Who could forget the moment that twist hit in The Sixth Sense?
Premiering in theaters on Aug. 6, 1999, Bruce Willis led the star-studded cast as child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe opposite Haley Joel Osment as his patient Cole Sear, a boy who could “see dead people.”
The psychological thriller also introduced the world to the twisty talents of writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, one of Hollywood’s most distinctive filmmakers. In honor of the film’s milestone 25th anniversary in 2024, Shyamalan asked PEOPLE, “Is that right? 25? … When I think about that, it’s wild.”
Since becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1999 (per Box Office Mojo) and earning six Oscar nominations — including Best Picture and Best Director — the cast went on to have successful careers on both the big and small screen.
Mischa Barton, then a child actor, played the sickly Kyra Collins, and later starred in other popular suspense and horror flicks. Toni Collette, who earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance as Cole’s mother Lynn, went on to star in films including 2011’s Fright Night and 2018’s Hereditary. Donnie Wahlberg, former boy band member-turned-actor, and Olivia Williams round out the cast.
Still a frequently referenced cultural touchstone 26 years after its release, here’s what the cast of The Sixth Sense is up to now.
Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe
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Bruce had already solidified his superstar status when it came time to portray the troubled Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense.
After finding small-screen success opposite Cybill Shepherd on the romantic dramedy series Moonlighting in the mid-’80s, he became one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars. The prolific actor starred in hit action and comedy movies, including the Die Hard franchise, The Last Boy Scout (1991), Death Becomes Her (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Jackal (1997) and Armageddon (1998).
Following The Sixth Sense — which remains the highest-grossing film of his career, according to Box Office Mojo — Bruce reunited with Shyamalan on the 2000 sci-fi thriller Unbreakable and its 2019 sequel Glass. He also had roles in The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Tears of the Sun (2003), Sin City (2005), Perfect Stranger (2007), Red (2010), Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Expendables film series.
In 2022, Bruce’s family revealed he had been diagnosed with aphasia and would be “stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
However, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, shared on Instagram in 2023 that Bruce’s condition had progressed, and his specific diagnosis is frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). The family regularly posts updates on Bruce’s health and heartwarming photos on social media.
Bruce has been married to Emma since 2009, and the two share daughters Mabel and Evelyn. The Emmy Award-winning star is also the father of adult daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, whom he shares with ex-wife and actress Demi Moore. In 2023, Bruce became a grandfather when Rumer welcomed daughter Louetta.
Haley Joel Osment as Cole Sear
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After his breakout role as Forrest Junior in the 1994 classic Forrest Gump, Haley Joel took on what became one of the most iconic child actor roles as the ghost-seeing Cole Sear. At 11, he was the second-youngest star to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Sixth Sense.
“I heard from [Bruce] a lot after it came out in those subsequent years,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2024 on keeping in touch with his former costar. “He’d leave voicemails at the house from time to time, just checking in.”
Following a string of voice-acting roles, Haley Joel starred in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed 2001 sci-fi adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He stepped away from the limelight when he turned 18, moving to New York to study experimental theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
“A film like The Sixth Sense burns an image of who you are into people’s minds. In the midst of that, it can be difficult to know who you are or who you are becoming,” Haley Joel told The New Yorker in 2014. “College seemed like a manageable next step, a place where I could figure that stuff out.”
Upon graduating in 2011, Haley Joel returned to the screen. In addition to TV shows, he also appeared in the films Tusk (2014), Sex Ed (2014), Entourage (2015), Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) and Somebody I Used to Know (2023).
In 2024, Haley Joel joined the cast of Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice alongside Channing Tatum and Naomie Ackie. Along with his guest appearance on season 2 of Peacock’s Poker Face, he has a supporting role in the 2025 sequel Happy Gilmore 2.
Haley Joel was among the celebrities affected by the Los Angeles wildfires in early 2025. He is the brother of Emily Osment. The actor siblings began their careers in Hollywood at a young age and later worked together on the Netflix series The Kominsky Method.
Toni Collette as Lynn Sear
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When Collette landed the role of Haley Joel’s on-screen mom, Lynn Sear, she already had various film and stage roles on her résumé, including her Golden Globe-nominated breakthrough in the 1994 Australian comedy Muriel’s Wedding.
Following her Oscar-nominated performance in The Sixth Sense, Collette starred in revered movies such as About a Boy (2002), The Hours (2002) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006). She also originated a role in the Broadway production of The Wild Party in 2000, which earned her a Tony Award nomination.
In 2009, she began her Emmy-winning tenure as the titular character on the Showtime drama United States of Tara before returning to Broadway in 2014 in The Realistic Joneses. Collette then joined the casts of the shows Unbelievable, Pieces of Her, The Staircase, The Power and as the voice of the Madam Ram podcast series. In 2024, she starred in Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 — where she reunited with former About a Boy costar Nicholas Hoult — before appearing in the 2025 sci-fi comedy Mickey 17.
Collette shares two children, daughter Sage Florence and son Arlo Robert, with estranged husband Dave Galafassi.
