Biography
Anthony Michael Hall was 14 when he essayed his first screen role in the
Kenny Rogers vehicle
Six Pack. With his cracked voice, skinny frame, and unkempt hair, Hall went on to play nerds and dweebs in such films as
Sixteen Candles (1984) and
The Breakfast Club (1985), working so well under the direction of
John Hughes that there were those who assumed that Hughes was treating the young actor as an alter ego, reliving his own "misfit" high school years. Hall's film career temporary eclipsed in 1985, partly as the result of a disastrous personal-appearance tour during which the actor behaved in a fashion that could charitably be described as bizarre. He showed up as a regular on TV's
Saturday Night Live later that year, and as he grew older, became too athletic and self-assured to continue in his previous "clueless" vein. Hall's professional second life as a character actor began with his villainous performance in
Edward Scissorhands (1990). He turned to directing with the 1994 theatrical feature
Hail Caesar, in which he cast himself as a relentlessly obnoxious rock star. In 2001, he starred as Whitey Ford in
Billy Crystal's made-for-TV movie 61*. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide