THEN AND NOW: The cast of '300,' 16 years later

• "300" was released in US theaters on March 9, 2007.

• The action film starred Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, and Dominic West.

• Since its release, the cast has gone on to star in other notable movies and TV shows.

Gerard Butler starred as the movie's protagonist, King Leonidas.

Without the council's consent, and against the instructions of Sparta's mystical priests, King Leonidas leads 300 soldiers into battle against King Xerxes and his massive Persian army.

While Leonidas and his soldiers successfully fend off several waves of Persian soldiers, they are eventually defeated, succumbing to a wave of arrows.

Butler has kept busy with a slew of films, including "The Ugly Truth" and "Plane."

Since "300," Butler has appeared in (or voiced characters for) more than 30 movies, including "P.S. I Love You," "Greenland," and "How to Train Your Dragon."

The actor also starred in a trilogy of films — "Olympus Has Fallen," "London Has Fallen," and "Angel Has Fallen" — as Mike Banning, a highly-skilled former Army Ranger-turned-Secret Service agent.

Butler has at least nine projects in the works, including the film sequel "Greenland: Migration," costarring Morena Baccarin, and the action thriller "Kandahar."

Lena Headey portrayed Queen Gorgo, who tries to rally support for King Leonidas.

After King Leonidas leaves for battle, Queen Gorgo attempts to convince councilman Theron to help her win enough votes from the council to send the Spartan army to support her husband's war efforts against the Persian empire.

The queen stabs Theron in front of the council after he falsely accuses her of trying to seduce him and another council member.

Headey has appeared in several high-profile TV projects, including "Game of Thrones."

While Headey has kept busy with film and TV work since "300," her most notable roles include playing Sarah Connor in the TV series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and HBO's smash hit "Game of Thrones" as Cersei Lannister.

Headey has at least six projects currently in the works, including the film "Crooks," costarring Juno Temple, and the superhero TV show "New-Gen."

David Wenham played Dilios, an injured Spartan soldier.

Dilios is the film's narrator and a member of King Leonidas' 300 soldiers who go to battle with the Persian army.

Once Leonidas realizes defeat is inevitable, he sends Dilios back to Sparta to deliver an unspoken message to Queen Gorgo and tell citizens about their valiant fight.

In the film's grand finale, Dilios leads the Spartan army, as well as 30,000 free Greek soliders, against the Persians in a battle where they are outnumbered three to one.

Wenham has steadily worked on film and TV projects, including "Australia."

Since "300," Wenham has appeared in projects like Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film "Australia," the Netflix series "Iron Fist," and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."

His most recent project was the 2022 animated film "Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind," in which he played the iconic video-game character Kano.

Dominic West portrayed Theron, a cunning councilman.

Theron is a councilman who vies for the throne.

He sleeps with Queen Gorgo, promising her that by doing so, he will rally the necessary votes from the council to send the rest of the Spartan army to support Leonidas.

After betraying the queen in front of the council, the queen stabs and kills him.

West has appeared in several notable films, but struck gold with a role on "The Wire."