. She’s continued to dominate the dystopian sci-fi film landscape, appearing in projects like *Future World* (2018), *Breathe* (2024), and *Worldbreaker* (2025).

Jovovich was previously married to Besson from 1997 to 1999. She and Anderson tied the knot in 2009. They have three daughters: Ever, Dashiel, and Osian.

Ian Holm (Vito Cornelius)

Ian Holm as Vito Cornelius in 'The Fifth Element'; Ian Holm attends the BFI Southbank's tribute to him on June 25, 2017, in London, England.

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett; David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

Ian Holm plays Vito Cornelius, the priest who helps carry the legend of the five elements through history.

The classically trained Shakespearean actor and stage veteran is best known to contemporary audiences for his roles as Bilbo Baggins in *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (2001) and Andrew Largeman’s dad, Gideon, in *Garden State* (2004).

Holm was married four times: to Lynn Mary Shaw (1955–1965), Sophie Baker (1982–1986), actress Penelope Wilton (1991–2002), and artist Sophie de Stempel in 2003. He had five children: Harry, Jessica, Barnaby, Lissy, and Sarah-Jane.

The actor was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2007 and died in 2020, at age 88.

Chris Tucker (Ruby Rhod)

Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod in 'The Fifth Element'; Chris Tucker attends the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Dec. 11, 2023, in Atlanta, Ga.

Columbia/Courtesy Everett; Paras Griffin/Getty

Chris Tucker went all-out as eccentric talk-show host Ruby Rhod, who helps to save the world while dressed in over-the-top evening wear.

Besson originally hoped Prince would play the part, but the rock star couldn't find dates during his tour when he would be available. Instead, Besson turned to a young Tucker, who was understandably nervous to take on such an ostentatious character. “They were really protective of the script,” Tucker told EW in 2017. “They didn't let anyone know what the part was, so I was always asking, 'What is the movie about?' I'm this young kid, real scared. Like, I don't know if I can do this."

An unforgettable one-scene performance in Quentin Tarantino’s *Jackie Brown *(1997) followed before he hit peak fame with buddy comedy *Rush Hour** *(1998) alongside martial arts legend Jackie Chan.

The smash hit spawned two sequels, but Tucker’s acting roles have been few and far between since. He took a five-year break before reappearing for *Silver Linings Playbook* (2012), though he returned to his stand-up roots in the interim. In 2023, he had a supporting turn in Ben Affleck’s *Air *alongside Matt Damon. He is slated to be in the fourth *Friday* film, *Last Friday* (2026), reprising his role of Smokey alongside Ice Cube and Mike Epps, after having not been in the two prior sequels.

Tucker was married to Azja Pryor from 1997 to 2003; they have a son, Destin.

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Luke Perry (Billy Masterson)

Luke Perry as Billy Masterson in 'The Fifth Element'; Luke Perry attends the 'Riverdale' press line during Comic-Con International 2018 at Hilton Bayfront on July 21, 2018, in San Diego, Calif.

Columbia Pictures; Araya Diaz/Getty

Luke Perry plays Billy Masterson, an early 20th-century archaeologist who gets up close and personal with the Mondoshawan aliens at an ancient Egyptian temple.

An alum of the teen soap *Beverly Hills, 90210*, Perry had a recurring role on HBO’s prison drama *Oz* before snagging the lead on Showtime’s postapocalyptic *Jeremiah*. His guest roles over the years include *Will & Grace*,* Criminal Minds*, and *Community.*

His TV career eventually came full circle with a paternal role in a popular teen soap, playing Archie’s father on *Riverdale*. His final film credit was Tarantino’s *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* (2019), in which he played the now-obscure, real-life actor Wayne Maunder.

Perry was married to Rachel “Minnie” Sharp from 1993 to 2003 and had two children, Jack and Sophie. He died from a stroke in 2019, at age 52, at which point he was engaged to Wendy Bauer.

Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr. (President Lindberg)

Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr. as President Lindberg in 'The Fifth Element'; Tommy 'Tiny' Lister attends the ‘Dear Frank’ movie premiere at Raleigh Studios on Aug. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.

Columbia Pictures; Tibrina Hobson/Getty

Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. plays President Lindberg, the leader of the Federated Territories.

Lister was also Robert Forster’s business partner in *Jackie Brown *(1997) and the second son of Satan in Adam Sandler’s *Little Nicky* (2000). Many audiences may remember him as the prisoner on the boat in *The Dark Knight *(2008) who tosses the detonator into the ocean.

Towering "Tiny" (he was 6 feet 5 inches tall) also booked regular TV gigs for years, including roles on *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air*, *Martin*, *Star Trek: Enterprise*, and *Key and Peele*.

In 2020, Lister died of heart disease at age 62. He was survived by his wife, Felicia Forbes, whom he married in 2003, and their son, Thomas.

Brion James (General Munro)

Brion James as General Munro in 'The Fifth Element'; Brion James as Vernon Woods in 'The Operator'.

Columbia Pictures; First Look Pictures/Courtesy Everett

Brion James plays General Munro, a leader in the Federated Army.

James was a prolific character actor and bit player for decades, often playing villains. Many will recognize him as the replicant who (quite violently) fails the Voight-Kampff test in *Blade Runner* (1982). He also played a dirty cop in *48 Hrs. *(1982) and appeared in *Red Heat *(1988), *Enemy Mine* (1985), and *The Player* (1992).

His TV guest spots included *The A-Team*,* The Dukes of Hazzard*,* Miami Vice*, and *Dynasty*.

James died from a heart attack in 1999, at age 54.

Lee Evans (Fog)

Lee Evans as Fog in 'The Fifth Element'; Lee Evans attends the opening night of ‘As You Like It’ at the West End Theatre on Dec. 14, 2022, in London, England.

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett; David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

Lee Evans plays Fog, the security guard left in charge during the final alien attack.

For many years, Evans was a popular stand-up comedian in the U.K. As for his occasional acting gigs, he booked a lead role opposite Nathan Lane in Gore Verbinski’s *Mouse Hunt *(1997) before appearing in *There's Something About Mary* (1998) as a pizza delivery guy who pretends to be an architect to pursue Cameron Diaz's Mary.

Evans later teamed up with Jackie Chan in the buddy comedy *The Medallion* (2003) and played a UNIT scientific advisor in a 2009 episode of *Doctor Who*, which is his last credited onscreen appearance. He retired from stand-up in 2014 to spend more time with his family.

Evans married his childhood sweetheart, Heather Nudds, in 1984. They have one daughter, Mollie.

Charlie Creed-Miles (David)

Charlie Creed-Miles as David in 'The Fifth Element'; Charlie Creed-Miles attends the Apple tastemaker screening of ‘Ghosted’ at the Ham Yard Hotel on April 20, 2023, in London, England.

Columbia Pictures; Dave Benett/Getty

Charlie Creed-Miles plays David, a jittery apprentice monk thrust into a situation he isn’t prepared for.

The actor has long been active in British television, with roles on *Press Gang*,* **Peaky Blinders*, *Ripper Street*, and the Apple TV drama *Criminal Record*.

Creed-Miles has one daughter, Esmé, with Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton. Esmé has picked up the family trade, starring on the TV adaptation of *Hanna* and in season 2 of *The Sandman *as Delirium.

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