Pretty in Pink, Weekend at Bernie's, Mannequin
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“I have no roots anywhere. I've lived in New York for 32 years, but I would never call myself a New Yorker. I don't feel any sense of rootedness anywhere. And I don't think that's a bad thing. I feel at home in one place as another, really. And that's what I like about traveling -- you know, that whole notion of traveling for escape, that's the opposite of what I believe travel is. I look for that moment where I feel at home in a place. That's when I know when I've had a good experience.” Andrew McCarthy made a name for himself in 80s-era teen flicks like St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink. In the decades since, he’s continued to act while also exploring other creative pursuits.
If you came of age in the 1980s, you’re likely very familiar with Andrew McCarthy and his fellow Brat Pack members. While McCarthy recalls having been “an oversensitive youth” in those days, he went on to find peace in seeing the world. “Through travel I began to grow up,” he wrote in his memoir, The Longest Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down. Here’s a closer look at McCarthy’s journey from teen heartthrob to sought-after director and travel writer.
From Prep School to Hollywood
Andrew Thomas McCarthy was born on November 29, 1962 in Westfield, New Jersey. He was the third of four boys. When McCarthy was a teenager, his family relocated to Bernardsville, New Jersey.
McCarthy played baseball and basketball as a child, but caught the acting bug when he was cast as the Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver at the elite preparatory academy, the Pingry School. McCarthy later said of that experience, “At that moment, I knew what I was going to do. I knew it was important because I told no one. It was like that Tennessee Williams line: a room that has always been half in the dark was suddenly in the light. It was that feeling, I just knew.”
McCarthy followed his passion to NYU, where he was a theater major. However, he didn’t attend many classes and was asked to leave. The timing couldn’t have been better: A few weeks later he landed his first movie role in 1983’s Class. This prompted NYU to welcome him back, but McCarthy passed on returning to school having full caught the acting bug and with many opportunities opening up for him.
Soon, McCarthy was a household name, having starred in a number of popular films, including St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty Pink. This also earned him membership in a hard-partying group of young actors known as the “Brat Pack.” Also in the club? Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald.
As McCarthy moved out of his teen years and into adulthood, he found ongoing success on the big screen in movies including Mannequin, Less Than Zero, Heaven Help Us, Fresh Horses, Kansas and Weekend at Bernie’s.
Life Beyond the Brat Pack
In addition to movie stardom, McCarthy took on television work throughout his career with appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent; Kingdom Hospital; E-Ring; Lipstick Jungle; The Spiderwick Chronicles; White Collar; The Blacklist; and The Family.
McCarthy is also an acclaimed stage actor, and made his Broadway debut in The Boys of Winter in 1985. He later returned to Broadway in the play Side Man, which won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1999. When asked to choose his favorite medium of the three, McCarthy came down in favor of theater. “All said being equal, I like being in a play. The most fun I ever had was being in a play. There is much more sense of community in doing a play,” he said.
But McCarthy was not content to stay on one side of the camera. He also tried his hand at directing, including for the hit CW television series Gossip Girl and the Netflix program Orange is the New Black.
McCarthy found a later-in-life passion for travel writing, and has held the position of editor at large at National Geographic Traveler magazine. His travels have taken him all over the world, and he’s racked up writing credits for prestigious publications including Men’s Journal, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, AFAR, Bon Appetit, Travel + Leisure, and many others. For his writing work, McCarthy has received numerous Lowell Thomas awards. He was also named travel journalist of the year by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation in 2010. Meanwhile, his memoir, The Longest Way Home, wasn’t only a New York Times Best Seller; it was also named as one of the best books of the year by the Financial Times of London.
According to McCarthy, his experience with acting and reading scripts laid the foundation for his success as a travel writer. “I know how to tell a story; that’s what I do for a living,” he said.
McCarthy also writes fiction; his debut YA novel, Just Fly Away, was published in 2017.
Like many celebrities who found fame and fortune at an early age, McCarthy struggled with substance abuse, and has revealed that he started drinking at the age of 12. In the early 1990s, McCarthy entered a detox program which led to lasting sobriety. He has also credited his travels with helping him accept himself. “I’m just a better version of myself when I’m traveling,” he said.
And while McCarthy at one time in his career was at best ambivalent about the iconic status of Pretty in Pink in the public eye, he’s grown to understand and appreciate. “I have great affection for [Pretty in Pink] now because it’s clear that it has affected and touched so many people that took it to their heart. It has made people feel better about their lives and feel less alone which is a power of movies, to form that connection. I have grown to have respect and have much affection for it, whereas when I was a punk actor I didn’t," he said.
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