Independence Day
1996 film by Roland Emmerich · Released 1996
Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Emmerich and the film's producer Dean Devlin, and starring an ensemble cast that consists of Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, Adam Baldwin, Vivica A. Fox, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein. The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by a powerful extraterrestrial race. With the other people of the world, they launch a counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States. While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich conceived the film while answering a question about his belief in the existence of alien life.
Cast ages when filming began (July 28, 1995)
- Will Smith, as Captain Steven Hiller: 26
- Jeff Goldblum, as David Levinson: 42
- Mary McDonnell, as First Lady Marilyn Whitmore: 43
- Vivica A. Fox, as Jasmine Dubrow: 30
- Margaret Colin, as Constance Spano: 37
- Harry Connick Jr., as Marine Captain Jimmy Wilder: 27
- Bill Pullman, as President Thomas J. Whitmore: 41
- Randy Quaid, as Russell Casse: 44
- Robert Loggia, as General William Grey: 65
- Judd Hirsch, as Julius Levinson: 60
- James Rebhorn, as Albert Nimziki: 46
- Adam Baldwin, as Major Mitchell: 33
- Harvey Fierstein, as Marty Gilbert: 41
- Brent Spiner, as Dr. Brackish Okun: 46
- James Duval, as Miguel Casse: 22
- Lisa Jakub, as Alicia Casse: 16
- Giuseppe Andrews, as Troy Casse: 16
- Ross Bagley, as Dylan Dubrow: 6
- Bill Smitrovich, as Lt. Colonel Watson: 48
- Kiersten Warren, as Tiffany: 29
- Dean Devlin: 32