Anthony Michael Hall's Age In 16 Candles

Anthony Michael Hall was 16 years old when he starred in the 1984 film Sixteen Candles. Hall, who was born on April 14, 1968, played the role of The Geek in the film, which was his breakout role. He had previously appeared in the 1982 film Six Pack and the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation. Hall's performance in Sixteen Candles received positive reviews, with some critics claiming that he stole the film with his comedic portrayal of a high school freshman.

Explore related products

Sixteen Candles [Blu-ray]

$17 $19.99

Sixteen Candles (High School Reunion Collection)

$7.26 $8.34

Sixteen Candles [Blu-ray]

$7.09 $8.34

Sixteen Candles

$8.39 $9.99

Sixteen Candles [Blu-ray]

$16.75 $8.34

Sixteen Candles [Blu-ray]

$11.25 $8.34

Anthony Michael Hall's age in Sixteen Candles

Anthony Michael Hall was 16 years old when he played Ted "The Geek" Farmer in the 1984 film Sixteen Candles. Hall was born on April 14, 1968, and Sixteen Candles was filmed in the summer of 1983, when he was 15. The film was his breakout role, and he would go on to star in several other teen-oriented films in the 1980s, including The Breakfast Club and Weird Science.

Sixteen Candles, written and directed by John Hughes, is a coming-of-age comedy that centres on Samantha Baker, a high school sophomore who turns 16. Baker, played by Molly Ringwald, deals with her family forgetting her birthday while also navigating a crush on senior Jake Ryan. Meanwhile, freshman Ted Farmer, played by Hall, has a crush on Baker.

Hall has spoken about his experience dealing with fame from a young age. During an appearance on The View, he reflected on his early films and the challenges of being recognised in public at 15. In an interview with People, Hall also joked about how, despite being only 16 during the filming of Sixteen Candles, he played a scene in which he poured a drink like a "seasoned bartender".

In addition to launching Hall's career, Sixteen Candles is also credited with helping establish the careers of Ringwald and Michael Schoeffling, who played Jake Ryan. The film received positive reviews, particularly for Hall's performance, and is considered one of Hughes's best films.

Explore related products

Sixteen Candles

$17.09 $8.34

Sixteen Candles - Flashback Edition Pitch Perfect 3 Fandango Cash Version

$9.99 $8.34

Sixteen Candles

$17.66 $8.34

Sixteen Candles [Blu-ray]

$18.14 $8.34

Sixteen Candles

$7.09 $8.34

Sixteen Candles (Blu-ray)

$7.09 $8.34

Hall's birthday

Anthony Michael Hall was born on April 14, 1968, in the West Roxbury neighbourhood of Boston. He rose to fame in 1984, at the age of 16, with his breakout role in John Hughes' Sixteen Candles. In the film, Hall played "The Geek", Ted Farmer, a freshman with a crush on the main character, Samantha Baker, played by Molly Ringwald.

Hall's character in Sixteen Candles was 15 years old, and the film was released on May 4, 1984, in the US. Hall had turned 16 by the time of the film's release and would have been in the early stages of his 17th year when the film premiered.

The actor was born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall but transposed his first and middle names when he entered show business because there was already an actor named Michael Hall in the Screen Actors Guild. Hall is the only child of blues-jazz singer Mercedes Hall's first marriage. His parents divorced when he was six months old, and he moved with his mother to the West Coast when he was three. After a year and a half, they returned to the East Coast and eventually settled in New York City, where Hall grew up.

Hall's career in the entertainment industry has spanned nearly 40 years, and he has diversified his roles to avoid being typecast as his geek persona from Sixteen Candles. In addition to acting, he has also worked as a producer and comedian, appearing in comedic roles on Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986. He has also taken on more dramatic roles, such as in the film Edward Scissorhands (1990).

Explore related products

Sixteen candles

$58.56 $8.34

Sixteen Candles

$7.09 $8.34

Sixteen Candles

$7.09 $8.34

Sixteen Candles

$7.09 $8.34

Earth into Property: Colonization, Decolonization, and Capitalism (Volume 62) (McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies)

$46.22

Elephants of Africa

$45

Sixteen Candles filming dates

John Hughes wrote Sixteen Candles in 1982 as a low-budget production, which was initially rejected. However, after the success of National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), in which Anthony Michael Hall played Russell "Rusty" Griswold, Hughes attracted more interest in his screenplays. Hughes resumed pre-production on Sixteen Candles as his directorial debut and began filming in July 1983, with principal photography commencing on 11 July. The filming locations included the Chicago North Shore suburban communities of Evanston, Skokie, and Highland Park, Illinois, with specific addresses in these areas used for Jake's house, the Baker house, Bryce & Cliff's house, and the church. Filming took place between 11 July 1983 and 16 September 1983.

