It is 40 years since John Hughes’ seminal film The Breakfast Club was released, turning its young cast into Hollywood stars – but what have they been up to since?
It’s been 40 years since the world was introduced to one of John Hughes’ most critically acclaimed films, The Breakfast Club.
The concept was simple, five teenagers with very different backgrounds were forced to spend nine hours together on a Saturday in detention. A brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal had to write a 1,000-word essay describing “who you think you are”, under strict instructions to not leave their seats or speak. Of course they did leave their seats, and spoke a lot. Breaking down social stigmas as they bonded, danced and smoked pot, before turning their essay in.
The 1985 Hollywood classic made stars out of its so-called Brat Pack cast, Anthony Michael Hall , Emilio Estevez , Ally Sheedy , Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson.
We now look at what the cast have been up to 40 years since they walked out of detention to the sound of Simple Minds’ Don’t You (Forget About Me).
Anthony Michael Hall
Playing the socially awkward “brain” Brian Johnson, Anthony Michael Hall was a John Hughes stalwart in the ’80s, known for his roles in National Lampoon’s Vacation and classic teen flicks like Sixteen Candles and Weird Science. Evolving from a teen idol, he took on more diverse roles, including an unforgettable turn as Bill Gates in the TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley and a five-year stint leading the cast of The Dead Zone, based on Stephen King’s novel.
He’s since racked up credits with supporting roles in big hits like The Dark Knight, cult favourite Community, and the critically-acclaimed Foxcatcher. However, in 2016, a less positive highlight came when Hall was arrested for felony assault causing serious bodily injury following a neighbourly dispute.
Pleading no contest to a reduced charge, he was sentenced to three years probation alongside 40 hours of community service. Fans can catch him most recently in the series Reacher, as Zachary Beck.
Emilio Estevez
Estevez was the “athlete”, Andrew Clark. On the heels of his leading roles in 1983’s The Outsiders and The Breakfast Club, Estevez went onto star alongside some of his castmates in 1985’s St. Elmo’s Fire, as well as 1988’s Young Guns and 1992’s The Mighty Ducks . He has also directed a number of movies and TV shows, including 1986’s Wisdom and 2006’s Bobby.
He directed brother Charlie in Men at Work in 1990 and popped up on Charlie’s hit show Two and a Half Men in 2008. In 2021, Estevez returned to the ice in Disney+’s ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ but only for one season.
Tying the knot with Paula Abdul in 1992 before parting ways in 1994, Estevez has two kids, Taylor and Paloma, with former flame Carey Salley.
Ally Sheedy
Sheedy nailed the role of “basket case” Allison Reynolds, who catches the eye of the jock after a transformative makeover. She went on to share the spotlight with fellow Breakfast Club alumni Estevez and Hall in St. Elmo’s Fire and a 2003 episode of The Dead Zone.
She also starred in classics like Short Circuit in 1986 and High Art in 1998 and even tread the boards in the off-Broadway hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 1999.
More recently, she’s been spotted in episodes of CSI, Kyle XY, and Psych. In 2022, Sheedy made her return to our screens most recently as a main cast member in Freeform’s Single Drunk Female. Sheedy was once married to actor David Lansbury from 1992 until 2008 and together the pair had a son, Beckett, who came out as trans in his teens.
Molly Ringwald
Hughes film stalwart, Ringwald, played the popular school “princess”, Claire Standish. Before making it big on the silver screen, she graced television screens with roles in hits like The Facts of Life, and Diff’rent Strokes.
Her standout performance in Hughes’ Sixteen Candles cemented her reputation, paving the way for her role in The Breakfast Club. While Ringwald became synonymous with Hughes’ work, starring in his 1986 hit Pretty in Pink, her career witnessed a slow down as the Brat Pack era waned.
She made her last significant American film appearance in Betsy’s Wedding in 1990, then drifted between French cinema, high-profile miniseries such as Stephen King’s The Stand in 1994, and TV sitcoms like Townies. After some time away from the limelight, she returned with notable parts in series like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Riverdale. More recently she featured in the 2022 Netflix drama Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Back in the 80s Ringwald’s personal life was as colourful as her on-screen characters. She dated musician Dweezil Zappa and Beastie Boys rapper Ad-Rock. She was married to writer Valery Lameignere from 1999 until 2002. She found love again with another writer Panio Gianopoulos, tying the knot in 2007, with whom she shares three children – daughter Mathilda and twins Adele and Roman.
Judd Nelson
Nelson landed in detention as “criminal” John Bender. Like Estevez and Sheedy, Nelson went on to star in St. Elmo’s Fire after finding fame as a member of the Brat Pack. But it almost didn’t get that far as Molly Ringwald revealed in a 2012 Reddit Ask Me Anything that Nelson was almost fired from the film for taking method acting too far.
Luckily for Nelson, he managed to keep the role thanks to the intervention of his castmates. He worked with Sheedy a third time in 1986’s Blue City before having a standout performance in 1987’s Billionaire Boys Club . Since the 2000s, Nelson has starred in a slew of hit TV shows such as CSI, Psych, Suddenly Susan, Two and a Half Men, and Empire .
Paul Gleason
Gleason played the no-nonsense assistant principal, Richard Vernon, who tasked the miscreants to write essays in stationary silence for nine hours. Although Gleason was best known for playing Dr David Thornton on All My Children in the late 1970s, The Breakfast Club remains one of his most recognised credits. He also starred in 1988’s Die Hard and 1993’s Trading Places as well as several episodes of Boy Meets World , Dawson’s Creek and Drake & Josh.
He reprised the role of Richard Vernon in the 1999 video for the A*Teens song “Dancing Queen as well as in the parody film Not Another Teen Movie, which also featured a Ringwald cameo.
Gleason was married to actress Candy Moore from 1971 to 1978, and they had a daughter named Shannon. He was later married to Susan Kehl, with whom he shared daughter Kaitlin, from 1995 until his death at age 67 in 2006 from mesothelioma.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
