33 ’00s Heartthrobs Then Vs. Now

Then: You knew Chad from starring in projects like A Cinderella Story and One Tree Hill. 

Then: Zac rose to fame with the High School Musical franchise and starred in Hairspray and 17 Again.

Now: Zac’s latest film is Firestarter. His character has a young daughter in the movie, so, it’s official, Troy Bolton is now mature enough to have kids.

Then: Taylor’s role as Jacob in the Twilight movies quickly made him a well-loved ’00s teen heartthrob.

Now: Taylor is still acting, and his next release will be the film Home Team. He also recently got engaged to his girlfriend of three years, Taylor Dome.

Then: Usher’s many hits like “Love in This Club,” “U Remind Me,” and “Yeah!” made 2000s listeners fall in love.

Now: Usher performed a very successful set of Las Vegas shows in 2021, and this July he will begin his second Vegas residency. 

Then: Orlando stole your heart as he took on lead roles in the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean film franchises.

Then: Channing showed off his comedy chops in She’s the Man and proved he has some impressive dance skills while he acted in Step Up.

Then: Shane played Landon, a bad boy with a heart of gold in A Walk to Remember. This classic ’00s Nicholas Sparks film adaptation which also starred Mandy Moore celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.

Then: Corbin reached heartthrob status with lead roles in the High School Musical movies and another ’00s Disney Channel flick, Jump In!

Then: Jesse sang awesome 2000s hits like “Beautiful Soul,” “Leavin’,” and “How Do You Sleep?” He also portrayed Bradin in Summerland, and who could forget his guest starring role playing himself in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody?

Then: You probably remember Raviv, who was previously known as Ricky, from Phil of the Future, in which he played Phil Diffy, a teen from the year 2121 whose family got stuck in 2004.

Now: Raviv recently told E! News he just directed an opera show at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He’ll be an associate director on another upcoming opera, and he is also currently engaged.

Then: Fans of Smallville and the Cheaper by the Dozen films will recognize Tom from his roles as Clark Kent and Charlie Baker.

Then: After appearing as romantic leads in What a Girl Wants and Raise Your Voice, Oliver was a fan favorite ’00s hunk.

Then: Sean made you swoon as Steve in Sleepover and William in the 2005Yours, Mine & Ours remake.

Then: Adrian was a star of Entourage and played Nate in The Devil Wears Prada.

Then: With songs like “Hero” and “Could I Have This Kiss Forever,” Enrique was a soulful and crush-worthy 2000s vocalist.

Now: Robert is the lead singer of the band, Rooney, and is a co-founder of Utopia Movies, a film distribution company.

Then: ’00s movie buffs will always and forever remember Jonathan as Mean Girls character Aaron Samuels, one of the most popular students at North Shore High.

Then: Penn played Scott in John Tucker Must Die before he got his television big break, the role of Dan Humphrey in the CW series Gossip Girl. 

Then: Robert was first seen as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter before he was cast as vampire Edward Cullen in theTwilight films.

Now: 2022’s The Batman was Robert’s latest Hollywood venture. Variety reported in April that he’ll return to the titular role for a sequel to the film.

Then: Mark charmed moviegoers with performances in numerous 2000s rom-coms like 13 Going On 30, Just Like Heaven and Rumor Has It. 

Then: Chris was a dreamy leading man in ’00s flicks The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Just My Luck,  and Star Trek. 

Now: Chris will next be featured in Olivia Wilde’s film, Don’t Worry Darling. He’ll additionally reprise his role as Captain Kirk in the next Star Trek film installment, which doesn’t yet have a definite filming schedule.

Then: From taking on the part of Michael Kelso inThat ’70s Show to serving as the host of the MTV comedy series Punk’d, Ashton was everywhere in the ’00s, and viewers couldn’t get enough of him.

Now: Ashton is a cast member of That ’90s Show, an upcoming Netflix spinoff of the original That ’70s Show series. Aside from his continued acting success, Ashton is an activist dedicated to ending human trafficking.

Then: Fans loved Mario for his smooth vocals and noticeable stage presence. Plus, the lyrics of his hit, “Let Me Love You,” conveyed how he would always treat you right.

Then: Patrick was best-known for his longtime portrayal of Derek Shepherd, aka McDreamy, in Grey’s Anatomy, which kicked off in 2005.

Now: Since Patrick’s departure from Grey’s Anatomy, he’s been in Bridget Jones’s Baby and the TV series Devils. He will be returning as Robert Philip for Disenchanted, the Enchanted sequel.

Then: Heath displayed his exceptional acting abilities in roles ranging from William Thatcher in A Knight’s Tale to Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.

Then: The Harry Potter films and their merchandise were ubiquitous in the 2000s, so Daniel naturally became a widespread heartthrob.

Then: Ryan absolutely set the standard for all other 2000s heartthrobs while starring as Noah opposite Rachel McAdams as Allie inThe Notebook.

Now: Ryan’s next film, The Gray Man, will be out on Netflix this summer. One of his upcoming roles is Ken in a Barbie movie with Margot Robbie in the lead role.

Then: Not only did Bow Wow, formerly known as Lil Bow Wow, release ’00s music bops, he also had noteworthy onscreen roles in films such as Like Mike and Roll Bounce. 

Now: In January 2022, Bow Wow, whose real name is Shad Moss, hinted on Twitter that his next album will be his final music release. He is also a businessperson and has his own durag line with KISS.

Now: Joseph will next star alongside Lily James and Himesh Patel in a comedy film called Providence.

Then: Nick was a multitalented heartthrob of the aughts. He appeared in All That episodes, released his own music, and hosted the long-running MTV series Wild ‘N Out.

Now: Nick has continued to host shows like America’s Got Talent and The Masked Singer. He also led an eponymous daytime talk show from 2021 to 2022 and will take part in a Wild ‘N Out tour this summer.

Then: Milo’s breakout role was playing Jess Mariano in Gilmore Girls. He went on to star in another 2000s hit show, Heroes.