“Hollywood’s Brat Pack: Rob, Emilio, Sean, Tom, Judd and the rest — the young movie stars you can’t quite keep straight,” read the headline of an article in the June 10, 1985 New York Magazine, a few months after “The Breakfast Club” was released.
Nearly 40 years later, most people don’t have much trouble telling Sean Penn from Tom Cruise, but at the time, it seemed like a whole new flock of young stars had just taken over the movie business from the old guard. The gang of attractive actors, who frequently socialized together, were dubbed The Brat Pack after appearing in movies like “Taps,” “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish” that signaled a fresh new influx of talent.
The word “Brat” was just a play on the 1960s Rat Pack — and an allusion to their general youthful braggadocio — but the magazine article had an outsized effect. The word led the public to view the actors as entitled jerks (the article admitted that several of the members were nepo babies), and it took them decades in some cases to shake off the reputation.
“These boys — these young studs, all under 25 years old, decked out in ‘Risky Business’ sunglasses and trendish sport jackets and designer T-shirts — they were the Main Event,” the article’s author David Blum breathlessly recounted. No wonder people got a bad impression.
Some actors who were barely mentioned in the article, like Andrew McCarthy, became lumped in with the group and bristled whenever the name was brought up. But now, as McCarthy debuts his documentary “Brats” on Hulu, some of them are finally embracing it as an affectionate vestige of the ’80s, an era that evokes great nostalgia among both those who made it through alive and those who wish they had been there. McCarthy explores this phenomenon in his documentary, and he now finds it a “wonderfully iconic” phrase.
Other than brief mentions of Demi Moore and Melissa Gilbert as girlfriends of the actors, the article didn’t mention any women. But the women of the Brat Pack movies were every bit as charismatic, from Moore to Molly Ringwald to Ally Sheedy.
There were many other Brat Pack-adjacent actors who starred in classic films of the ’80s, from Anthony Michael Hall and Estevez’s younger brother Charlie Sheen to Matthew Broderick, Mare Winningham, James Spader, Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey Jr., Lea Thompson, Diane Lane and Phoebe Cates.
For the purposes of this guide, we’ll concentrate on the core members, especially those who were named in the article that started it all.
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Rob Lowe
Image Credit: ©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Ever Dubbed “the most beautiful face” in the original Brat Pack article, Rob Lowe moved from Ohio to Malibu as a teen, where he met Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez and Sean Penn. His first major role came in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders,” which he shot in Tulsa, Okla. alongside Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillion, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and Patrick Swayze. After appearing in “Class,” “Oxford Blues” and “Hotel New Hampshire,” Lowe made the quintessential Brat Pack films “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “About Last Night.”
Where is he now? Though some of his later film roles weren’t as arresting as those of his Brat Pack era, he went on to become a TV mainstay with long runs in series including “Brothers & Sisters,” “Parks and Recreation” and “9-1-1: Lone Star.”
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Emilio Estevez
Image Credit: ©Universal/courtesy Everett / E Named the “unofficial president” of the Brat Pack in the original article, Emilio Estevez took his father Martin Sheen’s real name so as to not be identified with the “Apocalypse Now” actor. He made his film debut in “Tex” and then starred in “The Outsiders.” But his most memorable roles came as the jock Andrew in “The Breakfast Club” and as punk rocker Otto in “Repo Man,” along with the emblematic “St. Elmo’s Fire.”
Where is he now: After starring in “Young Guns” and “The Mighty Ducks,” Estevez tried his hand at directing with movies like “Men at Work,” “Wisdom” and “Bobby.” He appears in the new documentary “Brats.”
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Tom Cruise
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett C Tom Cruise’s first major role was also in “Taps,” which he followed up with several movies that made a bang, including “The Outsiders,” “All the Right Moves” and the smash hit “Risky Business.” The Brat Pack article called him “the hottest of all” — and that was even before he starred in 1986’s “Top Gun.”
Where is he now? Still starring in “Top Gun,” but this time as the elder flight instructor in “Top Gun: Maverick,” as well as his long-running role heading up the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. With four Oscar nominations, including acting noms for “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia,” Cruise has achieved the most box office staying power, coupled with awards recognition, of any of the Brat Pack.
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Sean Penn
Image Credit: ©Universal/courtesy Everett / E Sean Penn grew up in Malibu in a movie business family and, like several other members of the Brat Pack, made his film debut in “Taps.” Being called “the most gifted of them all” in the New York magazine article was a lot to live up to, but in fact he’s the only member with two Oscars to his name.
After appearing in the iconic role of Jeff Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” Penn immediately plunged into more serious roles in films such as “The Falcon and the Snowman” and “Casualties of War” — notwithstanding “Shanghai Surprise,” in which he starred with his new bride Madonna.
Where is he now? Penn won acting Oscars for “Milk” and “Mystic River” and starred in dozens more films including “Dead Man Walking,” “The Thin Red Line” and “Licorice Pizza.” He has directed several films and devotes much of his time to political activism.
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Demi Moore
Image Credit: ©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Colle / Everett Collection Demi Moore may not have been an “official” member of the Brat Pack, but she certainly has honorary status for her coolly alluring early roles in “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “About Last Night.” Moore went on to star in more grown-up roles in films like “Ghost,” “Indecent Proposal,” “A Few Good Men” and “G.I. Jane.”
