You remember 2011, right? Side-swept bangs were still hanging on for dear life, and Jonah Hill was transitioning from the "funny kid in Superbad" to a genuine Oscar-nominated actor. Right in the middle of that pivot, we got The Sitter. Directed by David Gordon Green—who, weirdly enough, went from indie darlings to this raunchy comedy and then to the Halloween reboots—the movie was basically a chaotic, R-rated version of Adventures in Babysitting. It wasn't exactly a critical masterpiece. Critics kind of trashed it. But the cast of the movie the sitter is actually fascinating when you look at it through a modern lens. Some of these people became massive stars, while others basically vanished into the "where are they now" void of IMDB.
It’s a weird movie. Noah Griffith, played by Hill, is a suspended college student living with his mom who ends up watching three of the most high-maintenance kids in cinematic history. What follows is a drug-fueled, violent, and deeply inappropriate trek through New York City. Looking back, the talent on screen was way higher than the script probably deserved.
Jonah Hill as Noah Griffith
Jonah Hill was the undisputed anchor. Honestly, this was a strange time for him. He had just filmed Moneyball, which would eventually net him an Academy Award nomination, but he still had this contractual or perhaps personal obligation to do the "loud guy" comedies. In The Sitter, Noah is a mess. He's lazy, he's getting taken advantage of by a girl who doesn't like him, and he’s stuck babysitting to please his mother.
Hill’s career since then has been a literal rollercoaster. He didn't just stay in comedy. He worked with Martin Scorsese in The Wolf of Wall Street, directed the incredibly poignant Mid90s, and became a bit of a fashion icon in the "streetwear dad" scene. Lately, he’s been more focused on mental health, releasing the documentary Stutz in 2022, which explored his relationship with his therapist. He’s much more selective now. You won't see him doing many more movies like The Sitter. He’s moved into a space of "prestige" Hollywood, which makes re-watching him get terrorized by a group of kids in this film feel like a fever dream.
The Three Kids: Where Did They Go?
The kids were the real agents of chaos. You had Slater, Blithe, and Rodrigo.
Max Records played Slater Griffith, the anxious, pill-popping older son. Before this, Records was the "it" kid for indie fans because he starred in Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. He had this very specific, soulful look. After The Sitter, he didn't go the full "child star" route. He did a great indie horror flick called I Am Not a Serial Killer in 2016, but he’s mostly stayed out of the blockbuster spotlight. He’s an adult now, obviously. It's wild to think the nervous kid in the movie is now in his late twenties.
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Then there’s Landry Bender, who played Blithe. She was the tiny, glitter-covered girl obsessed with pop star culture. Unlike Max, Landry stayed very active in the industry. She became a Disney Channel staple, starring in Best Friends Whenever, and later showed up in the Netflix series Fuller House. She’s transitioned into adult roles quite well, appearing in the looking-for-Alaska miniseries. She actually stayed in the lane that The Sitter carved out for her—high energy and professional.
Finally, Kevin Hernandez, who played Rodrigo, the explosive-obsessed foster son. Hernandez was the source of most of the movie's physical comedy and, let’s be real, some of its most "of its time" jokes. He did a few things afterward, like Get the Gringo with Mel Gibson, but his acting credits have been pretty sparse since about 2014. He basically grew up and stepped away from the limelight.
Sam Rockwell and the Villains
Can we talk about Sam Rockwell for a second?
The man is a genius. In The Sitter, he plays Karl, a flamboyant, eccentric drug dealer who operates out of a gym. It is a bizarre performance. Rockwell has this habit of taking small, weird roles and making them the best part of the movie. Since then, he won an Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Seeing an Academy Award winner play a guy obsessed with his own biceps and "egg protein" is the kind of cognitive dissonance that makes the cast of the movie the sitter so fun to dissect.
Alongside him was JB Smoove as Julio. If you know Curb Your Enthusiasm, you know Leon Black. Julio is basically "Leon with a gun." Smoove is a comedic force of nature, and his chemistry with Rockwell provided the only parts of the movie that actually felt dangerous.
