MovieChat Forums > The Breakfast Club (1985) Discussion > This movie should have made Judd Nelson ...

This movie should have made Judd Nelson a huge star....


He was the lead in this film and even the most enjoyable to watch I thought. Mind you I was only 15 when this film came out and saw it in the theatre, but seriously, he and Ally Sheedy were the best characters in this film.


What happened to his career after St. Elmo's fire?

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Good question, who can really know? Obviously the guy is just as talented as he was back then. I think the article on the Brat pack really ruined his image in hollywood. You have a guy who is playing these characters he's nothing like, and then being portrayed as kind of douchy in this article. The only person who was portrayed somewhat decently in that article was Emilio Estevez.

Then he did a few films that didn't really go anywhere, but that's not really a big deal because that happens to actors all the time in their early careers. Even if they are at the height of their career, there are plenty of duds in the middle Back in the 1980s, there wasn't the enormous press machine we had today (the internet) that could break or make a person's career. There were magazines and television, which were seen by only a fraction of the population.

Finally, and I think this is what "killed it," there was the fact that most of the "brat pack" were actually kids when The Breakfast Club came out and he was already in his mid 20s (although remarkably convincing as a high school student.) It's tough to bounce back from that kind of press beating. When you're a teenager or even in your early 20s, people expect that you will grow out of an image. Nelson has obviously gone as far away from that image as possible (because he likely never was that image to begin with), but people will think what they want to think.

*Also, I would not say that his career has been killed because he's farther along in his career than most actors out there. Most never even make it to Hollywood, or on a major broadway stage. Acting is a brutal profession. I'd say Nelson is just one of those actors (actually all of them) who was never meant to fit into the stereotypical Hollywood image. I say this as a good thing becasue I don't think that kind of image is healthy, interesting, or worth anything. The guy has found his own niche in the independent industry.

As for Sheedy? I'm not really sure what she's up to other than tv work. She started on television and seems well suited for it. Again, another actress who was not going to fit into some stereotypical Hollywood image.

I'd argue that the same can be said about all of the actors from the Breakfast Club, including Emilio who seems to have found his niche as a director.

What made the Breakfast Club and these kids interesting to us was their inability to fall into stereotypical Hollywood images. They were different and more like their audience who did not feel like they belonged anywhere. I'd say that each of these actors have grown into whatever it was they were meant for.

But that's just my opinion. I never really cared for pop culture or major Hollywood films anyway. It's like soda pop or bubblegum, after awhile it starts to taste like the fake plastic it is.

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^well-written post right there.

God giveth and the DMV taketh away!

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one article defined the Brat pack?

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Judd Nelson was phenomenal in this film. They were all good but he portrayed his character brilliantly. Very sexy too.

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I agree that it a well thought out,let alone a well said response to the question. Also all 5 of portrayed their characters perfectly. And given the fact that some were of "the right age" to play them coincides with the actors/actresses real lives. Not to mention that the kind of people they were and are portraying still exist today. However nowadays the kids are meaner and more cruel than they were from when I was in school. And as far as today's media machine goes it's just as bad,if not worse. We all not that anyone , wether famous or not,has no privacy in their lives anymore. And in my opinion the News( channel 3,6,10,29) from where I'm from, is the biggest SCUMBAGS out there. I've dealt with them before on several occasions and they print what they want to print. Maybe 1 thing might be the truth, but the rest isB *beep* This world has become so,so very lazy
Case in point with Judd Nelson, who wants and deserves his privacy and doesn't want to be bothered. So someone says " he's rude and unprofessional" or " he's hard to work with" and so on. Its really when someone writes a book about you and they no nothing about you. Again great reply Felix.

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Hey, Thanks for the response!

I definitely get the vibe that Judd Nelson (and probably the other actors from Breakfast Club) all desire privacy. That, imo, is the biggest thing that separates an actor like Johnny Depp or Robert Downey Jr from Judd Nelson.

Not everyone wants to be an attention whore or wants hoards of people and paparazzi following them around. How do you reconcile your need for privacy and working in the industry? It's very hard to find a balance, especially in today's world.

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Blame St. Elmos Fire. I think that movie kind of quickly put a stake in the careers of many of the brat-packers. It was the Billy-Squier-Rock-me-tonight-video-deathblow-to-the-career. Sure it helped Demi Moore, a little bit, but I think it damaged everyone else.

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It was really the Brat Pack article that did it, they were all portrayed in such a negative way. I think they were encouraged to all pursue their own separate careers, which was kind of a mistake because they all worked very well off of each other.

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Actually, St. Elmo's Fire helped to launch Andie MacDowell's career. Although I don't know if she acknowledges her role in that movie today.

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Ally sheedy got on my nerves the first couple times I watched it( I was a kid). Anyway even when anyone of the cast would do an interview, the media would use whatever words that was needed to do their article. And no matter what is said, the media takes it out of context. THE MEDIA areF ucking SCUMBAGS!THEY ARE LOWER THAN WHALES HIT! it's ashame when you take a young actor. With a promising career, and ruin it with words. I've dealt with the media in my job and have experienced their printing of numerous non-truths. They definitely have the power of the pen. And they know how to use it! They are nothing but big pieces ofS hit!

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Ally sheedy got on my nerves the first couple times I watched it( I was a kid). Anyway even when anyone of the cast would do an interview, the media would use whatever words that was needed to do their article. And no matter what is said, the media takes it out of context. THE MEDIA areF ucking SCUMBAGS!THEY ARE LOWER THAN WHALES HIT! it's ashame when you take a young actor. With a promising career, and ruin it with words. I've dealt with the media in my job and have experienced their printing of numerous non-truths. They definitely have the power of the pen. And they know how to use it! They are nothing but big pieces ofS hit!

It really is a sad truth about the world we live in, but then again Hollywood is a machine that feeds off of this as well. Perhaps these actors are better off moving away from this kind of environment. As a prospective film maker, I have no interest in dealing with that aspect of film making.

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Or he decided that it wasn't for him. Or he tried but because he was deemed" hard to work with", by the media of course(SCUMBAGS), and he was fighting but lost? Judd Nelson is the only one who really knows what happened. It really is ashame though.

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Or he decided that it wasn't for him. Or he tried but because he was deemed" hard to work with", by the media of course(SCUMBAGS), and he was fighting but lost? Judd Nelson is the only one who really knows what happened. It really is ashame though.


True. Some of these people are really horrible people. They may be deemed "hard to work with" because they don't want to play supporting characters their entire lives or because they believe the directors or producers around them are bad people.

God only knows, if you ever get a chance watch the film My Big Break. It's pretty eye opening. Perhaps fame and stardom are not really all its cracked up to be and the people who avoid this fate are better off or at least more true to themselves.

Who wants to be a star where you have zero control over your life?

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Judd Nelson auditioned to be the lead in Gremlins but failed. Had he succeeded, he may have gone on to bigger things.

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Oh yeah. Juts lok at Zach Galligan. He is huge.

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Different actors have different trajectories. Judd is a better actor than Zach, and he may have been in a position where he could take on better roles in bigger films.

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he have good career if you follow his filmographys. i have seen him in at least 5 more movie other than breakfast clubs that i enjoy and he give good performance.

if you only star in shits film like dwayne johnson then you are failed actor. good actor like judd at least have talents and star in a few good film.

better to star in 3 great film and make your mark and vanish like judd, than to star in 1 million shit film like dwanyne johnson and hang around forever like bad farts.

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What the HELL kind of mark did Judd fucking Nelson make? I don’t like the Rock, but he’ll be remembered 10 years from now. Nobody who matters recalls Nelson today.

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