Center Stage Cast: Where Are They Now?
#10: Eion Bailey
When he played med student James Gordon in “Center Stage,” Eion Bailey was just three years out from making his film debut in 1997’s little-seen “A Better Place.” But while not many people saw that movie, a lot of people have seen the work Bailey’s done since. Especially his television roles, which include a recurring role as August Wayne Booth/Pinocchio in ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.” Most recently, Bailey could be seen in the sci-fi horror show “From,” which premiered in 2022 and was renewed for a second season in April.
#9: Debra Monk
Debra Monk has been working pretty consistently since 1989. And even if you don’t recognize her name, the odds are you’ll recognize her face from at least one of her many roles prior to, and after, playing stage mom Nancy in “Center Stage.” Maybe it’s as George O’Malley’s mother on “Grey's Anatomy” or maybe it’s kissing Jane Fonda in 2014’s “This Is Where I Leave You.” Monk, who was born in 1949, shows no signs of slowing down either. “New Amsterdam” viewers have been able to enjoy the versatile actress in her recurring role as wealthy hospital board member, Karen Brantley.
#8: Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy has been nominated for an impressive five Tony Awards and has taken home two wins for Best Actress in a Musical. And while most of her awards have come from her performances on the stage, she’s done plenty of good work on the small screen and the silver one as well. Murphy will be familiar to “Center Stage” fans for playing ballet teacher Juliette Simone, and Disney fans will recognize her voice as that of Mother Gothel from “Tangled.” And as we begin the 2020s, fans of “The Gilded Age” will know her as American socialite Caroline Astor.
#7: Julie Kent
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Julie Kent has only appeared in two theatrical movies and played a dancer in each one. In 1987, she starred alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov in the film “Dancers,” and 13 years later she danced again on screen as Kathleen Donahue in “Center Stage.” Kent didn’t just play a dancer in the movies, she played one in real life as well. From 1993 to 2015, Kent was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater, taking on roles like Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” Odette-Odile in “Swan Lake,” and the title role in “Anastasia,” to name just a few. In 2016, Kent became the artistic director of The Washington Ballet.
#6: Susan May Pratt
In “Center Stage,” Susan May Pratt played Maureen Cummings who, despite being a very talented dancer, decided to quit because it doesn’t make her happy. Unlike her character, Pratt didn’t quit acting after the movie and has continued to find work in the decades since its release. Although, none of the films she’s been in since then have been as successful and her television work has mostly entailed single-episode guest star roles. One expectation is a three-episode stint on Showtime’s critically acclaimed “Masters of Sex.”
#5: Sascha Radetsky
Like some others in the “Center Stage” cast, Radetsky was a professional ballet dancer when he was hired to play Charlie Sims - the talented dancer who ends up dating the film’s lead protagonist, Jody Sawyer. Radetsky joined American Ballet Theatre in 1995, became a soloist in 2003, and retired from dancing in 2014. With his newfound free time, Radetsky got back into acting, and in 2015, starred as Ross (a ballet dancer) in the Starz miniseries, “Flesh and Bone.” He hasn’t acted since 2016, but he’s still very much involved with the world of Ballet. In 2018, Radetsky became the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company.
#4: Ethan Stiefel
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Ethan Stiefel began his ballet journey at eight years old and it’s a journey that took him all the way to the American Ballet Theatre, where he was a principal dancer from 1997 until 2012. His journey continued to New Zealand where he was the artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet for three years, and in 2021, he took on the role of artistic director of the American Repertory Ballet. As far as his acting career goes, it’s been pretty much all “Center Stage.” Stiefel played Cooper Nielson - the best dancer in the American Ballet Company - in the first film in 2000, and he reprised his role in the subsequent made-for-TV sequels, “Center Stage: Turn It Up” in 2008 and “Center Stage: On Pointe” in 2016.
#3: Peter Gallagher
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Peter Gallagher had been working as an actor for 20 years before stepping into the role of Jonathan Reeves - the ABA’s director and choreographer - and he’s been working for the 20 years since as well. He’s one of the few actors from the first film to also appear in both sequels, and to fans of “The O.C.,” he’ll always be Sandy Cohen. Gallagher is still going strong and most recently, he could be seen in recurring roles in both “Grace and Frankie” and “Grey's Anatomy.”
#2: Zoe Saldaña
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Except for two episodes of “Law & Order” in 1999, “Center Stage” was the first time people had seen Zoe Saldaña on screen. And while she was a completely unknown entity at the time, she has now been seen on screen by more people than almost anyone in the history of the movies. With her roles in “Avatar,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame,” Saldaña has been in three of the five biggest-grossing movies ever - something that no other actor has ever done! And with a couple of new “Avatar” movies on the horizon, as well as a role in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Saldaña’s box-office future looks very bright.
#1: Amanda Schull
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When she was cast as the lead in “Center Stage” it was Amanda Shull’s first acting gig. Until then, Shull had spent her life focused on ballet rather than acting and was an apprentice with the San Francisco Ballet when she landed the role. Following the release of the film, Shull became a full-time member of the SFB and was there until she retired from the company in 2006. After that, her acting work picked up again and she’s been working as such ever since, most notably as part of the main cast in the television shows “12 Monkeys” and “Suits.”
