(photo from WireImage)
Can you imagine The Breakfast Club with John Cusack playing Judd Nelson’s role and his sister Joan playing Ally Sheedy’s? Well according to what Molly Ringwald told
Entertainment Weekly that is what John Hughes wanted, but due to Universal wanting Sixteen Candles shot first they had a conflict and had to drop out of the film. I love the Cusacks, but I would’ve hated them in those roles. John isn’t as bad a$$ as Judd and Ally was perfect as the weirdo that I am not sure Joan would’ve brought to the role.
But it doesn’t stop there because that was not the only movie where the cast might’ve been different than what we saw in the movie. Flashdance was a big box office success and Paramount wanted Jennifer Beals to play Andie in Pretty in Pink, but John Hughes and director Howard Deutch fought to get her the role back. That isn’t the only role in that movie that was almost played by someone else. Michael J Fox was the original Duckie, but dropped out to replace Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. Then they went with Robert Downey Jr, who the fake red head told EW, ”He was just so funny and charming and charismatic, and we had this sort of sexual charisma together.” And then she added that when they went geekier with Jon Cryer, there was no sexual interest there. Ouch. When it comes to Fox in the role, I think that would’ve been a mistake but Downey would’ve been perfect. No offense to Cryer, who was brilliant in the movie but RDJ would’ve been brilliant in the role.
And there is one more casting that would’ve changed Hughes movies forever and that would’ve been the role of hottie Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles. She said the role was between Michael Shoeffling and Viggo Mortensen and as we know in movie history who the role went for. She said he lost out on the role because he kissed her during the final audition and Shoeffling didn’t. Hughes was protective of his female star and went with the actor who kept his lips to himself. I am grateful for that kiss because sorry to say to Viggo all girls who see that movie want a man just like Shoeffling and I don’t he would’ve garnered the same response. Although she added that LOTR star, “‘He made me weak in the knees. Absolutely.” I am not saying he isn’t gorgeous makes us weak in our knees, but not in the same way Shoeffling did.
So now that you know who might’ve been in the coming of age movies, which actors do you think worked or would’ve worked better?
