The iconic cast of The Breakfast Club reunited this weekend at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) for the first time in almost 40 years. Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy, the stars behind Andrew Clark, Brian Johnson, John Bender, Claire Standish, and Allison Reynolds, took the stage together and reminisced about John Hughes’ beloved 1985 film.
This reunion was especially meaningful for Estevez, who had previously skipped other cast reunions. He admitted that he couldn’t miss this one, as it coincided with the film’s 40th anniversary and was held in Chicago, where The Breakfast Club was filmed. “I skipped all my high school reunions,” Estevez confessed, “so this just felt like something I needed to do, just for myself.”
Estevez also revealed an emotional moment: someone had told him that Molly Ringwald once wondered if he didn’t like the rest of the cast, a thought that hurt him deeply. “Someone told me that Molly said, ‘Does he really just not like us?’ and that broke my heart. Of course, I love all of them,” Estevez explained.
For Ringwald, the reunion was an emotional experience as well. It was the first time all five of them had shared a stage together. She couldn’t hold back her excitement, saying, “I feel really moved that we’re all together. This is the first time Emilio has joined us,” she added, joking, “We don’t have to use a cardboard cutout of Emilio anymore!”
During the panel, the cast shared behind-the-scenes stories and discussed working with the legendary John Hughes. Hall revealed that neither he nor Ringwald had to audition for their roles. “John just called up my home, and I was still living with my parents in New York, and he said, ‘We are doing this film’, and I said, ‘Cool, let’s go,’” Hall recalled.
Sheedy shared that the filming experience was incredibly joyful, with the cast forming a deep connection that transcended the screen. “We genuinely cared about each other,” she said, reflecting on the genuine chemistry that made their performances so believable.
Filmed at Maine North High School in Des Plaines, Illinois, The Breakfast Club became a defining coming-of-age film, telling the story of five high school students from vastly different social backgrounds who find themselves in detention on one fateful Saturday. As they share their stories, they begin to see each other in a new light. By the time the day ends, they all realize that their perceptions of one another — and perhaps themselves — have changed forever.
It was a reunion that fans, and the cast, won’t soon forget.
