Emilio Estevez recalls 'heartbreak moment' losing out on 'Sixteen Candles' part

Emilio Estevez cemented his place in John Hughes lore as high school wrestler Andrew Clark in 1985 cult classic The Breakfast Club, but the 58-year-old actor revealed in a new Vanity Fair interview that the one role he missed out on that has haunted him was for another Hughes movie.

"I auditioned for Sixteen Candles," Estevez said, noting that he went out for the role of Jake Ryan that ultimately went to Michael Schoeffling. He continued:

"I killed the audition. I mean, I thought I wowed John Hughes and wowed the room. They were all laughing. I nailed this. And I was skipping down the hall at Universal Studios when I left and I thought, You know, I’m going to be in this movie. And the casting director ran out and he’s like, 'Hey, listen, man…' 

"It was literally one of those heartbreak moments where he just puts his arm over my shoulder and he’s like, 'Look, Emil, this ain’t going to happen.' I'm like, 'What do you mean? I killed it!' He's like, 'Yeah. It’s just not going to happen.'"

Sixteen Candles was released nine months before The Breakfast Club. It starred Molly Ringwald (who co-starred with Estevez in The Breakfast Club) as Samantha, suffering through a very unfortunate 16th birthday and juggling an intense crush on Jake. Her luck turns around at the end, though, living happily ever after with Jake.