Anthony Michael Hall

At 56 years old, Anthony Michael Hall has this physical status:

Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), also known as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor who appeared in several teen-oriented films of the 1980s.

Hall began his work as an infant and went on stage, and he made his film debut in 1980.

John Hughes' films, starting with the famous 1983 comedy National Lampoon's Vacation and the coming-of-age comedy Sixteen Candles, influenced his early career.

The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, Hall's next films with Hughes were the teen classics The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, both 1985. Hall diversified his interests to avoid being stereotyped as his geek persona (1985), Johnny Be Good (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Six Degrees of Separation (1993).

He appeared in the 1999 television film Pirates of Silicon Valley, following a string of minor roles in the 1990s.

He played a key role in the USA Network series The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.

Early life

Hall was born in Boston's West Roxbury neighborhood on April 14, 1968. He is Mercedes Hall's first child. When their son was six months old, she divorced Hall's father, Larry, an auto-body shop owner. When Hall was three, he and his mother migrated to the West Coast, where she found work as a featured singer. They returned to the East after a year and a half, eventually moving to New York City, where Hall grew up. Hall's ancestry is both Irish and Italian. Mary Chestaro, his mother's second marriage to Thomas Chestaro, a show business manager, has one half-sister. Rather than Michael, his half-sister is pursuing a career as a singer under the name of Mary C. Hall. When he entered show business, he portrayed his first and middle names because another actor named Michael Hall was still a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Hall attended St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School of New York before moving to Manhattan's Professional Children's School. Hall began acting at the age eight and continued through high school. "I did not go to college," he said, "but I am an avid reader in the unfolding process of teaching myself." Hall's mother ruled his career during the 1980s, eventually relinquishing the position to her second husband.

Personal life

Hall lives in Los Angeles' Playa del Rey neighborhood. Indio Falconer Downey's son, Robert Downey Jr., is his godfather.

Hall became engaged to actress Lucia Oskerova, a Slovak-Canadian actress.

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Career

Hall began his career in commercials at the age of seven. He was the Honeycomb cereal boy and appeared in several commercials for toys and Bounty. In Allen's semi-autobiographical play The Wake, Steve Allen's debut was in 1977. He went on to appear in St. Joan of the Microphone, a Lincoln Center Festival production, as well as in a play with Woody Allen. He made his television debut in 1982's Emmy Award-winning television film The Gold Bug, in which he played the young Edgar Allan Poe. He started as Huck Finn in Rascals and Robbers: The Intuitive Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in 1981, but it wasn't until the 1982 Kenny Rogers film Six Pack that he gained serious attention.

In National Lampoon's Vacation, Hall met Rusty Griswold, Chevy Chase, and Beverly D'Angelo's son, capturing the film's screenwriter John Hughes' attention. "I thought [Hall] to upstage Chevy was a remarkable achievement for a 13-year-old boy," Hughes said. In 1983, the film was a major box office hit, grossing over $61 million in the United States. After vacation, Hall went back to other ventures and never expected to reprise his role in the 1985 sequel.

Hall's breakout role came in 1984, when he was cast as "Geek," the scrawny, braces-wearing geek who pursued Molly Ringwald's character in John Hughes' debut Sixteen Candles. Hall tried to avoid the clichés of geekdom. "I didn't play him with 100 pens sticking out of his pocket," he said. "I just went in and enjoyed it like a real kid." The geek is just like every other freshman." Along with co-star Ringwald, Hall and co-star Ringwald were given a spot on the promotional material. Hall and his co-stars were lauded for the film's success, and one for People Weekly stated that Hall's performance "pilfer[ed] the film" from Ringwald. Despite having only modest success at the box office, Ringwald and Hall's overnight stars appeared in the film.

