Anthony Michael Hall was one of John Hughes’ most recognizable young stars by the middle of the 1980s, but saying no to two more Hughes movies changed their relationship in a way Hall says he did not fully anticipate.
During a new conversation with Danielle Fishel on the Teen Beat podcast, Hall revisited his decisions to pass on Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He told Fishel that concerns about being stereotyped were already on his mind as a teenager and said those choices ultimately created a “rupture” between him and Hughes, according to PEOPLE.
Hall now believes Hughes was more hurt by the rejection than he understood at the time. The filmmaker had already played an enormous role in his early career, writing National Lampoon’s Vacation and then directing Hall in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science.
Hall was still 17 when he chose to move away from that run of Hughes projects. Instead of making either of the 1986 films, he took a dramatically different opportunity and joined Saturday Night Live for its 1985-86 season.
Hall Thought ‘Pretty in Pink’ Felt Too Close to ‘Sixteen Candles’
Hall’s hesitation about Pretty in Pink was tied to the kind of characters he had already been playing. In the Teen Beat interview, he said that even at his young age he was conscious of the risk of being typecast.
He also believed the new movie covered familiar narrative ground. “I also felt, to be very honest, that Pretty in Pink, it was very similar story-wise to Sixteen Candles,” Hall said. “So it kind of felt like a redo in a way.”
The role offered to Hall was Philip “Duckie” Dale, the devoted best friend of Molly Ringwald’s Andie. Director Howard Deutch has also confirmed that Hall was originally offered the part before Jon Cryer ultimately took it.
Looking back, Hall made clear that his decision is not something he holds against the actors who ended up in the movie. He said he has since met Cryer and Andrew McCarthy and praised the finished films, arguing that there is no value in harboring resentment over career paths he chose not to take.
Hall Says Hughes Had Written Ferris Bueller With Him in Mind
The decision involving Ferris Bueller’s Day Off carried more personal weight because Hall says the title character had been conceived specifically for him.
“With Ferris Bueller, that had actually been written for me by John,” Hall told Fishel. Hughes wanted him to make both that film and Pretty in Pink, but Hall felt that continuing along the same path could make it harder to establish himself outside the teenage characters that had already defined his career.
“I just felt it was important that I move forward,” Hall said. “I think that was heartbreaking for him in a way.” Matthew Broderick ultimately took the title role and turned Ferris into one of the defining characters of 1980s teen cinema, something Hall readily acknowledges, calling Broderick “a great Ferris.”
Entertainment Weekly reported that Hall believes Hughes’ sensitivity made the rejection more painful than he realized. “It led to, unfortunately, a rupture in our friendship,” Hall said, adding that he thinks his decision “hurt his feelings in a way that I didn’t anticipate.”
Hall Still Credits Hughes With Giving Him His Career
Hall’s decision to leave the Hughes cycle did not erase his appreciation for the filmmaker who had helped establish him. “I was really just trying to move forward professionally,” he told Fishel, while stressing that he remained fully aware of what Hughes had already given him.
Their association began with 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation, which Hughes wrote and Harold Ramis directed. Hall played Rusty Griswold before Hughes cast him as Farmer Ted in his 1984 directorial debut, Sixteen Candles. Hall then played Brian Johnson in The Breakfast Club and Gary Wallace in Weird Science, both released in 1985.
“In my life, it was certainly John Hughes,” Hall said while discussing his mentors. “I credit John with giving me my career.” Hall recently revealed that his final conversation with Hughes came around 1988, when Hughes and John Candy called him and spent hours talking with him. During that conversation, Hall said, Hughes floated an idea for eventually reuniting the five characters from The Breakfast Club later in adulthood, though the proposed sequel never materialized.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Gave Hall the Change He Was Looking For at 17
The path Hall chose instead of Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller quickly took him outside Hughes’ filmmaking world. He joined Saturday Night Live in 1985 at 17, becoming the youngest person ever hired as a cast member, a record he still holds.
Hall also discussed that experience with Fishel, describing the weekly production schedule as “grueling.” Writing began early in the week, followed by the Wednesday table read where sketches were judged largely by the reaction in the room, before long production days carried the cast toward Saturday night’s live broadcast.
The cast that season also included Robert Downey Jr., Joan Cusack, Randy Quaid, Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz, Danitra Vance and Terry Sweeney. Hall remained for only the 1985-86 season.
