Almost 40 years after starring in John Hughes’ iconic 1986 film Pretty in Pink, Andrew McCarthy says his “miscasting” was all thanks to co-star Molly Ringwald. Sitting down for an ET rETrospective, the 61-year-old actor recalled how the The Breakfast Club star, 56, helped him get the role of dreamboat Blane McDonnagh.
In Pretty in Pink, Andie (Molly Ringwald) is an outcast at her Chicago high school who only has two friends: her older boss (Annie Potts), who owns the record store where she works, and her quirky classmate Duckie (Jon Cryer), who has a crush on her. When one of the rich and popular kids at school, Blane (McCarthy), asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true.
“That part was written for a square-jawed, big, hunky, you know, quarterback and Molly got me that part,” McCarthy recalls. “I auditioned and Molly said, ‘Oh, that’s who I would fall for. He’s dreamy. He’s poetic.’ And so John Hughes went, ‘Really? That wimp?'”
McCarthy says that despite the legendary writer’s misgivings, he “listened to Molly” and granted him the role.
Jon Cryer, Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy on set of the film ‘Pretty In Pink’, 1986. – Paramount via Getty Images
“He listened to Molly, which is what John did. John honored, not just on screen but in real life, John listened and respected young people,” the St. Elmo’s Fire star shares. “So, I was miscast in a way. I made what could [have] been a jerk have some sensitivity, so there was some empathy towards him.”
“Which is why at the end we had to reshoot the whole ending because, you know, the movie’s a fairytale so you have to give the girl what she wants,” McCarthy adds, referencing how Hughes changed the film’s original ending — which had Andie and Duckie ending up together — after test audiences reacted poorly.
Hughes wrote a new five-page ending where Andie and Blane get together instead, which was shot several months after the film initially wrapped production.
“John took young people and their emotional life seriously,” McCarthy says of the late director, producer and screenwriter. ” And that’s why people [are] still watching those movies.”
McCarthy himself has picked up more jobs behind the camera in recent years on shows like Orange Is the New Black and The Sinner as well as his new Hulu documentary feature, Brats.
The doc, directed and produced by McCarthy, examines the 1980s stars branded the “Brat Pack.” The term applies to the teen actors from the ’80s who seemingly ran Hollywood thanks to their slate of massive films like The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink and more.
Brats includes plenty of footage from behind the scenes and interviews during the promotion of the iconic films of the 1980s that shaped a generation.
Andrew McCarthy starred as Molly Ringwald’s love interest in ‘Pretty in Pink.’ – Paramount Pictures
McCarthy also sits down for a first-time conversation with writer David Blum, who fatefully coined the term Brat Pack in a 1985 New York Magazine cover story.
McCarthy jokes with ET that while he was excited to begin the filmmaking process on Brats, he feared being spurned by all those he reached out to.
“I was surprised as many people would want to speak to me [that] did, you know, because I thought the biggest challenge would be to get people to participate,” he quips. “I knew it was still so sort of dodgy in some people’s lives.”
While Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson turned down his invitation to appear in the documentary, McCarthy was able to get Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy and Rob Lowe to reunite for the project. He also brought in “Brat Pack”-adjacent stars like his Pretty In Pink co-star, Jon Cryer, and Back to the Future actress Lea Thompson.
McCarthy says that while some who tune in for the documentary may see the final scene as a tease for a potential sequel, he is pretty confident one Brats film is enough for the group of actors who spent the majority of their foundational years in the spotlight.
“We’re getting ready for part two,” he jokes, adding that for the gang who came together to unpack their trauma, “I think once was enough.”
Watch the trailer for Brats in the player below:
BRATS premieres June 13 on Hulu.