Actor Cole Hauser has a career that's been going on for nearly 30 years. After appearing in the memorable but commercially unsuccessful period sports drama School Ties as Jack Connors, Hauser appeared as Benny O'Donnell in Richard Linklater's classic coming-of-age period film, Dazed and Confused. The movie follows a group of hard partying Texas teenagers on the last day of school in 1976, with protagonist Randy "Pink" Floyd, played by Jason London, struggling with the pressure to sign a pledge not to do drugs, which would be mandatory for him to return to his role as captain of the football team. Hauser's Benny serves as Pink's friend and teammate, in addition to providing some of the pressure to sign the drug-free pledge, over which he eventually confronts Pink.
Dazed and Confused was a box office failure, grossing only $8 million against a reported $6.9 million budget, according to The Numbers. Nevertheless, it remains a popular film with audiences and provided the world with Matthew McConaughey's memorable "Alright, alright, alright" line in his turn as Wooderson, an early 20s friend of Pink's who drives him to buy Aerosmith tickets the next day. The film featured an ensemble of up-and-coming actors, including Milla Jovovich, Rory Cochrane, Ben Affleck, Adam Goldberg, Renée Zellweger, Joey Lauren Adams, and Parker Posey. It also marked Hauser's second outing with Affleck, with the two having worked together on School Ties.