Donnie Wahlberg as Vincent Gray
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Before appearing in the brief but critical role of Crowe’s troubled patient Vincent Gray in The Sixth Sense, Donnie was best known as a member of New Kids on the Block. After the boy band went their separate ways in 1994, Donnie followed the trail blazed by his brother, Mark Wahlberg, and pursued a career in acting.
Even though Donnie had less than five minutes of screen time in The Sixth Sense, he gave the part everything he had because it meant so much to him. He reportedly lost 43 lbs. to play the emaciated burglar, making him unrecognizable.
“This was a game-changer for me. Every day for years, people would say, ‘Dude, I didn’t know that was you,’ ” he told USA Today in 2019. “At that time, I did exactly what I needed to do for the role. I had to look like I was going through hell. I went to a really dark place.”
Following The Sixth Sense, Donnie appeared on the shows Band of Brothers and Boomtown. In 2010, he began playing Danny Reagan on the CBS crime procedural Blue Bloods and will continue to play the character on the sequel series Boston Blue.
Musically, Donnie and the rest of the NKOTB members reunited in the studio for the 2008 comeback album The Block (reissued for its 15th anniversary in 2023) and onstage for reunion tours and multiple legs of their 2025 Las Vegas residency.
In 2014, Donnie and actress Jenny McCarthy tied the knot in the bride’s native Illinois. The ceremony was documented on the A&E reality show Donnie Loves Jenny. Donnie has two sons, Xavier and Elijah, whom he shares with ex-wife Kimberly Fey.
Olivia Williams as Anna Crowe
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Williams landed the role of Malcom Crowe’s devoted wife, Anna, in The Sixth Sense.
At the time, most audiences knew her for her work onstage and on-screen, including her breakout performance in the 1996 film adaptation Emma and a guest spot on Friends. After The Sixth Sense, the British actress appeared in 2009’s An Education and 2020’s The Father as well as on shows like Dollhouse, Manhattan, The Halcyon and Counterpart.
Williams later transformed into the future Queen Camilla on seasons 5 and 6 of Netflix’s The Crown, and in 2024, she was cast as a founder of the Bene Gesserit on HBO’s prequel series Dune: Prophecy. She is set to appear on season 3 of Ryan Murphy’s Monster true-crime anthology series as Alma Reville, Alfred Hitchcock’s wife.
In 2018, Williams was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after being misdiagnosed for four years.
“If someone had f—— well diagnosed me in the four years I’d been saying I was ill, when they told me I was menopausal or had irritable bowel syndrome or [was] crazy — I used that word advisedly because one doctor referred me for a psychiatric assessment — then one operation possibly could have cleared the whole thing, and I could describe myself as cancer-free, which I cannot now ever be,” she told The Times in 2025.
Williams has two daughters, Roxana and Esme, with her husband, actor Rhashan Stone, per The Guardian.
Mischa Barton as Kyra Collins
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After appearing on the soap opera All My Children in 1995 and in the 1999 rom-com Notting Hill, Barton was cast as Kyra, a girl ghost whom Cole helps in The Sixth Sense.
Her performance marks one of the film’s most frightening scenes, where she’s depicted under a bed vomiting (Barton told Variety in 2019 that she got a choice between cereal and bananas for the mixture).
“I’ve always been fascinated by gothic and dark things,” she said.
Barton then found success in 2003, playing the iconic teen and troubled girl next door, Marissa Cooper, on The O.C. Barton departed the series after her character’s tragic death on season 3.
Following The O.C., she competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2016 and joined the cast of The Hills: New Beginnings in 2019. Barton also appeared in The Toybox (2018), Papa (2018) and Invitation to a Murder (2023).
Since 2023, she’s had a recurring role on the Australian soap opera revival Neighbours.
“I really like this character of Reece Sinclair,” Barton told PEOPLE at the time. “At this point, I think it really comes down to if it’s a character that I feel I relate to and can play, something that I want to do.”
She added, “There’s nothing worse than being put into something where you show up to work every day and it’s a grind for you to play that character.”
M. Night Shyamalan as Dr. Hill
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Shyamalan has a cameo in The Sixth Sense as Dr. Hill, a physician who treats Cole after a frightening encounter with a ghost.
After his directorial debut with 1998’s Wide Awake, The Sixth Sense was Shyamalan’s breakthrough film, earning him Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Shyamalan has remained close to the film’s star Bruce throughout the years. When Bruce’s aphasia diagnosis was revealed in 2022, Shyamalan posted a message of support on X.
“All my love and respect to my big brother Bruce Willis,” he shared. “I know his wonderful family is surrounding him with support and strength. He will always be that hero on that poster on my wall as [a] kid.”
Shyamalan followed up The Sixth Sense with Unbreakable and the 2002 box office hit Signs. He has since directed over 15 films, including Old (2021), Knock at the Cabin (2023) and Trap (2024).
He has also directed several episodes across four seasons of the Apple TV+ thriller Servant. His daughter, Ishana, has followed in her father’s filmmaking footsteps, making her directorial debut with 2024’s The Watchers and writing and directing episodes of the Emmy-nominated Servant.
In addition to Ishana, Shyamalan has two other daughters — Shivani and Saleka, a musician who stars in her father’s film Trap — with wife Bhavna Vaswani.
