Why Anthony Michael Hall Turned Down Andrew McCarthy’s ‘Brats’ Documentary

While speaking to The Wrap, the actor — who shot to fame after starring in the ’80s teen-centered John Hughes films like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club — revealed why he chose not to be involved in the Brat Pack doc.

“I can go on record saying, I politely declined because I’m always making new stuff and always moving forward and looking ahead. So that was my own impetus for why I chose not to be a part of that,” he told the publication.

“To be very honest, I’ve wholeheartedly embraced my John Hughes work because I wouldn’t be on the phone with you [The Wrap] if it was not for John Hughes. I’ve been talking about my work with him and my start in the industry since [the ’80s], so it’s not like I’ve been avoiding that conversation. But with respect to Andrew’s project. I haven’t seen it. I heard it was interesting,” he explained.

McCarthy’s documentary reflected on the rise of the famous group of young actors who dominated Hollywood in the ’80s and how they affected pop culture. In the film, McCarthy interviewed stars including Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy and “Brat Pack-adjacent” star Lea Thompson.

The doc explores the relationship the actors had with the term “Brat Pack,” which was coined by David Blum when he was a writer for New York Magazine in 1985. While McCarthy said the term profoundly affected his career, insisting in the documentary that the group was “branded without any wiggle room as the Brat Pack,” Hall admitted it didn’t phase him.

“I never really paid attention to the article [that created the Brat Pack label]. It never really meant anything to me. Like, the Rat Pack is interesting to me. But the Brat Pack thing, it was just a moniker. Maybe it speaks more to the writer at that time, if anything,” he said.

In the doc, Brats, McCarthy opened up about why he felt the phrase had a such negative affect on his career, to which Hall told The Wrap he was “sorry” to learn McCarthy felt that way.

“He’s carved out a great career for himself,” Hall said.

“I think the healthiest attitude to maintain is just to wish everybody success, to not trip on it because everybody deserves to be successful and they’re on their own path to getting there. I haven’t read his book or seen that film, but I wish him well,” he continued.

Hall’s view of the term was the opposite of McCarthy’s, admitting he used it to “motivate” him in his career. “If anything, it motivated me to keep moving forward. I always have and the truth is, I’m grateful for that,” he admitted.

“I was thrown into the industry at such a young age and I had these incredible opportunities from John Hughes, Harold Ramis and Lorne Michaels, these were the giants whose shoulders I stood on,” he said.

Hall isn’t the only big name absent from the doc, as McCarthy is seen trying to get both Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson to participate … without success.

“I, of course, asked Molly if she’d like to speak and she said she’d think about it but she would probably like to just keep looking forward,” McCarthy told Cryer at one point. “I think Molly wants to move on,” Jon responded, acknowledging that “we all want to be taken without the baggage of our pop cultural references. As an actor we want to just act. “

While McCarthy said nobody even had a phone number for Judd, he eventually got one through a manager, but was unable to connect with him. “Judd is at an undisclosed location and not available,” said Andrew — who is seen finally answering a (likely fake) call from Nelson in the credits.

Brats is on Hulu now.