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The Supporting Players You Forgot Were There
The "girlfriend" role went to Ari Graynor, who played Stephanie. Graynor is one of those actresses who is constantly the best thing in mediocre movies. She was hilarious in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and eventually went on to do The Disaster Artist. In The Sitter, she’s the catalyst for the whole plot—Noah only takes the kids into the city because she promises him sex if he brings her cocaine. It’s a thankless role, but she plays the "hot mess" perfectly.
Then you have Rashida Jones.
Yeah, Ann Perkins from Parks and Recreation was in this. She played Katie, the "good girl" love interest. It’s a very small role, and honestly, she’s a bit overqualified for it. Jones has since become a powerhouse producer and writer, even co-writing the script for Toy Story 4.
Why the Movie’s Legacy is Complicated
If you watch The Sitter today, some of it feels... crunchy. Not everything has aged well. The way it handles Rodrigo’s "troubled kid" trope and some of the dialogue is very much a product of that 2010-2012 era of Apatow-adjacent comedy. It was trying to be The Hangover with children.
But the reason people still search for the cast of the movie the sitter isn't usually because the movie was a masterpiece. It's because the casting director, Francine Maisler, was incredible. She filled the background with people who were on the verge of becoming household names.
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- Kylie Bunbury (who played Jordan) went on to star in Big Sky and Pitch.
- Method Man has a cameo as Jacolby.
- Kathryn Hahn shows up briefly as Noah's mom's friend.
Kathryn Hahn! This was before she was Agatha Harkness in the Marvel Universe or the lead in every prestige comedy-drama on Hulu. Seeing her in a throwaway scene in a Jonah Hill babysitting movie is a reminder of how the Hollywood ecosystem works. Everybody starts somewhere, often in R-rated comedies about a guy trying to buy drugs while holding a toddler’s hand.
Behind the Scenes Chaos
David Gordon Green is an interesting director to lead this cast. He’s known for being very collaborative and allowing for a lot of improvisation. According to various set reports and interviews from that era, Jonah Hill was heavily involved in shaping the character of Noah. Hill wanted him to be more than just a loser; he wanted him to be someone who actually cared about the kids by the end, even if he was terrible at showing it.
The production was notoriously hectic, filming on location in New York and Yonkers. You can feel that real NYC grime in the cinematography. It doesn’t look like a shiny, fake Hollywood set. It looks like a humid, stressful night in the city.
Is It Worth a Re-watch?
If you’re a fan of the cast of the movie the sitter, it’s worth it just for the "before they were famous" vibes.
However, don't expect Superbad. It’s darker and meaner. The movie thrives on discomfort. If you can handle Sam Rockwell being a complete weirdo and Jonah Hill getting kicked in the shins by a ten-year-old for ninety minutes, then yeah, fire it up on whatever streaming service has it this month.
Key Takeaways for Fans of The Sitter
- Follow the careers of the "kids." Landry Bender is the one to watch if you like seeing child actors actually make it in the industry without a public meltdown.
- Look for the cameos. The movie is packed with New York character actors and comedians who became much bigger later.
- Appreciate the shift in Jonah Hill. This movie marks one of the last times he played the "pure loser" archetype before he started taking on more complex, dramatic roles.
- Check out David Gordon Green's other work. If you liked the "vibe" but hated the script, watch Pineapple Express (his big comedy hit) or George Washington (his early indie masterpiece) to see his range.
If you’re looking to track down what the cast is doing today, the best move is to check out their recent production credits. Many, like Rashida Jones and Jonah Hill, have moved behind the camera. They aren't just faces on screen anymore; they're the ones calling the shots.
To dive deeper into the film's history, you can look up the original shooting script, which was reportedly much darker than the final theatrical cut. Understanding the "development hell" of R-rated comedies in the early 2010s gives a lot of context as to why the movie ended up as a strange hybrid of heart and vulgarity. You should also check out the blooper reels—often, for movies like this, the improvised jokes that didn't make the cut are funnier than the ones that did.