You remember the orange jumpsuits. You definitely remember the "Dig It" song that played over the credits. It’s been well over twenty years since Holes hit theaters in 2003, and honestly, it’s one of the few Disney adaptations that hasn't aged like milk. Usually, when you revisit a childhood favorite, the acting is cringey or the plot is thinner than a dry lakebed. But the cast of Holes the movie was weirdly overqualified.
We’re talking about a film that featured Oscar winners like Jon Voight and legends like Sigourney Weaver alongside a bunch of teenagers who had never been on a movie set before. It was a bizarre mix. But it worked.
The Core D-Tent Crew: Where Are They Now?
Shia LaBeouf was basically just "the kid from Even Stevens" when he got cast as Stanley Yelnats IV. It’s wild to look back at his performance now. He was so vulnerable and, frankly, skinny—the book actually described Stanley as being overweight, but director Andrew Davis liked Shia’s "vulnerability with a spark" so much that they just kept him. Obviously, Shia’s life since then has been a tabloid rollercoaster. He went from Transformers superstardom to performance art and high-profile legal battles. By 2026, he’s mostly known for smaller, grittier indie roles and a very public journey into sobriety and religion.
Then there’s Khleo Thomas. He played Zero (Hector Zeroni). If you follow gaming or cosplay at all, you’ve probably seen him around recently. He’s massive on Twitch and YouTube now. Khleo is often the one keeping the Holes flame alive, hosting 20th-anniversary screenings in Los Angeles and reuniting with the old D-Tent crew. He recently shared that he and Miguel Castro (who played Magnet) are still "partners in crime" in real life. It’s sort of heart-mending to know that the bond they formed while digging actual holes in the 100-degree California desert actually stuck.
The rest of the tent? It’s a mix.
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- Byron Cotton (Armpit): He did some acting afterward, like in Extreme Movie, but he mostly moved behind the camera into production.
- Max Kasch (Zigzag): Still acting here and there, appearing in projects like Whiplash later on.
- Brenden Jefferson (X-Ray): The leader of the pack mostly stepped away from the spotlight years ago.
The Adults Who Made Camp Green Lake Terrifying
Sigourney Weaver as The Warden was a stroke of genius. Fun fact: she only took the role because her daughter was a fan of the book and told her she’d be perfect as the "really awful woman." Weaver played it with this terrifying, quiet intensity. No screaming, just that rattlesnake nail polish and a cold stare.
And Jon Voight? He went full method for Mr. Sir. He spent an hour in the makeup chair every morning getting a prosthetic beer belly and that sun-damaged, weathered look. He was the one who came up with the idea that Mr. Sir was constantly paranoid about being arrested, which gave the character that twitchy, sunflower-seed-spitting energy.
We also have to talk about Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Pendanski. Or "Mom," as the boys called him. Nelson is a Yale-educated actor and director, and he brought this specific kind of "fake nice" cruelty to the role that makes your skin crawl.
The Flashback Cast: A Different Movie Entirely
One of the reasons Holes feels so "prestige" compared to other Disney movies is the historical subplot. It’s basically a Western tucked inside a kids' movie.
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Patricia Arquette played "Kissin' Kate" Barlow. She’s an Academy Award winner now, but back then, she was the heartbeat of the movie’s tragic backstory. Her chemistry with Dulé Hill (Sam the Onion Man) was so genuine that their scenes still feel heavy and sad. Dulé Hill, of course, went on to be a household name with Psych and The West Wing.
And then there’s Eartha Kitt. The legend herself played Madame Zeroni. She was 75 during filming and used to sit on set telling stories about the Golden Age of Hollywood and James Dean. She brought a literal mystical weight to the film that you just can't manufacture with CGI.
Why It Still Works (and the Reboot That Didn't)
There’s a reason people are still talking about the cast of Holes the movie in 2026. It’s because the production was "tough as well as gentle," as author Louis Sachar put it. Sachar actually wrote the screenplay himself because director Andrew Davis (who directed The Fugitive) insisted on it. They didn't "Disney-fy" it too much.
Interestingly, Disney+ recently tried to get a Holes series off the ground with a female lead. As of late 2025, that project was officially scrapped. It turns out, recapturing the lightning in a bottle that was the 2003 cast is harder than it looks. You can't just replace the chemistry of a bunch of kids who actually spent two weeks in a "boot camp" in the desert before filming even started. They were tired, they were hot, and they were actually digging.
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Quick Facts About the Production
- The Onions: When Stanley and Zero are eating onions on "God's Thumb," they were actually eating apples wrapped in rice paper and dyed with beet juice.
- The Lizards: Those "deadly" yellow-spotted lizards? Just Australian bearded dragons with spots painted on them in non-toxic watercolor.
- The "Sploosh": That 100-year-old nectar Zero finds? It was actually a mix of applesauce and molasses.
If you’re looking to scratch that nostalgia itch, the best way to appreciate the cast of Holes the movie isn't just a rewatch. Check out Khleo Thomas’s YouTube channel; he’s posted some incredible behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the original cast that give you a much deeper look at how they survived that shoot. It’s a rare case of a "Where are they now?" story that actually feels good to read.
For those who want to introduce the story to a new generation, sticking with the 2003 film remains the gold standard. The performances are grounded, the stakes feel real, and the "curse" of the Yelnats family remains one of the most satisfying payoffs in cinema history.
Next Steps for Fans
- Watch the 20th Anniversary Q&A: Search for Khleo Thomas’s reunion panel with director Andrew Davis and Louis Sachar for specific stories about the "boot camp" they endured.
- Revisit the Soundtrack: The "Holes" soundtrack is still available on most streaming platforms—it's a weirdly great time capsule of early 2000s R&B and blues-rock.
- Read the Sequel: If you’ve only seen the movie, Louis Sachar wrote a "small sequel" called Small Steps which focuses on Armpit and X-Ray after they leave Camp Green Lake.