Art imitating life.
Jon Cryer did not get along with his on-screen rival, Andrew McCarthy, in 1986âs âPretty in Pink.â
âI thought he was aloof and just a dâk,â Cryer told Page Six in a recent exclusive interview. âWe had all kinds of issues.â
âPretty in Pinkâ was a teen rom-com starring Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, a high school senior; Cryer as Andieâs best friend, Philip F. âDuckieâ Dale; and McCarthy as her love interest, Blane McDonnagh.
Cryer, 61, remembered one time Ringwald and McCarthy were goofing off on set while he had a close-up.
âI got really mad at them,â he reminisced. âI found out that the director asked them to do that because he wanted me really mad for the scene. But at the time, I didnât know.â
What the âTwo and a Half Menâ alum also didnât know was that McCarthy was struggling.
âI didnât know that he was going through; he was battling his own demons and had a fractured family relationship with his dad. And he was already starting to have issues with alcohol,â he explained. âNone of this I knew about at the time, so of course he was aloof. He was just trying to keep it together on a really big job.â
The feeling was apparently mutual.
In his 2021 memoir, âBrat: An â80s Story,â McCarthy wrote that he disliked Cryer because he had âa nervous laugh I found irritating.â
The âSt. Elmoâs Fireâ star, 63, wrote about his alcoholism and drug abuse in his memoir.
A year after âPretty in Pinkâ was released, McCarthy wrote that he was âdrinking to excess on a nearly daily basisâ and also became hooked on cocaine.
On 1987âs âLess Than Zero,â he wrote that his coke habit nearly gave him a heart attack. Before one scene in which he dove into a pool, he snorted coke, and when he splashed into the cold water, his chest âconstricted in a way I hope to never feel again.â
Eventually, he entered rehab in 1992 and, as he wrote, âbegan a life without alcohol or drugs that has continued, day in and day out.â
Cryer shared that things are very different now.
âAndrew and I have had a lot of communication in the last couple of years,â he revealed.
The Emmy winner is currently in the off-Broadway revival of âThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.â
He calls it âan incredibly joyful experience,â adding, âIt brings so much joy to the audience, itâs just an incredible treat to perform it eight times a week.â
The musical, which also stars Tony nominees Justin Cooley, Lili Cooper and Jasmine Amy Rogers as well as âGleeâ alum Kevin McHale, has been extended through to Sept. 6.
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