The Brat Pack reconvened for Hulu’s high-profile documentary, Brats.
The ‘80s were known for many things—iconic action adventure movies, big shoulder pads and even bigger hair, and the Walkman. But at the heart of it all in the Decade of Excess seemed to be the Brat Pack.
The Brat Pack (inspired by the Rat Pack of the 1950s, which consisted of Frank Sinatra and his ilk) was an assortment of young actors and actresses who usually cropped up in coming-of-age classics such as The Breakfast Club.
Brats Hulu Documentary Cast
Brats, directed by Brat Pack alum Andrew McCarthy, is an inside look at the titular group of stars. Most of the gang participated in the production, but notably, actors Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald declined to provide interviews.
Andrew McCarthy
The director of Brats was a member of the Brat Pack himself. Andrew McCarthy managed to wrangle many former co-stars for the hour-and-a-half-long look back.
In the late ‘90s, McCarthy was famously quoted as denying he was a legitimate Brat Packer, blaming the media for warping public perception. Still, he appeared in St. Elmo’s Fire (one of the two quintessential Brat Pack films) and Pretty in Pink.
With Brats, McCarthy, who also helmed many episodes of popular series like The Blacklist, intended to explore the label that was “the Brat Pack” and the impact it had on its members, good and bad.
Andrew McCarthy has also guest starred on shows such as 13 Reasons Why and The Resident, the latter of which he became a series regular for its final season.
- Instagram: @andrewtmccarthy
- Wikipedia: Andrew McCarthy
- IMDb: Andrew McCarthy
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez may have a famous family (his brother and father are Charlie and Martin Sheen, respectively), but that shouldn’t overshadow his accomplishments.
Long before leading the Mighty Ducks to victory as Coach Gordon Bombay, Estevez was a member of the Brat Pack. He was considered their unofficial president and had key roles in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire.
In Brats, the actor confessed that he placed a personal moratorium on acting alongside other Brat Packers after Breakfast Club came out. Estevez remarked, “We were kryptonite to each other.”
Emilio Estevez’s most recent acting role was in Disney+’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. He has also directed on multiple occasions.
- Instagram: @akawilliamhbonney
- Wikipedia: Emilio Estevez
- IMDb: Emilio Esteves
Rob Lowe
Perhaps best known to modern audiences as the unflaggingly positive Chris Traeger from NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Rob Lowe contains volumes more than his four-season run on the sitcom.
Lowe had a string of memorable roles (such as handsome charmer Sodapop Curtis in The Outsiders) throughout the ‘80s and into the ’90s and 2000s, despite suffering a time-out after a 1989 sex tape scandal harmed his career.
Brats contains up-close and personal interviews with Lowe, who recounted a wild night partying with none other than Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli.
These days, Rob Lowe can be seen as Captain Owen Strand on Fox’s 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy, who starred in St. Elmo’s Fire and The Breakfast Club, was undeniably a staple of the Brat Pack. But she’s also gone on to other well-liked projects in the years since.
Sheedy nabbed an Independent Spirit Award in 1999 for her performance as the lead in High Art the year prior. She also became the romantic lead in the classic early ‘90s John Candy rom-com Only the Lonely.
During Brats, Sheedy noted that she believed Andrew McCarthy to be a bit aloof and standoffish, but their relationship has improved since the 1980s.
Ally Sheedy has appeared in Freeform’s Single Drunk Female as the protagonist’s mother and also recurred in the fan-favorite Psych.
- Wikipedia: Ally Sheedy
- IMDb: Ally Sheedy
Demi Moore
Regarded as something of a sex symbol, Demi Moore was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood for a time in the 1990s. And yes, she was also a member of the Brat Pack.
Moore got her start on General Hospital before moving onto greater notoriety with films like About Last Night…, Ghost, and the Ridley Scott-directed G.I. Jane, for which Moore is most proud out of all her acting work.
Brats revealed that Moore was accompanied by a sober coach when she worked on St. Elmo’s Fire due to her battle with addiction around that time.
Demi Moore has been acting regularly since the ‘80s and has recently appeared in Peacock’s Brave New World and Nicholas Cage's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
- Instagram: @demimoore
- Wikipedia: Demi Moore
- IMDb: Demi Moore
Jon Cryer
Jon Cryer wasn’t officially considered a Brat Packer, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t Brat Pack-adjacent. He co-starred in 1986’s Pretty in Pink and dated Demi Moore. He also lost out on one of the lead roles in St. Elmo’s Fire.
Cryer played opposite Charlie Sheen (and later, Ashton Kutcher) for 12 seasons on CBS’ Two and a Half Men as perpetual sad-sack Alan Harper. The actor infamously made significantly less money than Sheen on the sitcom.
Andrew McCarthy caught up with Cryer for Brats. During a screening of the film (via People), the two stars admitted that they once had great animosity, but they have since buried the hatchet.
In recent years, Cryer has done gusts spots on DC’s Supergirl, portraying Lex Luthor. He was also a main cast member on the now-axed NBC sitcom Extended Family.
- Instagram: @mrjoncryer
- Wikipedia: Jon Cryer
- IMDb: Jon Cryer
Lea Thompson
Much like Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, who acted as Marty McFly’s mother in all three parts of the iconic time-travel romp Back to the Future, was not an official Brat Pack member. Nevertheless, she was interviewed for Brats.
Apart from Back to the Future, Thompson was the titular Caroline in the ‘90s NBC sitcom Caroline in the City. She additionally acted against a rather horrifying-looking animatronics-enhanced mallard in the much-maligned Howard the Duck.
Nowadays, Lea Thompson has turned her sights onto the director’s chair in addition to acting. She’s helmed episodes of popular series like Will Trent and Resident Alien.
- Instagram: @lea_thompson
- Wikipedia: Lea Thompson
- IMDb: Lea Thompson
David Blum
David Blum, who wrote for New York Magazine in 1985, gave the Brat Pack their name.
This historic event in pop culture occurred when Blum interviewed Estevez, Lowe, and Judd Nelson at the Hard Rock Cafe, and the sit-down quickly turned into an evening of drinking and partying for the starlets.
Andrew McCarthy, who always found the Brat Pack moniker loathsome, approached Blum for Brats. What followed was a fairly tense confrontation between the two in which Blum stood his ground and declined to apologize for coining the notorious label.
Blum has authored two books: Flash in the Pan: Life and Death of an American Restaurant in 1992 and Tick... Tick... Tick...: The Long Life and Turbulent Times of 60 MInutes.
- Wikipedia: David Blum
Brats is now streaming on Hulu.
