‘Jingle All The Way’ Cast Then & Now: See How Arnold Schwarzenegger & More Have Changed 25 Years Later

By:

Christina Casiano

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‘Jingle All The Way’ Cast Then & Now: See How Arnold Schwarzenegger & More Have Changed 25 Years Later

‘Jingle All The Way’ Cast Then & Now: See How Arnold Schwarzenegger & More Have Changed 25 Years Later — Talk about Christmas chaos! ‘Jingle All The Way’ debuted on Nov. 22, 1996, offering up a high-energy holiday romp starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. The pair play two rival fathers — mattress salesman Howard Langston and postal worker Myron Larabee — as they battle for a coveted Turbo-Man action figure during a frantic Christmas Eve shopping spree in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ‘Jingle All The Way’ was inspired by the frenzy over toys like the Cabbage Patch Kids and Power Rangers in the 90s. Also starring Phil Hartman, ‘Jingle All The Way’ was his last film released before the comic’s death in 1998.

‘Jingle All The Way’ earned lukewarm reviews, but has since become a holiday cult classic. It was a relative box office success, taking in $129.8 million from a $75 million budget. A direct-to-video sequel starring Larry The Cable Guy was released in 2014. The original is currently available to stream on Disney+.

“D*** the critics; I make films for audiences,” director Brian Levant told Tucson Weekly in Dec. 2021. “It was the fact that it didn’t perform the way you believed it would, and you question your choices, your abilities, and your confidence.”

Click through to see the cast of ‘Jingle All The Way’ from the film to today, 25 years since the holiday hustle’s release!

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger — Arnold Schwarzenegger proved his comedy chops once again in ‘Jingle All The Way’, where he was mattress salesman Howard Langston. The actor almost didn’t make the movie, according to Mental Floss. He was originally attached to a remake of the ‘Planet Of The Apes’ remake, but walked away from the project in 1996, leaving him free to make ‘Jingle All The Way’.

Since starring in the movie, Arnold transitioned from a career in film to politics. He served as Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. Following his time in office, he’s appeared in films like ‘The Expendables’ and several ‘Terminator’ sequels.

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Rita Wilson

Rita Wilson — Rita Wilson plays Liz Langston, the wife of Arnie’s character Howard, in the film. She talked about what it’s like to be part of a Christmas classic in a Dec. 2021 chat with People, where she admitted she prefers to keep those projects in the past.

“I have an odd relationship with watching myself on screen,” Wilson explained. “It’s like, you see it once to see what you did and then you don’t really need to see it again. But I’m often haunted by my movies at the Christmas season, like ‘Jingle All The Way’, I’m like, ‘It’s back!'” She was gracious though, adding, “I’m so thankful to have done all of the stuff that I’ve done. I’ve learned from everything.”

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Sinbad

Sinbad — Sinbad earned big laughs as postal worker Myron Larabee in ‘Jingle All The Way’. The comic was at the height of his fame in the 90s after starring on the sitcoms ‘A Different World’ and his own ‘Sinbad Show’, in addition to rocking the stand-up stage. His film hits include ‘Necessary Roughness’, ‘Houseguest’, ‘First Kid’, and ‘Good Burger’.

Director Brian Levant explained why he cast Sinbad in a Dec. 2021 interview with Racket Minnesota. He said, “I liked Sinbad because of his energy, and I loved that he was a big guy. Arnold beating up on a small guy? There’s no challenge. Sinbad was a great wit who did lots of improvising, and he kept Arnold on his toes.”

Remembering the production in 2017 with OnMilwakee.com, Sinbad said, “It was fun! We had a good time doing the movie. We got a chance to do a lot of improv, so it was fun.”

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Chris Parnell

Chris Parnell — Chris Parnell’s first movie role was as a mean-spirited store clerk in the movie. He would go on to appear on SNL from 1998 to 2006 and was in films like ‘Anchorman’, ’21 Jump Street’ and ‘Sisters’.

Talking about the movie in a 2015 Reddit AMA, he said, “Well, it was my first movie role, and I didn’t know how they typically shot scenes. So I had to laugh a lot, and I sort of spent all of my laughing energy in the wider takes, so by the time we got to the close-up shots, it was a real struggle to keep that going.”

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Jim Belushi

Jim Belushi — Jim Belushi played a grumpy mall Santa in ‘Jingle All The Way’. The comic, who is the brother of late laugh-man John Belushi, would later lead 8 seasons of the sitcom ‘According To Jim’.

All the way back in 1996, Jim revealed he had previous Santa experience. Talking to Cinema Review, he said, “While I was in college, I played Santa Claus for a Christmas concert. I even placed a ‘Santa Claus for Christmas’ situation-wanted ad in the local paper. For four years I played Santa to about 20 different households, and I really enjoyed it.”

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Jake Lloyd

Jake Lloyd — Jake Lloyd played Arnie’s son Jamie Langston in the movie. He would soar to super-stardom as Anakin Skywalker, the boy who would become Darth Vader, in the 1999 ‘Star Wars’ reboot ‘The Phantom Menace’. His career would slow down in the 2000s, making his last on-screen appearance in the 2001 sports drama ‘Madison’.

Jake endured some legal problems in 2015, arrested for reckless driving, driving without a license, and resisting arrest in Charleston, South Carolina. He served 10-months in prison for his crimes.

The young actor talked about what it was like to work with Arnold with Cinema Review back in 1996, saying, “I was really excited when I first met Arnold. I almost spaced out, but he was really nice, and I had a lot of fun working with him.”

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Phil Hartman

Phil Hartman — Phil Hartman played divorcé neighbor Ted Maltin in ‘Jingle All The Way’. At the time he was well-known for starring on the show ‘NewsRadio’ and had won an Emmy for his seasons on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Phil was tragically killed in 1998, making ‘Jingle All The Way’ his last project to premiere during his life.

The funnyman even came up with a backstory for his character. In the 1996 production notes, he wrote, “Ted is a guy who sued his employer for headaches caused by toner fumes and now hangs around the neighborhood and helps all the housewives.” He added, “Ted’s another weasel to add my list of weasels.”

Director Brian Levant said Phil was “a joy” to work with while looking back on the production. “Nobody enjoyed his fame or money the way Phil Hartman did, truly,” he told Racket Minnesota. “He improvised so many lines and got laughs with just these looks. He was in tremendous control of his talents, and really lavished them on this film.” He added, “It was such a terrible loss. It was the most god awful funeral I’d ever been to. I’d never felt such awful misery… I still cringe at the thought of it. I was such an enormous fan.”

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