At the time of filming in 1983, Anthony Michael Hall was 15 years old, having been born on 14 April 1968. Hall's role in Sixteen Candles marked his breakout, with the film being released in 1984, when he was 16. Hall portrayed Ted "The Geek" Farmer, a freshman pursuing the newly 16-year-old Samantha Baker, played by Molly Ringwald. Hall's performance received positive reviews, with People claiming that his portrayal "pilfered the film" from Ringwald.

Explore related products

Prentice Hall Chemistry by Anthony C. Wibraham (2008-10-15)

$122.63

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking

$19.36 $40

Crop Responses to Environment

$49.21 $170

Diabetes Knockout!

$9.19 $13.99

Prentice Hall Chemistry

$119.3 $133.45

Air Force One Down

$3.79

Hall's co-stars' ages

Anthony Michael Hall was 15 years old when he played Ted "The Geek" Farmer in the 1984 film "Sixteen Candles." He starred alongside Molly Ringwald, who played the 16-year-old Samantha Baker, and Michael Schoeffling, who played the high school senior Jake Ryan. Ringwald and Hall were the same age when filming took place in 1983, and both actors were born in 1968.

Ringwald and Hall's co-star Schoeffling was born on December 10, 1962, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He was 21 years old when he played Jake Ryan in "Sixteen Candles," making him significantly older than his character's high school peers. Schoeffling's other film credits include "Mischief" (1985) and "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" (1991).

"Sixteen Candles" also featured small appearances from several notable actors, including John Cusack, Joan Cusack, and Jami Gertz. John Cusack was born on June 28, 1966, in Evanston, Illinois, and was 17 or 18 years old at the time of filming. Joan Cusack, his sister, was born on October 11, 1962, in New York City, and was 20 or 21 years old. Their specific roles in the film are unknown, but they likely portrayed students close to Hall and Ringwald's age. Jami Gertz, who played a minor role in "Sixteen Candles," was born on October 28, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois. She was 17 years old when the film was shot, aligning with the ages of the main characters.

Explore related products

How To Stop Cursing: A Work Book For Christians - In 7 Simple Steps

$0.99

From The Bullet To The Bible: A Gangsters Tale

$9.95 $19.95

Soul Songs: Sermons in the Key of Life

$28

The Conjuring: Last Rites

$19.99

The Greatest Showman

$3.79

Prime Rose: A Time Slip Of 10,000 Years

$24.79

Hall's career after Sixteen Candles

Anthony Michael Hall was 16 years old when he played Farmer Ted in Sixteen Candles. The film marked Hall's breakout role, making him an overnight star.

Following his success in Sixteen Candles, Hall went on to star in two more teen-oriented films written and directed by John Hughes: The Breakfast Club (1985) and Weird Science (1985). In The Breakfast Club, he played the role of Brian Johnson, "the brain", alongside Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Molly Ringwald. In Weird Science, he portrayed Gary Wallace, a likable misfit. These roles solidified his status as a member of Hollywood's "Brat Pack" and established him as the "'nerd-of-choice'" in the 1980s.

To avoid being typecast, Hall turned down roles in two other Hughes films: Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Pretty in Pink, both released in 1986. Instead, he took on a variety of roles in films such as Out of Bounds (1986), his first thriller and action film, Johnny Be Good (1988), and Edward Scissorhands (1990). He also joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during its 1985-1986 season, becoming the youngest cast member in the show's history at just 17 years old.

In the 1990s, Hall took on multiple minor roles and continued to diversify his career. He starred as "Shorty" Lattimore in the USA Network sitcom Claude's Crib (1997) and played Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in the television film Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999). He also made his directorial debut in the 1994 movie Hail Caesar, in which he also starred.

In the early 2000s, Hall experienced a career resurgence with his first regular series role as Johnny Smith in the USA Network's supernatural drama The Dead Zone (2002-2007). The show was a huge success, breaking records for its premiere ratings on cable television. Hall's performance received strong reviews, with critics noting that he had retained the qualities that made him a star in the 1980s.

Frequently asked questions