Paul Dooley SAG-AFTRA Career Retrospective April 3

Paul Dooley Set for SAG-AFTRA Foundation Career Retrospective Event

The 'Sixteen Candles' veteran joins moderator Scott Mantz for a 90-minute deep dive into his 70-year career on April 3.

Sofia Chen

Apr 2, 2026, 6:04 PM PT · 1 min read

Paul Dooley — Photo: Paul J. Alessi aka pjalessi / CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

THE RUNDOWN

SAG-AFTRA Foundation honors actor Paul Dooley on April 3, 2026.
Film critic Scott Mantz moderates the 90-minute 'Conversations' event.
Dooley's career highlights include 'Breaking Away' and 'Sixteen Candles.'
The veteran performer has earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
The retrospective celebrates a professional career spanning seven decades.

Hollywood is celebrating one of its most versatile veterans tonight. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation has announced a special career retrospective event for actor Paul Dooley. On Friday, April 3, 2026, the 90-minute "Conversations" session will kick off at 7:00 PM PDT, giving fans and industry peers an inside look at a career spanning over seven decades.

Film critic Scott Mantz is set to moderate the evening, guiding Dooley through his most iconic roles. The actor is widely celebrated for his performance as Jim Baker in the John Hughes classic Sixteen Candles and his turn as Ray Stohler in the Oscar-winning film Breaking Away. Dooley’s massive resume includes over 200 credits, ranging from voicing Sarge in the Cars franchise to his Emmy-nominated guest roles in The Practice and Dream On.

The event highlights Dooley’s enduring presence in the industry since his start in the 1950s. At 98 years old, the actor remains a beloved figure in the creative community, recently documenting his journey in the memoir Movie Dad: Finding Myself and My Family, On Screen and Off. This retrospective at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation serves as a tribute to a performer who has consistently brought heart and humor to the screen for generations.