HE was the heart-throb member of the 1980s Brat Pack — but these days he is barely recognisable 36 years on.

       Andrew McCarthy, now 59, shot to fame when he played teenage roles in coming-of-age cult classics Pretty in Pink and St Elmo's Fire.

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       Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy in Pretty in Pink Credit: Paramout 2

       McCarthy has now taken a different direction Credit: Splash

       In the 1980s, McCarthy and the Brat Packers, including Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Demi Moore and Emilio Estevez, were the toast of Tinseltown.

       Notably, aged 23, he played heartthrob Blane McDonough in the 1986 John Hughes classic Pretty In Pink alongside Molly Ringwald.

       When fame hit following the release of the movie, McCarthy recalled to ABC7: "The first thing that happened, candidly, was that I suddenly became very attractive to young women where I hadn't been.”

       McCarthy's memoir, Brat: An '80s Story, was released in May and lifts the lid on his experience of sudden stardom.

       In it, he explains how soon grew more ambivalent about fame, writing how he did not suit public life and Hollywood.

       He was also best known for his roles in St Elmo's Fire, Weekend At Bernie's and Less Than Zero.

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       In later years he became a director and used his experience as an actor to understand what it feels like to be in front of the camera.

       He directed a number of television shows including Orange Is The New Black.

       And while he looks different from his 1980s Brat Pack self, he appears youthful-looking despite his 59 years.

       He has three children — one with his first wife Carol Schneider and two with his second wife Dolores Rice.

       Sam, like his father, is also an actor.

       The 19-year-old has starred in a number of television series including the Netflix hit Dead To Me and Condor.

       Sam's mother is Carol Schneider.