From child actor to Brat Pack icon and seasoned Hollywood veteran, Anthony Michael Hall has been on our screens for 51 years.
At a recent press event ahead of his appearance on the Fox celebrity competition series Nation’s Dumbest, The Breakfast Club alum, 58, revealed the secret behind his long-lasting career.
“Having a thick skin, and just being game and just wanting to work with the best people you can,” Hall told Fox News Digital. “Just being persistent and tenacious. And thank God I was born with a hard head. But you have to have a thick skin.”
The Reacher actor continued, “You have to really want and love what you do. So I think that’s it.”
Hall also clued the outlet in on the biggest lesson he’s learned after five decades in the industry.
“Stay humble, stay focused, keep your eyes on the road, and just keep moving ahead somehow,” the Saturday Night Live alum said. “There’s no guarantee of anything in this business, and it’s a tough business, but it’s really great business, so I’m very fortunate.”
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“[I] feel very blessed. This is my 51st year doing this, and this was really a unique thing, because it was something I never expected,” he added, referring to the Fox reality competition series.
Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, Nation’s Dumbest challenges 12 celebrities to return to “summer school,” where they compete in a mix of classroom-inspired trivia, physical games and school-themed challenges.
“It really took me by surprise, and it was really a lot of fun,” the Weird Science star shared. “So, it was about learning that lesson, too. Staying open to new opportunities, just being cool with it and having fun. So, we really had a great time, all of us. It was nice.”
Hall said the show echoed The Breakfast Club, telling Fox that being thrown into a classroom with a cast of strangers — including Ice-T, Jon Heder, Hilaria Baldwin, Carmen Electra, Chase Hudson, Elle King, Matt Leinart, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Steve-O, JoJo Siwa and Andrew Yang — felt a lot like the setup of the John Hughes classic.
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“Do you know what, there was some parallels for sure. We all got thrown together. We’re all stuck, we couldn’t really go anywhere. And honestly, we all really got along. It was a real nice organic surprise that I had a great time with all these people,” Hall, who played Brian Johnson, the “brain” of the group in the beloved 1985 film, explained. “It was coming into a year where I wasn’t sure where the next job was gonna come, like we often feel in this industry. And I got the call, and I was just really excited by it.”
He continued, “And I really embraced it and I just went up to Toronto and had a good time shooting it and everybody was really cool. So we had a really good time.”
Nation’s Dumbest premiered on July 15 on Fox and is also streaming on Hulu.
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