Where cast of The Bodyguard are now 30 years on – from tragic bathtub death to furious court battle and Friends role
FROM its best-selling soundtrack to the all-star leading cast, 1992 romantic drama The Bodyguard is still known even now as one of cinema’s absolute classics.
The film starred the great, late singing sensation Whitney Houston as pop diva Rachel Marron, who is a victim of a stalker and begins to receive sinister threats.
US secret service agent Frank Farmer – played by a brooding Kevin Costner – is hired to protect her and the pair grow increasingly close.
Staggeringly it’s been 30 years since the film came out, so to mark the milestone, we take a closer look at what became of the cast.
Whitney Houston (Rachel Marron)
One of the original superstars, leading lady Whitney Houston sold over 200m combined albums, singles and videos worldwide during her singing career, so it’s no surprise The Bodyguard soundtrack is one of the top five biggest-selling albums of all time.
Despite her acting success, she was aware of the scrutiny she would get as a popstar acting in a film and worried that “people would dog me before they gave me the opportunity to do the job”.
She went on to star in a string of films, including Waiting To Exhale and The Preacher’s Wife, starring Denzel Washington, and her song hits included I Will Always Love You and I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
Tragically, her life came to an end in 2012, accidentally drowning in a bath tub, with heart disease and cocaine-use revealed to be contributing factors.
Kevin Costner (Frank Farmer)
Kevin developed a close bond with Whitney while working together on set – so much so that he went on to speak at her funeral.
He became one of the biggest names in Hollywood, and has two Oscars to his name.
Most recently the dad-of-seven starred in Paramount series Yellowstone, and has just released a new docuseries called Yellowstone: One-Fifty.
Michele Lamar Richards (Nicki)
After playing Rachel’s jealous sister Nicki, actor and producer Michele Lamar Richards went on to appear in Top Dog and Bar Room Babies.
She also played the Lamaze teacher in Friends, The One With Two parts, Part 1, in 1995.
Since then Michele has kept a relatively low profile in the acting world.
DeVaughn Nixon (Fletcher)
DeVaughn wasn’t even a teenager yet when he played Whitney Houston’s son Fletcher.
Speaking about his on-screen mum years later, DeVaughn said: “Whitney was my guardian [on set]. She and I were really, really, close.”
He went on to appear in an array of popular films including Terminator 2 alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He is the son of NBA player Norm Nixon, who he actually portrayed recently in a series about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, called Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
He now lives in LA with his wife.
Gary Kemp (Sy Spector)
Rachel’s publicist Sy Spector was played by British actor and musician Gary Kemp.
He was also integral to the success of Eighties boyband Spandau Ballet, which he performed in alongside brother Martin.
However, the bandmates all later ended up in court, with singer Tony Hadley, drummer John Keeble and sax player Steve Norman claiming they were entitled to hundreds of thousands of pounds of Gary’s earnings – a claim that was rejected.
He now lives with costume designer wife Lauren Barber and the couple share three sons.
He was previously married to Sadie Frost, with whom he also shares a son.
Bill Cobbs (Devaney)
Bill Cobbs portrayed Devaney, Rachel’s manager in the 1992 film, and continued to act in the years that followed.
Most recently he played Uncle Jim in Block Party, and he has also guest-starred on Sesame Street.
Other shows he has appeared in include The West Wing and ER.
Tomas Arana (Portman)
Assassin Greg Portman, played by Tomas Arana, was hired to kill Rachel by her jealous older sister Nicki.
This role aside, he is also known for films including The Hunt for Red October, Gladiator, the Bourne Supremacy and The Dark Knight Rises.