Here’s Why Emilio Estevez Always Ghosted on Previous ‘Breakfast Club’ Reunions
The cast of The Breakfast Club reunited last weekend in Chicago, a pretty common occurrence for fan-favorite films like the John Hughes teen comedy. But there was something different about this particular reunion. While the Brain (Anthony Michael Hall), the Princess (Molly Ringwald), the Basket Case (Ally Sheedy) and the Criminal (Judd Nelson) have gathered in the past at fan conventions and the like, the guy who played Andy the Athlete always ghosted them. But this time, Emilio Estevez decided to show up.
“We don’t have to use the cardboard cutout anymore because he’s here. I feel really moved that we’re all together,” said Ringwald at the C2E2 pop culture convention, per Entertainment Weekly. “I feel really very emotional and moved to have us all together.”
Why did Estevez ditch all the previous get-togethers? “I skipped all of my high school reunions,” he joked, though that’s probably true as well.
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The more realistic answer: guilt. “Somebody told me that Molly said, ‘Well, does Emilio just not like us?’ And that broke my heart,” Estevez explained. “I thought, ‘No, of course, I love all of them.’ And this just made sense, so here I am.”
As seen in Andrew McCarthy’s self-therapy session, er, documentary, Brats, Estevez is still trying to distance himself from his teen star past, specifically the Brat Pack label. In fact, he cut McCarthy out of another film project just to avoid the stink of “Brat Pack.” Associating with any of the group felt like career kryptonite. Estevez didn’t even seem comfortable having McCarthy in his house — he stands for the entirety of his interview, ready to end the visit almost as soon as it begins.
He still feels terrible about the New York Magazine profile in which the Brat Pack name was bestowed upon them. “It was naïve of me to think this journalist would be my friend,” Estevez admitted to McCarthy. “I had already seen a different path for myself. And I felt derailed.”
Given his reluctance to do a paid job alongside someone like McCarthy, it’s no wonder Estevez didn’t want to show up for that NostalgiaExpoCon Ultimate ‘80s Cruise or wherever the old gang was gathering in the past. Outside of St. Elmo’s Fire, there’s no movie more associated with the Brat Pack than The Breakfast Club.
But it sounds like Estevez is finally ready to stop running from his past. “This was just something that finally I felt I needed to do, just for myself. But this one felt special,” he said. “We’re here in Chicago, where we made the film. It’s obviously the 40th anniversary, and it just felt like it was time.”
