Almost 40 years after starring in John Hughes' iconic 1986 film Pretty in Pink, Andrew McCarthy says his "miscasting" was all thanks to co-star Molly Ringwald . Sitting down for an ET rETrospective, the 61-year-old actor recalled how the The Breakfast Club star, 56, helped him get the role of dreamboat Blane McDonnagh. In Pretty in Pink , Andie (Molly Ringwald) is an outcast at her Chicago high school who only has two friends: her older boss (Annie Potts), who owns the record store where she works, and her quirky classmate Duckie (Jon Cryer), who has a crush on her.
When one of the rich and popular kids at school, Blane (McCarthy), asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true. "That part was written for a square-jawed, big, hunky, you know, quarterback and Molly got me that part," McCarthy recalls. "I auditioned and Molly said, 'Oh, that's who I would fall for.
He's dreamy. He's poetic.' And so John Hughes went, 'Really? That wimp?'" McCarthy says that despite the legendary writer's misgivings, he "listened to Molly" and granted him the role.
"He listened to Molly, which is what John did. John honored, not just on screen but in real life, John listened and respected young people," the St. Elmo's Fire star shares.
"So, I was miscast in a way. I made what could [have] been a jerk have some sensitivity, so there was some empathy towards him." "Which is why at the end we had to reshoot the whole ending because, you know, the movie's a fairytale so you have to give the girl what s.
