Andrew McCarthy Biography

Andrew McCarthy: Biography

Andrew T. McCarthy was born on November 29th, 1962, one of four brothers. He grew up in Westfield, New Jersey. There, he attended Edison Intermediate School. At 16, he moved to Bernardsville, where he attended a prep school called the Pingry School. There, Andrew played basketball, as well as performing in plays and musicals.

At 18, Andrew went to New York University as a theatre major, but quit in 1983, after earning himself the lead in the 1983 film Class, opposite Jacquelyn Bisset and Rob Lowe. After the film, Andrew studied at NY's Circle in Square Theater School.

Andrew became one of the stars in the 1985 film St. Elmo's Fire, and lead to Andrew's association with The Brat Pack. Andrew rejected this association, flying under the radar, unlike many of the other Brat Pack members.

In 1986, Andrew was in Pretty in Pink, with Molly Ringwald. The following year saw him co-starring in Less Than Zero with Jami Gertz and Robert Downey Jr. Andrew finished the decade with several badly recieved films.

Andrew continued his positive acting career with 1991's Year of the Gun and 1993's Joy Luck Club.

Andrew McCarthy has been in numerous on and off Broadway productions, such as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Boys of Winter', 'Love Letters', 'Psychopathic Sexualious', 'Side Man', and after playing Edmond in 'Long Days Journey Into Night', was asked to play the lead in 'Death of Papa', replacing Matthew Broderick. This lead Andrew to the role of Clifford, in the succesful play 'Side Man'.

Andrew is married to actress Carol Schneider, whom he met at NYU. Together, they have a son named Sam, born in 2002.

Andrew has acted on such shows as Amazing Stories, Law and Order: CSI, Law and Order: SVU, Monk, Tales from the Crypt, Twilight Zone, and most recently Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital.

Andrew is still making films, such as Standard Time, and theatre work, including Tom from 'Glass Menagerie'.

Andrew McCarthy partial Filmography: 1983's Class, 1985's Heaven Help Us, 1985's St. Elmo's Fire, 1986's Pretty in Pink, 1987's Mannequin, 1987's Less Than Zero, 1987's Waiting for the Moon, 1988's Fresh Horses, 1988's Kansas, 1989's Weekend at Bernie's, 1990's Quiet Days in Clichy, 1991's Year of the Gun, 1992's Only You, 1993's Weekend at Bernie's II, and 1993's Joy Luck Club.

Andrew McCarthy: It's embarrassing, isn't it? It took me 15 years to make an 18-minute movie.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy: Nobody thinks that they're evil or bad, they think that they're doing the right thing.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy: The idea that we cause harm by doing what we perceive to be the right thing, that's another theme that interests me. Because most people don't intend to cause harm, they cause harm by doing the right thing - in their mind.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy (about The Brat Pack): The media made up this sort of tribe. I don't think I've seen any of these people since we finished St. Elmo's Fire.(edit)

Andrew McCarthy and Molly Ringwald worked together on 1986's Pretty in Pink, and also again in 1988's Fresh Horses.(edit)
The Hartford Stage was very impressed with Andrew's portrayal of Edmond in 'Long Days Journey', and offered Andrew the lead role in 'The Death of Papa', after it was first declined by Matthew Broderick.(edit)
Andrew's Pretty in Pink costar Molly Ringwald was also on Broadway with Andrew, in the production of 'Love Letters'.(edit)
Andrew's Kansas costar Matt Dillon appeared with Andrew, on the Broadway production of 'Boys of Winter'.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy has been in over forty movies.(edit)
In the late 80s, Andrew was in a Revlon television commercial. The commercial featured other famous celebrities, including Melanie Griffith.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy's hometown of Westfield, NJ, is also childhood home to actress Meryl Streep.(edit)
Andrew nearly didn't make it to the audition for Class, due to the flu. Andrew's acting career might never have taken off, had he taken off a day due to his illness.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy had a serious drinking problem, but sobered up in the early '90s. During most of his scenes in Pretty in Pink and Weekend at Bernie's, Andrew was either drunk or hungover.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy is one of the nine original members of the 'brat pack'.(edit)
Andrew has worked with actor James Spader on three different films: 1986's Pretty in Pink, and the 1987 films Mannequin and Less Than Zero.(edit)
Andrew McCarthy is brother of writer/director Justin McCarthy.(edit)
Andrew has a son named Sam with wife Carol Schneider. Sam was born in 2002.(edit)
He is 5'8".(edit)
Andrew ended up marrying his college sweetheart in 1999, Carol Schneider, 20 years after they first dated.(edit)
Andrew is an avid and experienced pool player.(edit)
When the ending to Pretty in Pink (1986) was re-shot, all of the principal actors had to be called back. Andrew McCarthy had already lost a substantial amount of weight and shaved his head for a new role in a New York play called "The Boys of Winter." Although he wore an auburn wig, he's noticeably more gaunt in the reshot scenes.(edit)
Andrew took up smoking specifically for his role in St. Elmo's Fire. It took him nine years to quit.(edit)
Andrew appeared in John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" music video.(edit)