SJM_Interview_Andrew_McCarthy_0721_layout 7 / 26 / 21 10 : 27 AM Page 1 In his newly released memoir , Brat : An ’ 80s Story , McCarthy reckons with conflicted ambition , innocence , addiction and mas - culinity . The book includes touching stories about his childhood , his years as a young actor and his work as a director ( Orange is the New Black , Gossip Girl , The Blacklist ) and a travel writer . Of course , he also covers his membership in the Brat Pack , the iconic group of ingenues and heartthrobs that in - cluded Emilio Estevez , Rob Lowe , Demi Moore and Molly Ringwald , which came to represent a film genre and a defined era in All pop culture . We spoke with McCarthy about his memoir , how fear and insecurity got the best of a younger version of him , and what his children think of his ’ 80s filmography . Grown “ BRAT PACK ” MEMBER Q & A ANDREW McCARTHY REFLECTS ON HIS PAST WITH What prompted Up AN EYE TO THE FUTURE . you to write this by Debra Wallace book ? I think it took me a long time to grow When Andrew McCarthy was a heartthrob in Hollywood’s “ Brat Pack , ” he up and be able to had no idea how those early years would impact the rest of his life . Best look at it clearly . known for his roles in hit 1980s movies such as St . Elmo’s Fire , Weekend at Bernie’s , Those few years Pretty in Pink and Mannequin , which was filmed in Philadelphia , his coming - of - age with the Brat Pack experiences would later make him question everything . that happened in the ’ 80s and those movies had such a profound effect on my life and completely changed who I would become . I think I ran from it for a long time , and I needed time to have enough distance to look back on it and kind of go , “ Let me look under that rock to see what happened there . ” Is there something that you learned about yourself in the process ? What I figured out is the public imagined the Brat Pack as this super cool , ultimate “ in - crowd , ” but that was not my experience at ng the time . I saw it as this very pejorative term , lishi that was kind of limiting , negative , and boxed Pub l us in . But looking back now , I had it wrong ntra all these years . … It’s become this ironically Ce d affectionate term for not only some movies Gran and a period in pop culture , but for a certain of y generation’s youth and those memories of rtes their youth — a time when they were 20 - odd cou r years old , bursting into the world . We could ttma stop listening to grown - ups and our lives Di e were this blank canvas to be painted on , a Jess rich moment for all of us . It took me a long by h time to realize that that’s kind of a beautiful grap thing and a great gift as opposed to some - hoto thing to run from . P SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 18 issue 4 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 48 |