Judd Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin stars Steve Carell as an aging electronics store worker desperate to finally score. The raunchy romantic comedy hit theaters on Aug. 19, 2005.The star-studded cast includes Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Jane Lynch.<\/p>\n
When The 40-Year-Old Virgin<\/a> hit theaters 20 years ago this month, it helped usher in a new wave of R-rated comedies while introducing audiences to some of the most ubiquitous film and TV stars of this century.\n<\/p>\n The directorial debut of acclaimed writer and producer Judd Apatow<\/a>, the film follows Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell<\/a>), an electronics store employee who, as the title implies, is a 40-year-old virgin. Determined to change that, his crude coworkers make it their mission to find him a partner.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n To celebrate its 20th anniversary, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is returning to theaters for a special one-week run starting Aug. 22.\n<\/p>\n To honor this milestone, we’re catching up with the hilarious cast of The 40-Year-Old Virgin to see how their lives and careers have unfolded over the last two decades.\n<\/p>\n Steve Carell as Andy Stitzer <\/p>\n Steve Carell as Andy in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Carell attends Netflix’s ‘The Four Seasons’ premiere at Directors Guild Of America on April 24, 2025 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; Unique Nicole\/WireImage<\/p>\n Steve Carell was already a comedic force thanks to his turns on The Dana Carvey Show (1996), The Daily Show (1999\u20132005), and as Brick Tamland in Anchorman<\/a> (2004), but it was The 40-Year-Old Virgin that gave him his first leading role.\n<\/p>\n At a 20th anniversary screening<\/a> this past May, Carell reflected on his time making the film, calling it “pure fun, all the way through.” He added, “To have a job where you know, every day when you go to work you are going to laugh until you cry every single day, is such a gift.”<\/p>\n Carell went on to establish himself as a household name as the beloved Michael Scott on The Office<\/a> (2005\u20132011, 2013), on which he starred, wrote, produced, and directed.\n<\/p>\n He kept the laughs coming in films like Evan Almighty (2007), Get Smart<\/a> (2008), Date Night<\/a> (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love<\/a> (2011), and of course, as the voice of Gru in the Despicable Me<\/a> franchise (2010\u2013present).\n<\/p>\n But the actor has since sought to push the boundaries of his persona, taking on dramatic roles and even getting an Oscar nomination for his performance in Foxcatcher<\/a> (2014).\n<\/p>\n He chased that role with weightier turns in The Big Short<\/a> (2015), Battle of the Sexes<\/a> (2017), Vice<\/a> (2018), and The Morning Show<\/a> (2019\u20132021), the latter of which earned him an Emmy nod.<\/p>\n Most recently, he starred alongside Tina Fey on Netflix’s The Four Seasons<\/a> (2025) and appeared in HBO’s Mountainhead (2025), a blistering satire from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong.\n<\/p>\n Catherine Keener as Trish Piedmont <\/p>\n Catherine Keener as Trish in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Keener attends the premiere of ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on Sept. 30, 2024 in Hollywood.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; Monica Schipper\/Getty<\/p>\n Catherine Keener<\/a> played Trish, the charming single mom who wins Andy\u2019s heart in The 40-Year-Old-Virgin. By the time the film hit theaters, Keener was already an Academy Award nominee for Being John Malkovich<\/a> (1999).\n<\/p>\n She earned her second Oscar nomination for playing To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee in Capote (2005) and continued to mix prestige and fun with roles in Into the Wild (2007), Get Out<\/a> (2017), and the Jim Carrey<\/a>-led series Kidding (2018\u20132020).\n<\/p>\n Most recently, she played Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix<\/a>) lawyer in Joker: Folie \u00e0 Deux<\/a> (2024).\n<\/p>\n Paul Rudd as David <\/p>\n Paul Rudd as David in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Rudd attends SeriousFun Children’s Network’s “A Night of Serious Fun” Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 07, 2025 in New York City.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty<\/p>\n Is it even a comedy if Paul Rudd<\/a>‘s not in it? By the time The 40-Year-Old Virgin premiered, Rudd had already built a solid filmography (and a reputation for not aging). He’d just worked with Carell and Apatow on Anchorman, and it seems he wanted to continue that collaboration.\n<\/p>\n The Rudd\u2013Apatow bromance only grew stronger, leading to more collaborations with Knocked Up<\/a> (2007), Forgetting Sarah Marshall<\/a> (2008) and This Is 40 (2012).