Where is she now? Moore appeared on the series “Empire” and recently starred as Ann Woodward in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.” An Emmy winner, she published a successful memoir “Inside Out” in 2019. She was also interviewed in the “Brats” documentary.
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Andrew McCarthy
Image Credit: ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Col With his preppy East Coast sensibility and shyly seductive smile, Andrew McCarthy wasn’t mentioned as part of the original Brat Pack in the New York Magazine article — in fact, one of his co-stars in “St. Elmo’s Fire” insulted him in the story. So it’s no wonder he told Variety that, for a long time, he wasn’t happy about the label.
“I found it limiting and judgmental. If you’re going to be labelled, people stop trying to understand you,” he said. But as a foil to the hard-partying Hollywood actors, he turned out to be the perfect “sensitive guy” in movies like “Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “Less than Zero.”
Where is he now: McCarthy acted off and on while also becoming a TV director and frequent travel writer. His documentary “Brats,” about the Brat Pack era, premieres June 13 on Hulu.
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Matt Dillon
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection “The one least likely to replace Marlon Brando” was a strange way for the Brat Pack article to describe Matt Dillon, but Dillon was more than capable of making his own impact as an actor. He made an impression in teen films “Little Darlings” and “My Bodyguard,” and starred in in three S.E. Hinton adaptations — “Rumble Fish,” “The Outsiders” and “Tex.” His brooding, rugged looks were put to good use in Gus van Sant’s “Drugstore Cowboy” and “To Die For,” and he also appeared in films like “Singles” and “There’s Something About Mary.”
Where is he now? Dillon earned a supporting actor nom for his role in Paul Haggis’ “Crash” and he has been cast by directors as varied as Lars von Trier in “The House That Jack Built” and Wes Anderson in “Asteroid City.” He also starred in one season of the series “Wayward Pines.”
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Nicolas Cage
Image Credit: ©Atlantic Releasing Corp / Ever Cage’s role in his uncle Francis Ford Coppola’s “Rumble Fish” cemented his status as part of the Brat Pack. But nearly all his roles during that period became the stuff of legend: from Hollywood punk Randy in “Valley Girl” to “Peggy Sue Got Married,” “Moonstruck” and “Raising Arizona.” He went on to win an Oscar for “Leaving Las Vegas” and nabbed a nomination for “Adaptation.” Let’s just forget about the fact that the New York Magazine article described the Italian American actor as “The Ethnic Chair” of the Brat Pack.
Where is he now? Still working like crazy — six films in 2023 alone — in everything from “Pig” to “Dream Scenario” and the upcoming “Longlegs,” after a long run of action movies and starring in the “National Treasure” franchise.
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Judd Nelson
Image Credit: ©Universal/courtesy Everett / E Judd Nelson found his signature role as delinquent John Bender in “The Breakfast Club,” where his sensitively troubled bad boy persona struck just the right note. New York Magazine’s article was not particularly kind when it dubbed him “the overrated one,” but it’s true that his role in “St. Elmo’s Fire” didn’t make as big an impression.
Where is he now? Though Nelson struggled to find the same caliber of roles as some of his Brat Bros, he had a long run on Brooke Shields’ sitcom “Suddenly Susan” in the 1990s. He’s continued to work steadily, especially in voice work for “Transformers” projects. He declined to be interviewed for the documentary “Brats.”
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Ally Sheedy
Image Credit: ©MCA/Courtesy Everett Collection Ally Sheedy might not be as well remembered as some of the other members of the Brat Pack, but her indelible role as Alison, the “basket case” of “The Breakfast Club” was relatable for disaffected teens of several generations. Before that, she appeared in Brat Pack-adjacent films “Bad Boys” with Sean Penn, “War Games” with Matthew Broderick and “Oxford Blues” with Rob Lowe. She went on to have memorable roles in “Short Circuit,” “Maid to Order” and the 2016 indie “Little Sister.”
Where is she now? Sheedy has appeared in occasional films such as “High Art,” as well as in TV series such as “Kyle XY” and “Psych.” She is a professor in the theater department of the City University of New York.
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Timothy Hutton
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Hutton was “the only one with an Oscar,” the Brat Pack magazine article noted. After becoming the youngest supporting actor Oscar winner ever at age 20 for “Ordinary People,” Timothy Hutton joined the other Brat Packers in the promising “Taps” ensemble. His subsequent films, such as “Daniel,” “Iceman” and “The Falcon and the Snowman” with Sean Penn, were not prototypical Brat Pack titles, but his role in “Taps” was enough to make him one of the pack.
Where is he now: Hutton has had numerous film roles as well as recurring roles on series including “Leverage,” “American Crime” and “Almost Family.” In 2020, he was accused of allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in 1983; authorities closed the investigation with no charges filed.
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Molly Ringwald
Image Credit: ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection Molly Ringwald was a bit younger than the other Brat Packers and never felt entirely comfortable being associated with the group. But as the spunky star of “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink,” and “The Breakfast Club,” in which she played the “princess” Claire, she left a big impression on moviegoers of the 1980s and beyond. She went on to star in “The Pick-Up Artist” and “Fresh Horses.”
Where is she now? Ringwald had a meaty part as Joanne Carson on “Feud” and has had recurring roles in series including “Riverdale,” “Monster,” “Great Expectations” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” She declined to be interviewed for the “Brats” documentary. “I don’t want to appear ungrateful to John Hughes, but I do oppose a lot of what is in those movies,” she told NPR about her early films.