21 Jump Street Jumps to the Big Screen—What Have the Original Cast Members Been up To?

Dustin Nguyen's Officer H. T. Ioki had a joke of a name—literally. "Guess what year his parents moved to the States." Get it? Okay, it's not that funny. In real life, Nguyen came to the U.S. with his family from Vietnam in 1975, fleeing Saigon; Nguyen's experiences found their way onto the show. According to a 2006 article in Asian Week, Jump Street producers sought input from the young actor and changed "the ethnicity of Nguyen's character into one more reflective of his own personal origins," which led to "an incredible turning point for Southeast Asians."

After leaving 21 Jump Street in 1990 after 80 episodes, Nguyen appeared in films such as 1995's The Doom Generation (opposite Margaret Cho) and 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994). He found success again on TV playing Johnny Loh on the Pamela Anderson vehicle V.I.P. (1999-2002). He costarred with Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving in the 2005 drama Little Fish. Nguyen hosted a Vietnamese version of The Amazing Race. Rumor has it, he'll have a cameo in 22 Jump Street.

The future wife of Rodney Peete went by Holly Robinson during her Jump Street days. (She wasn't married yet. Duh.) Her character, Officer Judy Hoffs, was well-rounded and written to be smart as well as attractive. She appeared in every episode of the series and sang the incredibly catchy theme song. (Warning: If you click this link you will not be able to get the song out of your head for several days. "Jump! Down on Jump Street...")

Other than Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson Peete has had the best post-Jump Street career out of all the 21 Jump Street alums. She had regular roles on numerous TV series, including Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992-1997), For Your Love (1998-2002), and currently on CBS's Mike & Molly. She was one of the original hosts of The Talk; after being let go from the daytime chatfest Robinson Peete took roles on Mike & Molly and Instant Mom. She also reprised her role for a cameo in 21 Jump Stree.

Instead of Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp should have been in X-Men. Why? Because he's a mutant. How else do you explain how one person can be so good-looking? The least believable thing about his role as Officer Tom Hanson on 21 Jump Street wasn't that he looked too old to be in high school. It was that those unnaturally perfect cheekbones hadn't made him a movie star. Which is what happened in real life.

Mr. Depp had a lead role in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), but 21 Jump Street brought him worldwide stardom. After leaving the show in 1990, he hit the big screen in a big way, playing the title role in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), trading in his matinee-idol good looks for a pair of hands with tremendous topiary talents. Many successful collaborations with Burton followed, most recently Sweeney Todd (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). His wacky take on Captain Jack Sparrow helped turn Pirates of the Caribbean into a billion-dollar movie franchise. Depp lent his voice to the Oscar-winning animated feature Rango (2011) and has an uncredited cameo in the 21 Jump Street movie.

Peter DeLuise was only 20 when he started on 21 Jump Street. He was a big guy and always made an impression whenever he was on-screen. Peter, the son of the late, great funnyman Dom DeLuise, actually thought he was auditioning for a comedy, one of the Police Academy films, when he landed the role of Doug Penhall on the Fox drama, according to a recent interview.

DeLuise directed a few episodes of Jump Street and continued to work behind the camera on shows like Jeremiah (2002), Kyle XY (2008-2009), and numerous episodes of the Stargate franchise. He still acts, and told Canada's Times Colonist that he is in touch with his former cast members from time to time. In fact, Johnny Depp told the producers of the Jump Street movies that he would only do a cameo if they also asked DeLuise, according to Access Hollywood.

Richard Grieco started out as a model, then moved on to acting, spending two years honing his craft before his first audition, according to his official website. After a few guest spots (The Facts of Life, One Life to Live), he landed the role of Officer Dennis Booker, arriving at 21 Jump Street for season 3. Booker was the bad boy of the bunch; said badness earned him a spin-off, Booker, which featured motorcycles and larger guns.

Grieco got another series of his own, Marker (1995), which featured his music; he went on to release several albums and appear on the music reality series Gone Country. He continues to act, appearing in a lengthy list of feature films. Grieco recently attended the premiere of 21 Jump Street, despite not being asked to do a cameo. Why not? According to Access Hollywood, the filmmakers were only interested in the characters from season 1 of the TV series. But Grieco told an Access reporter that the film is "a comedy and I was too dark." But they say he was smiling when he said it. But looks like Grieco's character will make an appearance in 22 Jump Street.

Yikes! In case you were wondering where Sal Jenco's character Sal Banducci got his nickname, here is photographic proof. That's quite a party trick, dude. Jenco got the role with the help of his longtime friend Johnny Depp, with whom he later opened the famous L.A. club The Viper Room.

This Johnny Depp fan site refers to Jenco as a "musician, actor, poet, artist, club manager." Jenco and Depp have shared many endeavors—starting The Viper Room together, playing in a band called P, which released a self-titled album in 1995, and sharing the screen again (this time with Al Pacino) in the film Donnie Brasco. It would appear that Sal has led and continues to lead an interesting life.

Hands up if you remember that Captain Adam Fuller wasn't the first Captain on 21 Jump Street. Oh, you did not. Williams replaced Frederic Forrest after Forrest's character Captain Richard Jenko was killed off in season 1. Fuller was tougher and more interesting and less of an anachronism. Jenko, if you recall, was a former hippie, something that '80s kids probably had trouble relating to.

Williams is quietly having a stellar acting career. After Jump Street, he was on L.A. Heat (1997-1999), played the title role in Linc's (1998-2000), and was Mr. X on The X-Files. He was Mr. X! How cool is that? His most recent TV appearances have been on the CW horror series Supernatural. He'll grace 22 Jump Street with a cameo.