Birthday:
29 November 1962, New York City, New York, USA
Height:
5' 9" (1.75 m)
Biography
Andrew McCarthy grew up in Westfield, New Jersey,
until he was 15. He then moved to Bernardsville, and attended a prep
school called the Pingry School, where he performed in plays and
musicals and played basketball. At 18, he went to New York University as
a theatre major and wound up as the lead in the 1983 film Class (1983).
He also studied at the Circle in Square Theater School in New York. He
has been in several on and off Broadway shows, such as 'Long Day's
Journey', as well as over 40 movies. He continues to show his
McCarthy gained recognition in Hollywood during the 1980s. His boyish good looks
[citation needed] continually had him placed as the sincere and kind leading man. His breakout role was in the 1983 theatrical film
Class. As McCarthy's career grew, he involuntarily became a member of the '80s Hollywood group of young actors known as the "Brat Pack"; McCarthy's better-known films include the Brat Pack films
St. Elmo's Fire and
Pretty in Pink. During the filming of
St. Elmo's Fire, McCarthy took up smoking, a habit he dropped in 1995.
[1] He starred in the 1987 box office hits,
Mannequin and
Less Than Zero, a theatrical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' popular novel. In 1985, McCarthy starred with Donald Sutherland and Kevin Dillon in
Heaven Help Us (also known as
Catholic Boys) playing Michael Dunn. In 1985, McCarthy made his Broadway debut in
The Boys of Winter. He quickly returned to Hollywood in 1988 to star in several films, such as
Fresh Horses and
Kansas.
He had another hit in the 1989 comedy film
Weekend at Bernie's. In 1991, he played the lead role in the motion picture
Year of the Gun, a thriller which received mixed reviews from critics. In 1992, he starred in the romantic comedy film
Only You. In 1993, he reprised the lead role of Larry Wilson in the sequel to the box office hit
Weekend at Bernie's,
Weekend at Bernie's II, the sequel was successful in the box office. He also had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed
The Joy Luck Club. In 1994, he starred in the motion pictures
Getting In,
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and
Dead Funny. In 1994, he starred in the motion picture Escape Clause. In 1996, he starred in the motion picture
I'm Losing You, a theatrical adaptation of the novel
I'm Losing You. He also starred in the period piece,
Mulholland Falls. In 1997, he starred in the motion picture
Stag. He also starred in the 1999 theatrical film
A Twist of Faith as a police detective.
He returned to Broadway theatre to star in
Side Man, McCarthy's version of the play won a Tony Award for Best Play in 1999. In 2003, McCarthy was set to guest star in two episodes of
Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Due to bad relations with actor Vincent D'Onofrio, series creator Dick Wolf
decided against it. Wolf later stated, "Mr. McCarthy engaged in
fractious behavior from the moment he walked on the set." McCarthy fired
back in a statement of his own saying, "I was fired because I refused
to allow a fellow actor to threaten me with physical violence, bully me
and try to direct me."
[2] Despite this incident, he later guest starred in an episode of
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (with Chris Noth, not D'Onofrio) that originally aired in November 2007.
[3] In 2004, he played Dr. Hook in
Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. He appeared in five episodes of the now-cancelled NBC television series
E-Ring. In 2008, he starred in the NBC television series
Lipstick Jungle as a billionaire, but was eventually cancelled, and had a minor role in
The Spiderwick Chronicles.
He is ranked #40 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars of all time list.
McCarthy recently directed several episodes of the hit CW television
series,
Gossip Girl, including Touch of Eva in the fourth season. In 2010 and 2011, he also appeared in the hit USA show
White Collar;
he was praised by several critics for his performance in the episodes.
He returned to the series in the next season to direct the episode "Neighborhood Watch".
Personal life
McCarthy was born in Westfield, New Jersey.
[4] His mother worked for a newspaper and his father was involved in investments and stocks.
[4] McCarthy moved to Bernardsville, New Jersey, as a teenager and attended the Pingry School.
[5] He also attended the town's public school, Bernards High School, for part of a year.
[citation needed]
In 1999, McCarthy married his college sweetheart Carol Schneider 20
years after they first dated. He later stated his reasons for tracking
her down after they had drifted apart: "I ran into someone who said they
had seen Carol and her boyfriend and they seemed really happy, and for
some reason it bothered me for a week. I called her and asked her if she
was really with this guy and asked her out for a coffee."[2]
In 2002, Schneider gave birth to a son, Sam. In 2005, the couple
divorced. On August 28, 2011 he married Dolores Rice. They have a
daughter, Willow.[6]
In 2004, he announced that he had once had a serious alcohol problem,
which began at age 12. In 1992, he entered a detoxification program and
has been sober since.[7]
In 2010, McCarthy was escorted out of an underground church in Lalibela, Ethiopia, for entering the site without documentation. He had been in the church on assignment for the travel magazine Afar.[8]
Filmography
Television
| Notes |
| 1986 |
Amazing Stories |
Edwin |
Episode: "Grandpa's Ghost" |
| 1991 |
Tales from the Crypt |
Edward Foster – Screenwriter |
Episode: "Loved to Death" |
| 1992 |
Common Pursuit |
Martin Musgrove |
Television film |
| 1995 |
The Courtyard |
Johnathan |
Television film |
| 1996 |
Escape Clause |
Richard Ramsay |
Television film |
| 1996 |
Hostile Force |
Rabbit (Mike) |
Television film |
| 1996 |
The Christmas Tree |
Richard Reilly |
Television film |
| 1998 |
A Father for Brittany |
Keith Lussier |
Television film |
| 1998 |
Perfect Assassins |
Ben Carroway |
Television film |
| 2000 |
A Storm in Summer |
Stanley Banner |
Television film |
| 2000 |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
Randolph Morrow |
Episode: "Slaves " |
| 2000 |
The Sight |
Michael Lewis |
Television film |
| 2000 |
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis |
Robert F. Kennedy |
Television film |
| 2002 |
Georgetown |
|
Television pilot |
| 2002 |
The Secret Life of Zoey |
Mike Harper |
Television film |
| 2003 |
Straight from the Heart |
Tyler Ross |
Television film |
| 2003 |
Law & Order |
Attorney Finnerty |
Episode: "Absentia" |
| 2003 |
The Twilight Zone |
Marshall |
Episode: "The Monsters Are on Maple Street" |
| 2003 |
Monk |
Derek Philby |
Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School" |
| 2004 |
Kingdom Hospital |
Dr. Hook |
Miniseries |
| 2004 |
The Hollywood Mom's Mystery |
Kit Freers |
Television film |
| 2004 |
Crusader |
Hank Robinson |
Television film |
| 2005 |
E-Ring |
Aaron Gerrity |
Five episodes |
| 2006 |
The Way |
|
Television pilot |
| 2007 |
Law & Order: Criminal Intent |
A.D.A. Gene Hoyle |
Episode: "Offense" |
| 2008–09 |
Lipstick Jungle |
Joe Bennett |
20 episodes |
| 2009 |
Gossip Girl |
Rick Rhodes |
Episode: "Valley Girls" |
| 2009 |
Royal Pains |
Marshall David Bryant IV |
2 episodes |
| 2009 |
The National Tree |
Corey Burdock |
Television film |
| 2011 |
White Collar |
Vincent Adler |
2 Episodes |
Awards and nominations
Fantafestival
- 1987: Won, "Best Actor" – Mannequin
- 2005: Won, "Best Short Film" – News for the Church
