Since its release, The Breakfast Club has gone on to achieve cult-like status. It remains one of the greatest coming-of-age films to have ever been made.
Looking back on the film , there’s a lot that went on off-camera that we didn’t get to see. Have a look and check out these 10+ behind the scenes secrets about The Breakfast Club fans didn’t know!
*The Breakfast Club* is one of the most iconic movies of all time.
It tells the tale of a group of teenagers who all end up in detention together on the same day, for different reasons.
All of them could not be more different from each other.
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It is considered one of the best films of all time, for its subject matter, script, and of course, the acting.
But there are still a ton of things that fans don’t know about the movie!
We’re here to help with that! Check out these amazing behind the scenes secrets!
1. The scene where the kids tell one another why they were sent to detention was all ad-libbed.
Director John Hughes really wanted his young actors to tap into the creativity of their individual characters.
Hence, he left the reasoning behind the punishment completely up to them.
2. Judd Nelson was always in character.
Method actors can be a real pain in the neck. Judd’s bullying of co-star Molly Ringwald was apparently so bad that Judd was nearly fired for it.
Ironically enough, it was Paul Gleason who petitioned that he be allowed to stay.
“What happened is that Judd became the character, like a method actor. These were kids!”
“Some of these kids were minors. But Molly had John’s ear, you know. They were very upset that Judd was taking it too far,” Del Ruth, director of photography, said.
3. This was the first film to star multiple members of “The Brat Pack.”
The Brat Pack were a group of young actors in the 1980s who frequently appeared together on-screen in various coming-of-age–style films.
It included Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Rob Lowe, and even Robert Downey Jr.
4. Judd Nelson went undercover to research his role.
In order to do this, he pretended to be an actual high school student, even though he was actually twenty-four at the time.
Nelson reportedly even bought beer for the kids with his “fake ID.”
5. No, Ally Sheedy didn’t really shake her own dandruff.
The dandruff used in the scene was actually parmesan cheese that had been placed on top of Ally’s head.
Although this was a prop, the sandwich filled with sugar and pixie-sticks was not.
6. The film’s most iconic moment was totally ad-libbed.
As the film comes to a close, John Bender walks off the football field and into the sunset.
Before doing so, he pumps a fist of defiance high into the air.
This wasn’t in the script and has since gone on to become one of the most defining images of ’80s cinema.
Actor Judd Nelson was instructed to play around with a few different movements for the take.
When he threw up his fist, everyone knew right away that it was going to be something special.
7. Bender’s flinch in the film was 100% authentic.
Apparently Judd Nelson seriously thought that Paul Gleason was going to hit him.
Judging from the reports of his on-set behavior, it sounds like Judd would have deserved it! Luckily for him, Gleason pulled his punch.
8. Molly Ringwald doesn’t actually know how to do her ‘lipstick trick’.
In the film, Claire performs a lipstick trick for the group where she manages to apply her red lipstick without using her hands.
In reality, this was done with some crafty camera work.
9. Each member of the cast got to take home a piece of the library banister as a keep-sake.
John Hughes wanted to give his young actors a parting gift that would always remind them of their time spent working together.
It’s a pretty iconic piece of history when you stop and think about it.
10. The entire cast and crew actually ate lunch together in the school cafeteria.
While filming on location at Maine North High School , director John Hughes would insist that the cast and crew dine together.
It’s clear to see that John really wanted to convey to everyone the mentality of what it was like to be back in high school.
Also, the high school should look familiar.
John Hughes used the same location for the high school in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off !
Clearly he was hoping to replicate the same atmosphere that had played so well in The Breakfast Club .
11. Simple Minds almost didn’t sing “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
In fact, it was difficult to find any band who was up to the task for a while.
Billy Idol , Bryan Ferry, as well as The Pretenders, all declined to perform the film’s most famous musical moment.
12. The switchblade that Bender uses in the film actually belonged to Judd Nelson.
According to Nelson , he used to carry it around at the time for protection.
Protection from what remains to be seen, but it’s a pretty cool story nonetheless.
13. Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall were the only cast members who were actually in high school at the time the movie was filmed.
They were both only 16 years old.
Judd Nelson was the oldest at 25, then came Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy, each 23 years old.
16. It got so hot on set that the cast and crew would often fall asleep from the heat.
“They often dozed off in the heat. They’d start snoring,” Del Ruth, director of photography, said . “We had to have the assistant directors go wake them up in the middle of the shots.”
“We had to hire two additional assistant directors to just work the second floor and keep the crew awake so they wouldn’t snore and ruin the sound takes.”
The heat can really ruin people, so I can definitely see it!
17. The movie was almost titled *The Lunch Brunch*
“It was going to be called ‘The Lunch Bunch.’ But a friend of John’s from another school had a detention class called ‘The Breakfast Club,’ so he decided to go with that.”
18. Nicolas Cage was considered for the part of Bender.
I truly feel like every time I read about a movie, Nicolas Cage was always considered for one part.
What is it about him that makes everyone want him?! I have to know his secrets!
John Cusack was also considered.
“I didn’t want John Cusack. I didn’t think he was right at all,” Burch, the casting director, said . “Now, he’s turned into a darker character, but back then he was still just a real conservative Midwest kid.”
19. In case you didn’t notice, John Hughes appears in the movie! He picks up Brian after detention.
The casting director, Jackie Burch, actually asked him to have a little cameo in the movie he was directing.
“I think he was channeling Alfred Hitchcock a little bit. He did it and it was great. Normally, I don’t love stuff like that, but this was great.”
20. The costume designer purposely wanted to make Allison’s costume sad.
Which makes sense, when you think about the character’s personality.
“Nothing that I could find would have personified her personality as the outsider. We needed something black and grey, dull and sad.”
“The only thing I didn’t make for her was the sweater,”
“I couldn’t find anything! Everything was colorful. I don’t know if you remember the ’80s, but my God. Colors were just happening all over the place.”
21. Molly Ringwald did not want to be daddy’s little girl.
Ringwald fought to bring depth to her character and make her slightly more relatable to the audience.
“Molly did not want to be the rich little spoiled girl. She didn’t want to be the spoiled ‘daddy’s girl,’ which is originally what was planned.”
“She was going to be wearing a shorter skirt, a crochet look with maybe a beret. You know, something that would be more bratty. But she felt she was more sophisticated than that.”
“We updated it, but the look still personified money.”
22. Thirty years after the movie was released, a deleted scene resurfaced.
Claire and Allison are in the women’s restroom, sharing a scene together.
Allison is washing her hands and Claire tries to start a conversation with her about eating potato chips while standing near toilets. In response, Allison eats one that fell into the sink and walks away.
Do you know any more interesting facts about *The Breakfast Club*?
Or were you pleasantly surprised by all of these facts? Which one was your favorite?
Let us know down below in the comments! We would love to hear from you!