Hall appeared in two other teen-oriented films directed by Hughes in 1985. In The Breakfast Club, co-starring Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Molly Ringwald, he was cast as Brian Johnson, "the brain." Janet Maslin, a film critic, applauded Hall for her role as "the film's best actors." After filming The Breakfast Club, Hall and co-star Molly Ringwald dated for a brief period of time. In Weird Science later this year, Hall portrayed Gary Wallace, another likable misfit. Hall, according to critic Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times, she was "the role model supreme" for the character, but she also acknowledged that "he [was] outgrowing the role" and that "[didn't] have to keep the patent on the bratty bright kid." Weird Science was a modest success at the box office, but critics were generally favorable. He was regarded as the 1980s "nerd-of-choice" as well as a member of Hollywood's Brat Pack. In Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science, Hall, the director, praises the director for putting him on the map and giving him the opportunity as a child. "I had the time of my life," he said. "I'd recommend [working with Hughes] every day of the week."

At the age of 17, Hall appeared on Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1985 to 1986. He was, and still is, the youngest cast member of the show's history. Craig Sundberg, Idot Savant, an intelligent, talented teenager with a stumbling voice and stilted speech, and Fed Jones, half of the infamously high-hustling pitchmen known as The Jones Brothers, were among the show's recurring characters. Among Hall's celebrity impersonations were Art Garfunkel, Edd Byrnes, Robert F. Kennedy, and Daryl Hall. As a child, Hall had adored the show and its stars, but he discovered the SNL environment to be much more competitive than he expected. "I didn't have any breakout characters and I didn't do the things I hoped to do," he said, "but I learned a lot and I treasure it." I'll always be proud of the fact that I was involved in the institution's history." Hall was one of six cast members (the others being Joan Cusack, Robert Downey, Jr., Randy Quaid, and Terry Sweeney) who were fired at the end of the season.

Hall refused to be typecast in scenes written for him by John Hughes in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Cameron Frye) and Pretty in Pink (Phil "Duckie" Dale), both 1986. Rather, he appeared in the 1986 film Out of Bounds, Hall's first foray into the thriller and action genre. The film only made $5 million in the United States, and it was a huge financial loss. Roger Ebert called Out of Bounds "an explosion at the cliché factory," and Caryn James of The New York Times said that not even "Hall," who made nerds look lovable in John Hughes' Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, "could] do much to reconcile" the film's disparate themes.

In a talk with Stanley Kubrick in 1987, Hall was offered the leading role, but a financial agreement could not be reached after eight months negotiations. "It was a difficult decision because I learned everything I could about the guy in the eight-month period, and I was completely fascinated by him," Hall said when asked about the film. "I wanted to be a part of the film but it didn't work out." But all sorts of stories appeared, like I was on set and I was fired, or I was chastised for shooting for too long. It's all false." Matthew Modine was brought to him. Johnny Be Good, 1988, was his second film in which he worked with Uma Thurman and fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Robert Downey, Jr. The film was a critical failure, and some commentators blasted Hall's role as a high school football actor, alleging that he, the movies' reigning geek, was miscast in the role. According to a Washington Post report, the film was "crass, vulgar, and repeatedly brain-dead."

Hall returned to acting in Tim Burton's 1990 hit Edward Scissorhands, this time as the film's villain after a two-year absence due to a reported alcohol problem. He went back to more mature roles in his 20s, attempting to establish himself as an adult actor. He appeared in a string of low-budget films, including the 1992 comedy Into the Sun, where he appeared as a visiting celebrity at a military air base, after Scissorhands. Janet Maslin praised his performance, saying that "all of his earlier performances (in films including National Lampoon's Vacation and Sixteen Candles) have been much goofier, is still funny, and has moved to subtler forms of comedy for this role." In the critically acclaimed film Six Degrees of Separation, Hall portrayed a gay man who trains down-and-out Will Smith to dupe wealthy people; it was "the hardest part [he] has ever had" during his time.

Hall starred in and directed his first feature film, Hail Caesar, about a young rock star who works in a pencil eraser factory in 1994. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey, Jr., and Judd Nelson appeared in the film alongside John Howard. In addition,, he produced the soundtrack for the film with composer Herbie Tribino. The film featured songs written and performed by Hall.

