‘Prison Break’ Premiered 15 Years Ago: See the Cast Then & Now
Prison Break was a breakout hit—pun fully intended—when it premiered on August 29, 2005, marking Fox’s most-watched summer Monday night in seven years, at the time.
That first season told the tale of an engineer (played by Wentworth Miller) breaking his wrongly-imprisoned brother (Dominic Purcell) out of jail with allies on the inside and outside, as well as the help of one elaborate back tattoo.
And yes, Prison Break lost viewers and credibility as the series wore on, originally concluding with a low-rated finale in May 2009. But Fox is still sweet on the show: An “event series” fifth season aired in 2017, and network execs are even contemplating future installments.
“We continue to talk about 24 and Prison Break as potential spinoffs,” Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn told Deadline in January. “There is nothing that is ready to announce on either front.”
For now, though, we’re celebrating Prison Break’s upcoming 15th anniversary by checking in on the Season 1 cast. Scroll down to see them then and now.
Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows
Dominic Purcell
In recent years, Purcell has played the gruff hero/klepto/romance author Mick Rory, aka Heat Wave, in The CW’s wacky DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and other Arrowverse titles.
Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield
Wentworth Miller
Miller reunited with Purcell in the Arrowverse: He played Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold. He has also guest starred on Madam Secretary and Law & Order: SVU and penned the screenplays for the films Stoker and The Disappointments Room.
Robin Tunney as Veronica Donovan
Robin Tunney
After Prison Break, Tunney starred in The Mentalist—earning two People’s Choice Award nominations for her performance as Teresa Lisbon—and in The Fix. She has guest starred in Netflix series Love and Insatiable, and she appears in this year’s film Horse Girl.
Peter Stormare as John Abruzzi
Peter Stormare
Stormare has kept busy recently, co-creating and starring in the Pop comedy Swedish Dicks; starring in the short-lived Fox sitcom LA to Vegas; and appearing in various shows across television like, Longmire, American Gods, and Briarpatch.
Amaury Nolasco as Fernando Sucre
Amaury Nolasco
Nolasco’s roles of late have included starring in NBC’s Telenovela, ABC procedural Deception and a guest starring stint on Power. Most recently, he played another inmate: jailed drug kingpin Frankie Cuevas Sr. on the Starz crime drama Hightown.
Marshall Allman as Lincoln “L.J.” Burrows, Jr.
Marshall Allman
Following Prison Break, Allman played shapeshifter Tommy Mickens on the HBO horror drama True Blood and tech entrepreneur Milo Khoury on the British sci-fi series Humans. He also recurred on Bates Motel as Norman’s friend Julian Howe.
Wade Williams as Brad Bellick
Wade Williams
After playing a prison guard in Prison Break, Williams played similar roles in two superhero blockbusters, appearing as a prison guard in Venom and a prison warden in The Dark Knight Rises. He also starred as Silas Bullen in the PBS period drama Mercy Street.
Paul Adelstein as Paul Kellerman
Paul Adelstein
Post-Prison Break, Adelstein moved into Shondaland, starring as Dr. Cooper Freedman in Private Practice and Leo Bergen in Scandal. He also starred in the Bravo comedy Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, the Hulu crime drama Chance, and the NBC comedy I Feel Bad.
Robert Knepper as Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell
Robert Knepper
Knepper recently appeared in two shows on The CW, the psychological thriller Cult and the procedural iZombie. In 2017, he faced sexual misconduct allegations from five women, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In a statement, he called the accusations “false.”
Sarah Wayne Callies as Sara Tancredi
Sarah Wayne Callies
Callies might be best known for playing Lori Grimes on The Walking Dead. She has also starred on the USA sci-fi drama Colony, the National Geographic drama The Long Road Home, the Sundance TV drama Unspeakable, and the NBC drama Council of Dads.
Rockmond Dunbar as Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin
Rockmond Dunbar
