It was 1996. Demi Moore was arguably the biggest female movie star on the planet. She had just signed a record-breaking $12.5 million contract, a figure that made headlines before a single frame of film was even shot. People weren't just talking about the plot of Andrew Bergman's upcoming film; they were talking about the paycheck. When looking back at the cast of movie Striptease, it is impossible to separate the performances from the massive cultural firestorm that surrounded the production. It was a movie that tried to be a dark comedy, a political thriller, and a gritty drama all at once. It didn't really land any of those punches, but the ensemble behind it is actually much more talented than the Razzies would have you believe.
You've probably heard the jokes. The film swept the Golden Raspberry Awards, taking home Worst Picture and Worst Actress. But if you actually sit down and watch it today, there’s a weird, kitschy energy to it. The cast of movie Striptease wasn't just Moore and a bunch of nobodies. We’re talking about Ving Rhames at the height of his Pulp Fiction cool, Burt Reynolds chewing every piece of scenery in sight, and a very young Rumer Willis making her debut. It’s a fascinating time capsule of mid-90s Hollywood excess.
Demi Moore as Erin Grant: The $12 Million Gamble
Moore played Erin Grant, a former FBI secretary who loses custody of her daughter and turns to stripping at the "Eager Beaver" club to fund her legal appeal. At the time, Moore was criticized for being "too muscular" or "too cold," which feels pretty dated and sexist by modern standards. She took the role incredibly seriously. She spent months training with real dancers and famously stayed in character on set.
Honestly? She’s the anchor. While the movie around her descends into slapstick and weird subplots involving giant sugar cane fields, Moore plays it straight. It’s a jarring contrast. You have this woman performing a deeply emotional arc about a mother's love, and then you have Burt Reynolds wearing Vaseline on his face. It shouldn't work. It mostly doesn't. But Moore's commitment is undeniable. Since then, she's moved into a different phase of her career, recently garnering massive acclaim for The Substance in 2024, proving that she’s still one of the most fearless performers in the industry.
The Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
If Moore was the heart, Ving Rhames was the muscle. Playing Shad, the club bouncer and Erin’s only real ally, Rhames brought a level of gravitas that the script probably didn't deserve. He has this scene where he’s talking about his pet lizards, and he plays it with such sincerity that you forget you’re watching a movie that was largely marketed on its nudity. Rhames was coming off Mission: Impossible and Pulp Fiction. He was untouchable. In Striptease, he’s basically the only person who feels like a real human being you'd actually want to hang out with.
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Then there’s Armand Assante. He plays Al Garcia, the detective who’s sort of investigating a murder and sort of just following Erin around. Assante is an actor’s actor. He’s got that intense, brooding energy. In the cast of movie Striptease, he serves as the bridge between the seedy world of the club and the corrupt world of Florida politics. He’s fine, but he’s clearly doing a "one for them" job here.
Burt Reynolds and the Art of the Weird
We have to talk about Congressman David Dilbeck. Burt Reynolds was a legend, but by the mid-90s, his career was in a bit of a slump. Striptease was supposed to be a comeback of sorts, or at least a high-profile paycheck. He plays Dilbeck as a total creep—a politician with a foot fetish and a penchant for getting into trouble.
Reynolds is objectively hilarious in this. Is it a good performance? That’s debatable. Is it memorable? Absolutely. He famously used a lot of "physical enhancements" for the role, including the aforementioned Vaseline on his glasses to show his character's failing eyesight and general disorientation. It’s camp. It’s over the top. It’s exactly what the movie needed to lean into more often. Just a year later, Reynolds would go on to do Boogie Nights, which earned him an Oscar nomination and a career resurgence. It’s wild to think these two roles happened so close together.
The Rest of the Eager Beaver Crew
The secondary dancers and club staff added a lot of the "Florida Noir" flavor that the book (by Carl Hiaasen) was famous for.
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- Robert Stanton played Erb Crandall, the creepy guy obsessed with Erin.
- Paul Guilfoyle appeared as Malcolm Moldovsky.
- Jerry Quintana played Chico.
You also had Rumer Willis playing Angela Grant, Erin’s daughter. This was her first big role, and she’s actually quite good. There’s a natural chemistry there—obviously—because she’s Moore’s real-life daughter. It adds a layer of genuine emotion to the custody battle plotline that otherwise might have felt purely mechanical.
Why the Cast Couldn't Save the Script
The problem with the cast of movie Striptease wasn't the talent. It was the tone. Carl Hiaasen writes satire. His books are biting, cynical, and hilarious. Director Andrew Bergman tried to translate that, but Hollywood wanted a "Demi Moore Movie." The result was a mess. One minute it’s a slapstick comedy where a guy gets killed by a giant bottle of Champagne, and the next it’s a somber meditation on a mother’s rights.
The actors were often acting in different movies. Moore was in a drama. Reynolds was in a farce. Rhames was in a cool indie thriller. When you mash those together, you get the 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet, the movie made money! It grossed over $113 million worldwide. People went to see it. They stayed for the spectacle.
Looking Back: The Legacy of the Ensemble
Interestingly, many of these actors went on to have massive success immediately following the "disaster."
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- Robert Patrick, who played the villainous ex-husband Darrell, continued his streak of being one of the best character actors in the business.
- Ving Rhames became a staple of the Mission: Impossible franchise.
- Demi Moore took a break and then came back with Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, leaning into the "icon" status Striptease helped cement.
If you look at the cast of movie Striptease today, you see a group of professionals who were given a very strange assignment and did their best with it. It’s a movie that exists because of a specific moment in the 90s when star power was everything.
Moving Past the 90s Perspective
If you’re revisiting the film or just curious about the cast of movie Striptease, it’s worth looking at it through a lens of 1990s Florida culture. The movie gets the "weird Florida" vibe right, even if the plot fails. The actors like Reynolds and Patrick clearly understood the assignment: make it sweaty, make it weird, and make it loud.
To truly understand why this movie holds a place in cinematic history, you have to look at the "Star System" of the era. This was the tail end of an era where a single name could greenlight a $40 million budget.
Practical Steps for Fans of the Cast
If you actually like the performers in the cast of movie Striptease, don't judge them by this one film. Instead, follow these steps to see what they're really capable of:
- Watch "The Substance" (2024): This is Demi Moore's true "comeback" and a far more sophisticated look at body image and fame than anything in the 90s.
- Dive into Carl Hiaasen’s Books: If you liked the idea of the plot, read the original novel. It’s significantly better and clarifies why the characters behave the way they do.
- Revisit Burt Reynolds in "Boogie Nights": Watch this immediately after Striptease. It’s a masterclass in how an actor can take "sleaze" and turn it into something heartbreaking and human.
- Check out Ving Rhames in "Rosewood": Released around the same time, this shows his incredible range outside of the "tough guy" archetype.
The cast of movie Striptease represents a collision of massive egos, massive budgets, and a script that didn't know what it wanted to be. It’s a fascinating failure, but the people involved are anything but failures. They are icons of an era of filmmaking that we probably won't ever see again—where a movie about a stripping mom could be the biggest talking point in the world for a whole summer.