Reacher’s villain on the ‘joy’ of John Hughes

Anthony Michael Hall has spent his career pursuing roles, enabling himself to empathize with all kinds of characters. He is always looking for that depth, who drives – who inspires him to dig his teeth into a script and to defy expectations – and to prove that he is much more than the nerd from the 80s Brat Pack films Such as “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles.”

His newest role is playing a arms dealer in the third season of ‘Reacher’, the Hit Amazon Prime Video Show about an ex-military police drifter that travels the United States, as a result of which criminal companies increasingly surpassed. For every actor, “Reacher” is a huge platform, but Hall was laser -oriented on the complexity of his character, Zachary Beck, who presents himself as a modest carpet importer.

“It’s a very rich character,” he says. “He has coverage for his life and works within this context of a criminal network. But there is a power struggle and he tries to stay alive as a criminal with this very dark side. On the other hand, the B story line is essentially his relationship with his son, Richard. ‘

That aspect of the versatile role turned out to be exciting for Hall, who welcomed his first child, Michael Anthony Hall II, in June 2023. While his son is on the screen in the twenties, Hall is now able to channel feelings as a real father.

“Suddenly I had a wealth of things to exhaust,” says Hall. “That enabled me to make real contact with the entire nature of the Richard and Zach relationship. If you play a dark character, you want to find some light in him. I think the light in him is his relationship with Richard. It is very damaged and it is a damaged relationship. He wants to redeem himself to his son, so there is that feeling of self -power and redemption. “

Hall’s wish to play characters who have a lot below the surface, started early, when he hoped to switch his young fame to a lasting career as an actor. After all, he was still a teenager after he had the lead role in a series of successful John Hughes films from the 80s, including ‘Club’, ‘Candles’, ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’ and ‘Weird Science’. Yet he was indelibly linked to the films and co-stars of this era, such as Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald.

“I did not intend to become Typecast – I don’t even think it was John’s intention,” he says about the archetype “Nerd” that he played in the films. “But that kind of happened, and I think, as with most children, that kind of self -consciousness, that clumsiness, that very interesting biological fact that our brains form until you are 25. I was 17 years old. I had already done a handful of films. I just flew past the chair of my pants and came from a very pure place. I think that I learned so much before the pressure of all that by working with John Hughes and the gifts he gave me. I wouldn’t be here without him. There was a sense of joy and freedom there as a child. ‘

Halhopscotched between performances, hangs to “Saturday Night Live” for a stint of one season in 1985, enthusiastically to shake off his Dweb persona and shake off in “Saturday Night Live”. “

As the chances were waxed and decreased in the years that followed, Hall used every chance as an opportunity to sharpen his profession and learn about the industry.

“On different points in my career – or even let us say in my 1920s, when I struggled to just stay alive in the industry – I would work with these great stars,” he says. “An episode of” Diagnosis: Murder “or” touched by an angel. ” If you have those jobs, and you haven’t worked for a few years, they felt like being cast in a blockbuster and offering great lessons. “

By the early 2000s, the facial characteristics and the Build van Hall had grown in adulthood and did not immediately call on his famous teenage look, which earned him both stability and dozens of different character actors. He stood on a long-term USA Network Series adjustment by Stephen King’s’ The Dead Zone ‘, and puts guests in popular series such as’ Entourage’, Community ‘,’ Riverdale ‘and’ Bosch: Legacy ‘. He was also cast in fleshy film roles in high -profile projects such as “The Dark Knight”, “Foxcatcher”, “Halloween Kills” and “War Machine.”

Hall’s ability to escape into rolls – often playing complex men who were pushed in impossible circumstances – became a way for him not to be defined by the hugely popular Films of his youth. That freedom has given him a new perspective on a career that followed an unlikely path, and he is able to appreciate new challenges while still celebrating his iconic early work.

“This is my 49th year in the company,” says Hall, got by his happiness. “As the decades continue, I think there is a second puberty that happens in your twenties where you think you have to sort it out by the time you reach the age of thirty. I have the feeling that I have illuminated a lot over the years, and at this point in my career I am just flooded with a feeling of gratitude, knowing honestly about having passed and survived. I think it is ultimately about the company that you keep, so I want to work with great filmmakers, I want to work with other great actors. I want to work and I think I just maintained that focus. “

The first three episodes of season 3 “Reacher” are now available on Prime Video, with future episodes that debut every week.