Anthony Michael Hall Says Faith, Family Helped Him Navigate Child Stardom

Published: June 25, 2024

Anthony Michael Hall Says Faith, Family Helped Him Navigate Child Stardom

By Movieguide® Contributor

Former child star Anthony Michael Hall credits his family and his faith for keeping him grounded.

“You turned out normal,” Joy Behar said to Hall during an episode of THE VIEW. “A lot of those child actors are all nuts.”

Hall replied that his “tough Irish-Italian Catholic mom” kept him “real.”

“Thank God I had that foundation of my faith and my family,” he continued. “Just kept pressing on.”

Hall rose to fame as a teenager, with roles in classic movies like SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB and NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION.

“Fame was off-putting and kind of scary,” he told the Independent in 2021. “It’s not unlike a horror movie. When celebrity hits you, all of a sudden people are staring at you and looking at you in odd ways. Even though I was just a pubescent teenager, suddenly I was thrown into this world of show business. You don’t know what people are thinking, people are whispering about you, and it’s a strange thing to have to adjust to.”

Hall has previously spoken about how his faith helped him navigate this time.

“I think the rock has obviously been the faith and what was instilled in me as a kid, and having the foundation of a good family,” he said in an interview with Busted Halo. “My mother had a great deal to do with it — making sure my butt was in church every week. And I think that is the foundation.”

Movieguide® previously reported on the birth of Hall’s first child:

Anthony Michael Hall is a dad!

The actor and wife Lucia Hall welcomed their first child, a son named Michael Anthony Hall II, on June 1.

“It’s great. We’re excited. That first month of parenting is pretty wild,” Hall told People of his first month of fatherhood. “Everything that everybody tells you is pretty true: you lose sleep and it’s the craziest time, but it’s the best time. So we’re really enjoying it.”

The couple announced the pregnancy earlier this year on Instagram.

“My wife Lucia and I are so blessed, happy and proud to announce on this Valentine’s Day, that we are expecting our first child this summer,” Hall wrote. “Thank You Heavenly Father!”