“Pretty in Pink” star Andrew McCarthy caught up with (some of) his fellow Brat Packers in his Hulu documentary “Brats,” the perfect occasion for fans to find out what their favorite stars of the ’80s are up to now.
In the doc, which is now streaming, McCarthy reminisces with Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Jon Cryer, but not Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall or James Spader.
While who’s in or out of the Brat Pack depends on who you ask, here’s what the stars of your favorite John Hughes movies have been up to in the meantime.
Andrew McCarthy
McCarthy, who is best known for his roles in ’80s films “Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Less Than Zero” and “Mannequin,” still acts occasionally, but is primarily a writer — he’s written extensively for National Geographic and published a series of memoirs — and director. Besides his new documentary, “Brats,” McCarthy has directed several episodes of “The Blacklist,” which stars his former “Pretty in Pink” costar James Spader.
Molly Ringwald
Almost more than anyone else, Molly Ringwald was the face of the Brat Pack in the ’80s: At 18, she was on the cover of Time magazine to promote “Pretty in Pink,” another John Hughes hit to follow the winning director-actress team-up from “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club.” Most recently, she played Truman Capote friend Joanne Carson in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.”
Since hanging up her hideous pink prom dress, she turned down the lead in “Pretty Woman,” starred in “Cabaret” on Broadway, played Archie Andrews’ mother on The CW’s “Riverdale,” and released her debut jazz album “Except Sometimes.” She also starred on the Freeform series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and in Ryan Murphy’s “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer Story.” She has written two books and an essay in 2018 revisiting “The Breakfast Club.”
Rob Lowe
The actor, who was dubbed “The Most Beautiful Face” in New York magazine’s profile of the Brat Pack, appeared in “The Outsiders,” “Class,” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.” In the ’90s, he played the younger version of Robert Wagner in the “Austin Powers” films and also showed up as an unscrupulous TV producer in “Wayne’s World.” He went on to play Sam Seaborn on “The West Wing,” and the always upbeat Chris Traeger on “Parks and Recreation.” He currently stars as fire captain Owen Strand on “9-1-1: Lone Star” and co-created and co-stars in the Netflix comedy “Unstable” with his son John Owen Lowe.
Demi Moore
Demi Moore may have been in “St. Elmo’s Fire,” but her ’90s films are some of her biggest, including “Ghost,” “A Few Good Men” and “Indecent Proposal.” The actress, who got her start as Jackie on “General Hospital,” was also a producer on the “Austin Powers” films and played the villain in “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” Most recently, she played socialite Ann Woodward on “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” and stars on the upcoming Taylor Sheridan series “Landman.”
Judd Nelson
In 1985, he memorably played both rebellious John Bender in “The Breakfast Club,” and Yuppie Alec Newberry in “St. Elmo’s Fire.” In 1988, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in “Billionaire Boys Club.” His other films include 1991’s “New Jack City” and “The Dark Backward” and the 1994 comedy “Airheads.” Nelson also played Billy Beretti on the Fox series “Empire” and voices Rodimus Prime in animated “Transformers” series.
Emilio Estevez
Estevez, the son of “West Wing” star Martin Sheen and brother of Charlie Sheen, played jock Andrew Clark in “The Breakfast Club,” and was busy chasing his crush (played by Andie MacDowell) in “St. Elmo’s Fire.” He also starred in the 1984 cult film “Repo Man,” and went on to headline Disney’s “Mighty Ducks” franchise as coach Gordon Bombay. He’s also a director, helming films including the 1986 drama “Wisdom” with former gilfriend Demi Moore, 1996’s “The War at Home,” and 2006’s “Bobby,” about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. He recently wrote and directed the 2018 film “The Public” and reprised his role for the Disney+ “Mighty Ducks” series.
Jon Cryer
We’d still remember Cryer if his only role had been as over-the-top Duckie Dale in “Pretty and Pink.” His many other roles include Alan on long-running sitcom “Two and a Half Men” opposite Charlie Sheen and, most recently, Jim on NBC’s “Extended Family.” He made his film debut in 1984 opposite Demi Moore in “No Small Affair.”
Anthony Michael Hall
Hall, who is still the youngest regular cast member of “Saturday Night Live” at age 17, is better known for playing the geeky kid in “Sixteen Candles,” “Weird Science” and “The Breakfast Club.”
Subsequent roles include Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in the TV movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley,” psychic Johnny Smith in the USA Network series “The Dead Zone,” a reporter in “The Dark Knight,” security guard Mr. Perott on “The Goldbergs” and Agent William Baron on “Bosch: Legacy.”
Ally Sheedy
By the time she played social outcast Allison Reynolds in “The Breakfast Club,” Ally Sheedy had already appeared in “WarGames” and the 1983 crime drama “Bad Boys” with Sean Penn. She reteamed with “St. Elmo’s Fire” star Rob Lowe in “Oxford Blues,” with Judd Nelson in 1986’s “Blue City” and with “Breakfast Club” star Molly Ringwald in the 1990 film “Betsy’s Wedding.” She won an Independent Spirit Award for her role as heroin-addicted photographer in 1998’s “High Art.” Most recently, she starred on the Freeform series “Single Drunk Female.”
James Spader
Spader was so good at being bad in the ’80s, especially as rich snob Steff in “Pretty in Pink” and a drug dealer named Rip in “Less Than Zero.” His film resumé since includes movies with Steven Soderbergh (“sex, lies and videotape”), Steven Spielberg (“Lincoln”) and David Cronenberg (“Crash”). Not to mention his delightfully droll lawyer Alan Shore on “The Practice” and “Boston Legal,” a role that netted him three Emmys. Last year, he retired another beloved character, elegant master criminal Raymond “Red” Reddington, when “The Blacklist” signed off after 10 seasons.
