This Hollywood star’s real-life story is far more gripping
From New Jersey to Fame
Andrew McCarthy grew up far from Hollywood and often felt out of place.
“I just felt sort of very lonely at school.
I just didn’t feel like I belonged there,” he recalled.
After being expelled from NYU, an open casting call launched his acting career overnight.
Brat Pack and Struggle
In the mid-’80s, films like St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink made him a teen idol.
Fame, however, unsettled him.
“I was totally unprepared for any kind of success,”
he said, admitting alcohol gave him false confidence:
“If I was frightened, it gave me good Dutch courage.”
Hitting Bottom
His drinking worsened until his late 20s.
After years he called “lost and painful,” McCarthy entered
rehab at 29 and committed to sobriety, reshaping his life.
A Second Act
He became a director, acclaimed travel writer, and father.
Looking back, he says, “I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for my past.”