He gained media attention again in 1999 Emmy-nominated TNT original film Pirates of Silicon Valley, co-starring Noah Wyle as Apple Computer's Steve Jobs, following a string of appearances in low-budget films and guest appearances on television series in the mid and late 1990s. Hall was praised for his portrayal of Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. "I really fought for this role because I knew it would be the role of a lifetime," Hall said. "It was a thrill and a daunting challenge to play someone of his stature and brilliance." To the San Francisco Chronicle, Hall referred to his physical appearance as 20-year-old Gates.

Hall appeared in numerous made-for-TV films after making a cameo appearance as himself in the 2000 comedy film Happy Accidents. In the 2001 USA Network cable movie Hitched, Sheryl Lee appeared opposite Sheryl Lee as a cheating husband. In the same year, he appeared as respected music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange in VH1's film Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story and starred as legendary lefty baseball pitcher Whitey Ford in Billy Crystal's critically acclaimed HBO film, 61*.

Hall portrayed supporting parts in the mystery-drama The Caveman's Valentine (2001) opposite Samuel L. Jackson, the widely admired Freddy Got Fingers (2001) opposite Tom Green, and the action-comedy All About the Benjamins (2002) opposing Ice Cube.

Hall appeared in Johnny Smith's supernatural drama The Dead Zone, a TV series based on Stephen King's best-selling book, in 2002. Michael Piller, a senior producer, was cast in the show after his appearance in Pirates of Silicon Valley. The show premiered on June 16, 2002, and attracted more viewers than any other cable television program in television history, with 6.4 million viewers. The Dead Zone gained a following quickly, with the show and Hall receiving rave reviews. "Hall's Johnny flashes the qualities - comedy timing, great facial expressions - that made him a celebrity in the 1980s films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted. "The Dead Zone has changed my career," Hall said. The show was one of USA Network's top shows and one of the top-rated programs on basic cable.

Hall has been named as co-producer (seasons 1–3), producer (seasons 5) and co-executive producer (seasons 6). In addition, Hall produced an episode of "The Cold Hard Truth," a guest starring stand-up comedian Richard Lewis. "I think this is my best work as a producer," Hall said. "I also had the best script that I've had the opportunity to direct." On June 17, 2007, the show's sixth and final season debuted. In December 2007, the Dead Zone had been officially cancelled by USA Network.

Hall appeared in the tenth episode of Criss Angel Mindfreak's fourth season.

Hall's production company, AMH Entertainment, develops film and television shows. Hall appeared in Aftermath, a 2010 independent crime drama starring Tony Danza and Frank Whaley. Hall appeared in The Dark Knight as Gotham City television reporter/anchor Mike Engel.

In two episodes of the sitcom Community, Hall made guest appearances.

In a series of Old Navy holiday commercials starring the Griswold family, Hall revived his role as Rusty Griswold in 2012. In Season 3 of Warehouse 13, he was the main antagonist. Walter Sykes, a man who gained from the use of an artifact but later expressed a deep cynicism against the Warehouse and its agents when the object was confiscated from him (episodes 3.09, 3.11, 3.22). He appeared in Z Nation as Gideon, a former communications manager in charge of a group of zombie apocalypse survivors (only episode 2.11).

In an AT&T Mobile commercial, Hall plays himself as the customer being served. Hall appeared on the TNT drama series Murder in the First year.

Hall, a teacher at Chapman University, assists at-risk youth in their literacy program, The Anthony Michael Hall Literacy Club. The club provides students with the opportunity to develop their literacy skills by investigating genres that are not often used to enhance literacy, such as films, music, and lyrics, scripts, and audiobooks. Hall follows his family's tradition by attending concerts. Hall of Mirrors, the lead singer and songwriter for his band, began in 1998. In 1999, the band's own RAM Records label released an album titled Welcome to the Hall of Mirrors, featuring former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and Prince's former keyboard player Tommy Barbarella.

Hall would appear in the Halloween sequel, Halloween Kills, on August 26, 2019.

In the Goldberg family's first spoof of National Lampoon's Vacation, Hall appeared as "Rusty" the security guard (original role played by John Candy) at the amusement park visited by the Goldberg family in their TV series The Goldbergs in 2019.

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