Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup and More Reunite to Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Almost Famous

Almost Famous, released in theaters in September 2000, starred Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, and Patrick Fugit

Almost Famous 20th Anniversary Reunion Kate Hudson, Cameron Crowe, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit
Photo: Rolling Stone/Instagram

The Almost Famous cast sure is famous now.

On Tuesday, stars Kate Hudson (Penny Lane) Billy Crudup (Russell Hammond) and Patrick Fugit (William Miller) looked back on the beloved 2000 comedy film with writer-director Cameron Crowe for a virtual reunion hosted by Rolling Stone.

"I was young, so young, but I had been reading scripts my whole life," Hudson, 41, recalled of auditioning for the film. "I read it and as a 19-year-old girl, roles like that really don't come along very often, where you go 'Please, I have to play this part.' "

"So I think that was the initial kind of magical moment of siting in Cameron's office and reading the script, because he wouldn't let anyone take the script," the actress added. "We all had to sit in his office and read it."

Hudson shared a clip of the reunion on her Instagram page, writing, "We got the band back together again! Loved every second. Thank you @rollingstone for putting this virtual reunion together ✨."

The foursome also reflected on a number of the film's most iconic scenes — including the “Tiny Dancer” bus singalong, which they said took two days to film.

“The amazing thing was we committed to that song — and it was the right song — and it wasn’t even that famous a song,” Crowe, 63, said. “And you you got to love Elton John, because as soon as he saw the movie, he was like, ‘I always loved that song! You understand that song!’ And he started playing it in his show, and he’s never stopped playing it. He gives us credit for it.”

Fugit, 37, said that anytime he's in a place that has a jukebox, someone inevitably puts on "Tiny Dancer” and stares at him until he reacts.

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Patrick Fugit and Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. Everett

Almost Famous, set in 1973, follows a high school boy (Fugit) chosen to write a story for Rolling Stone that requires him touring with an up-and-coming rock band.

For her role as band groupie Penny Lane, Hudson won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The film also starred Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

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