From dweeb in Sixteen Candles to more estimable nerds in The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, Hall had his niche in the John Hughes world (including as Ringwald’s real-life boyfriend for a short while)—so it was weird to see him as the ill-fated bully in Edward Scissorhands. 

First, however, in 1985 Hall became the youngest-ever ensemble member of Saturday Night Live when he joined the cast at 17—the same season RDJ was on, and Hall is godfather to the Oscar winner’s son Indio.

Like RDJ, Hall only stayed on SNL for one season, but acted steadily in small roles in the 1990s before playing Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the much-talked-about 1999 TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley.

Hall is the only member of the Brat Pack who ended up unrecognizable in an all-grown-up way when he resurfaced as Gates, and then starred in the USA supernatural drama The Dead Zone, based on the Stephen King novel, from 2002 until 2007. His film highlights include The Dark Knight, Foxcatcher, Live by Night and War Machine, and he popped up as Principal Featherhead on Riverdale and in recurring roles on The Goldbergs and Bosch: Legacy. 

Next up is the June 2024 Netflix movie Trigger Warning with Jessica Alba.

As for onetime girlfriend Ringwald, Hall told Page Six in February 2020, “She’s wonderful, a great lady. We’ve been friends since and I’ve seen her over the years.”   

Hall married longtime girlfriend Lucia Oskerova in 2020 and they welcomed a son together in June 2023.