See the Stars of Ferris Bueller's Day Off Then and Now

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, John Hughes’ classic 1986 film, turns thirty on June 11—and in the years since its release, Ferris Bueller has become a cultural staple. Matthew Broderick stars as a high school senior named Ferris Bueller, who fakes an unspecified illness to skip a day of class, setting a tone as the perfect potential guidebook for everyone who wishes they could blow off their responsibilities toward the end of senior year. With memorable quotes like “Bueller? …Bueller? …Bueller?” entering America’s pop culture lexicon, the National Film Registry even selected the film for preservation in 2014.

Last year, Broderick told TIME, “The whole movie, I can now say, really hit a nerve. And I’m not at all taking credit for that. But John Hughes and whatever it is, undeniably, I had no idea it would stick around this long. No idea.”

Reportedly writing the script in less than a week, Hughes shot the film using downtown Chicago as the students’ figurative playground. Co-starring Mia Sara as Bueller’s girlfriend, Sloane Peterson, and Alan Ruck as his best friend, Cameron Frye, the film trails the three as they enjoy a perfect day. Avoiding authority figures, such as dean of students (and main antagonist) Edward Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), and Bueller’s bitter sister Jeannie (Jennifer Grey), Bueller just wants to have fun, pulling pranks and exploring landmarks such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Sears (now Willis) Tower. But Bueller’s message at the beginning of the film still rings true thirty years later: “‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.'”

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