\n<\/p>\n Rudd’s kept the comedy gold coming with roles in Role Models<\/a> (2008), I Love You, Man (2009), Ghostbusters: Afterlife<\/a> (2021), and this year’s Friendship<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n In 2015, he put on a superhero suit and became Marvel’s tiniest Avenger in Ant-Man<\/a>. He’s made several appearances in the MCU since then, and he’s set to return in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Romany Malco as Jay <\/p>\n Romany Malco as Jay in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Malco attends SoulPancake’s “Four Conversations about One Thing” at Hammer Museum on May 29, 2019 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; John Sciulli\/Getty<\/p>\n Romany Malco<\/a> was looking to pivot from music to acting when he landed the role of Jay in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Since then, he’s appeared in a number of films, including Blades of Glory<\/a> (2007), Think Like a Man<\/a> (2012), The DUFF (2015), and Holiday Rush (2019).\n<\/p>\n He’s carved out a solid TV career, too, with leading roles on Weeds (2005\u20132008, 2012), No Ordinary Family (2010\u20132011), and the ABC tearjerker A Million Little Things<\/a> (2018\u20132023), on which he starred for five seasons.\n<\/p>\n In a 2020 chat with Yahoo<\/a>, Malco admitted that he begged Apatow to cut him out of the movie. “I was like, ‘My mom is an ordained minister, bro, cut me out of the movie, please. I’m serious.’ I was like, ‘Just cut my behavior,'” he recalled.\n<\/p>\n Apatow refused, per Malco, telling the actor, “We can’t. You’re funny.”\n<\/p>\n Seth Rogen as Cal <\/p>\n Seth Rogen as Cal in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Rogen at the Apple TV+ x Deadline: ‘The Studio’ held at the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists on Aug. 16, 2025 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; Earl Gibson III\/Deadline via Getty<\/p>\n Seth Rogen<\/a>‘s been a consistent presence in Hollywood since his breakout on Freaks and Geeks<\/a> (1999), where he first teamed up with Apatow, an executive producer on the cult comedy. By the time The 40-Year-Old Virgin came around, Rogen was well on his way to becoming one of comedy’s most recognizable faces (and voices).\n<\/p>\n As a writer and producer, Rogen’s delivered a number of enduring comedies, from Superbad<\/a> (2007) and Pineapple Express<\/a> (2008) to This Is the End<\/a> (2013), which he co-directed alongside longtime creative partner Evan Goldberg.\n<\/p>\n Along with his comedic roles, Rogen has dabbled in drama with turns in Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs (2015) and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans<\/a> (2022), as well as the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy<\/a> (2022), which nabbed him Emmy nominations for acting and producing.\n<\/p>\n Most recently, he’s returned to his comedy roots by starring on the Emmy-nominated The Studio<\/a>, which he co-created with Goldberg.\n<\/p>\n At a red carpet event for The Studio this past May, Rogen told PEOPLE<\/a> that The 40-Year-Old Virgin “was the first movie that I was a part of that I really had a creative voice in, and a lot of the R-rated humor and tone came from me really advocating for that.”\n<\/p>\n Elizabeth Banks as Beth <\/p>\n Elizabeth Banks as Beth in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Banks attends the 7th Annual Los Angeles Benefit Hosted by the Center For Reproductive Rights at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on May 14, 2025.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; Rodin Eckenroth\/Getty<\/p>\n Elizabeth Banks<\/a> played wild child Beth in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and she soon became a pop culture staple thanks to her turns on Scrubs<\/a> (2006\u20132009), The Hunger Games<\/a> franchise (2012\u20132015), and the Pitch Perfect<\/a> films (2012-2017).\n<\/p>\n Lately, she’s been working behind the scenes, making her feature directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) before helming Charlie’s Angels (2019) and Cocaine Bear<\/a> (2023).\n<\/p>\n Up next for Banks is a starring and producing role on the psychological thriller DreamQuil with John C. Reilly. She’ll also star in the Peacock series The Miniature Wife alongside Succession star Matthew Macfadyen.\n<\/p>\n Leslie Mann as Nicky <\/p>\n Leslie Mann as Nicky in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Mann attends the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 10, 2024 in Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n Universal\/Courtesy Everett; Jamie McCarthy\/WireImage<\/p>\n Leslie Mann<\/a> brought total party girl energy as Nicky in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and she’s been popping up in more comedies ever since.\n<\/p>\n She’s starred in several Apatow comedies \u2014 Funny People (2009), This Is 40 (2012), The Bubble<\/a> (2022) \u2014 which tracks since they’ve been married since 1997. Outside the Apatow-verse, you might have seen her in fan-favorite films like 17 Again (2009), The Bling Ring<\/a> (2013), and Blockers<\/a> (2018).