First it was Molly Wringwald. Now it’s the other actor who John Hughes made a star. I think his career fared better than hers in the long run since he was the lead in an ongoing series on USA but it was more than a cameo at the end of a weak comedy.
I may have had a crush on Molly but Anthony was the guy I related to more because I had a similar thin, weakling frame and struck out with the ladies just as much. Hence Weird Science remains one of my personal all-time favorite movies. His character definitely got the shaft at the end of The Breakfast Club too. If Hughes was going to stretch the truth, he should’ve had six kids since he paired them off when their detention concluded. It’s the least he could’ve done since Brian was cajoled into writing the smarmy essay to the principal (jerk specialist, Paul Gleason). Maybe it was karma coming back regarding Sixteen Candles; Hughes almost cast a lesser known Jim Carrey in the Farmer Ted role before sticking with “realism” through Wringwald and Hall’s ages.
Then just like Molly, Anthony broke off his relationship and passed on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for fear of being typecast. Typecast? Of all the original Hughes’ stories covering teen life in Chicago during the Eighties, Ferris is my least favorite. The title character is a popular kid who gets away with breaking the rules which is why I probably sided with his sister (a lesser known Jennifer Grey). I wasn’t super obedient as a student yet I attended class every day. I skipped one class my entire time; Latin II at Lawrence North to cram like hell for the Chemistry final I failed anyway. It was an unwise decision for Hall and it made Broderick a larger star.
Hall moved on to make really lame flicks I would’ve expected to see Patrick Dempsey in then: Out of Bounds and Johnny Be Good, definitely a stretch. I was happy to see him as a cast member on SNL with Robert Downey Jr. He later mysteriously dropped out by Christmas with little explanation (turned out to be rehab). Many critics cheered saying he wasn’t funny unless someone else wrote the material for him. According to imdb.com, Hall spent the remainder of the Eighties fighting his drinking problem which he beat by 1990. Too bad he didn’t conquer it sooner, I think it cost him the lead in Full Metal Jacket.
After leaving for Marquette, the actor dropped off my mental radar alongside Wringwald. When he turned up as the bullying boyfriend in Edward Scissorhands, I had to do a double take. He had bulked up and reached his full height of 6′ 2″. Then I didn’t notice anything else he did again until he played Bill Gates on TNT’s Pirates of the Silicon Valley. I’m not an expert on Gates to have an opinion about Hall’s accuracy, I was more amused to see John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender, as Bill’s right-hand man Steve Ballmer.
These days, Anthony is enjoying his life appearing in occasional dramas. He even has his own official site. I even dropped him a quick e-mail thanking him, hoping the Alamo Drafthouse would invite him to Austin to do a showcase of his material. The actor who played Wyatt in Weird Science currently teaches at San Angelo State. They could do a reunion gig! Definitely a personal geek pipe dream.
In closing, be on the look out for Michael in the upcoming Batman movie.