\n<\/p>\n Next, she’ll appear in Poetic License (2025), the feature directorial debut of her and Apatow’s eldest daughter, Maude<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Jane Lynch as Paula <\/p>\n Jane Lynch as Paula in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Lynch at the season 4 premiere of Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’ at Paramount Studios on Aug. 22, 2024 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Universal; Michael Buckner\/Variety via Getty<\/p>\n Five-time Emmy winner Jane Lynch<\/a> might be one of be the hardest-working people in comedy. After stealing scenes as Andy’s wildly inappropriate boss in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, she’s popped up in hit after hit.\n<\/p>\n You might recognize her from films like Talladega Nights<\/a> (2006), Role Models (2008), and Ralph Breaks the Internet<\/a> (2018), but TV is where she reigns supreme, with her Emmy-winning turn as Sue Sylvester on Glee (2009\u20132015) standing out as a highlight.\n<\/p>\n But Lynch has slayed on dozens of different series, from Two and a Half Men<\/a> (2004\u20132014) and Party Down (2009\u20132010) to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel<\/a> (2017\u20132023) and Only Murders in the Building<\/a> (2021\u20132024).\n<\/p>\n Kat Dennings as Marla Piedmont <\/p>\n Kat Dennings as Marla in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Dennings attends the ‘Thor: Love And Thunder’ premiere at El Capitan Theatre on June 23, 2022 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Suzanne Hanover\/Universal; Jon Kopaloff\/Getty<\/p>\n At the 20th anniversary screening of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Kat Dennings<\/a> shared that it was one of her very first big gigs. If you recall, she played Trish’s angsty teen daughter, Marla.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Flash forward and Dennings has carved out an impressive career. You probably know her best as Max on 2 Broke Girls<\/a> (2011\u20132017) or as Darcy Lewis from Marvel projects like Thor (2011), WandaVision (2021), and What If…? (2021\u20132024).\n<\/p>\n Dennings currently produces and stars on the ABC sitcom Shifting Gears<\/a> (2025) with Tim Allen.\n<\/p>\n Mindy Kaling as Amy <\/p>\n Mindy Kaling as Amy in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Kaling arrives at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards at The Orpheum Theatre on July 17, 2025 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Universal; Emma McIntyre\/WireImage<\/p>\n Mindy Kaling<\/a> played David’s ex, Amy, in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. It was a small role, but it kicked off what’s now one of the brightest careers from that cast.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n She worked alongside Carell on The Office, starring as Kelly Kapoor and also writing for the hit NBC series.\n<\/p>\n From there, Kaling skyrocketed to fame by creating, producing, and starring on The Mindy Project<\/a> (2012\u20132017). She’s also the creator of shows like Never Have I Ever<\/a> (2020\u20132023), The Sex Lives of College Girls<\/a> (2021\u20132025), and Running Point<\/a> (2025\u2013present).\n<\/p>\n Gerry Bednob as Mooj <\/p>\n Gerry Bednob as Mooj in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’; Bednob arrives at the world premiere of ‘You, Me, & Her’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on July 02, 2023 in Hollywood.<\/p>\n Universal; Steve Granitz\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n Gerry Bednob made quite the impression in The 40-Year-Old Virgin as Mooj, the foul-mouthed coworker who gives Andy some colorful sex advice.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Since then, he’s reunited with Rogen and Banks for Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), and also appeared in The Lie (2011) and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar<\/a> (2021).\n<\/p>\n At the 20th anniversary screening, Bednob revealed that fans of The 40-Year-Old Virgin still come up to him to quote his outrageous lines and ask how much actually came from the script. The filthiest gems, he said, were all his.\n<\/p>\n Shelley Malil as Haziz <\/p>\n Shelley Malil as Haziz in ‘The 40-Year-old Virgin’; Malil on Dec. 16, 2010 in Vista, Calif.<\/p>\n Universal; Jerod Harris\/Getty<\/p>\n Shelley Malil played Haziz, one of Andy\u2019s coworkers at the electronics store in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Before and after the film, he appeared in supporting roles across TV and film, with appearances on Reba<\/a> (2007) and Columbus Day (2008).\n<\/p>\n However, Malil’s career came to a halt in 2008 after he was arrested and later convicted of attempted premeditated murder and assault with a deadly weapon after stabbing his then-girlfriend 20 times<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n In 2010, he was sentenced to life in prison<\/a> with the possibility of parole. Malil was released on parole<\/a> in 2018. Since then, he has remained out of the public eye.\n<\/p>\n Where can I watch The 40-Year-Old Virgin? <\/p>\n The 40-Year-Old Virgin is currently available to stream on Prime Video<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n