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Nostalgia is a master component of many of today ’s cinematic plot line , with movies likeThe Adam Project , The Tomorrow War , orAvengers : Endgameutilizing clip travel to revisit times of yesteryear . The ' 80s are a favorite era to revisit , what with the popular movie flashpoints offered during that American peak , including the extremely bathetic preferent teen motion-picture show adept of those who came of age in that heralded 10 .
It ’s difficult to pare down a proper list of the many young thespian of the meter butRankerfans have come up with a honest pick of their favorites .
Emilio Estevez
Estevez was a movie staple back in the day , starring in a number of harbinger plastic film includingThe Outsiders , St. Elmo ’s Fire , Young Guns , Stakeout , andRepo Man . The son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of Charlie Sheen , Estevez is perhaps most well known for his role as Andy the jock in the revered John Hughes'80s come of long time filmThe Breakfast Club .
He went on to fly the coop his Brat Pack status by starring inThe Mighty Ducksfranchise and now frequently forge behind the camera as a director , manufacturer , screenwriter , and Godhead . consultation fondly remember Estevez for his natural personal appeal and boy - next - door serious looks .
Robert Downey Jr.
Long before RDJ made the most incredible Hollywood return of all prison term by launching the MCU via 2008’sIron Man , he was a teen star of the ' 80s appearing in a wide raiment of picture show of the era , includingTuff Turf , Weird Science , andThe Pick - Up Artist . One of his most admirable roles was in the Brett Easton Ellis adaption ofLess Than Zero , where he invoked his own ' ghost - of - christmas - future ' by act a unseasoned man haunted by substance abuse take , and he also briefly joined the cast ofSaturday Night Livewith fellow Brat Pack member Anthony Michael Hall .
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He run low on to gain an Oscar nomination for his acclaimed portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in 1992’sChaplin . His boyish features and easy - go position in front of the camera has been charming interview for well over thirty years .
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves became an outside icon subsequently on in his career with his flashpoint roles inThe MatrixandJohn Wickfranchises , but he was impressing audiences decades before in his young person with standout performances inYoungblood , River ’s Edge , My Own Private Idaho , Point Break , and of trend hishistorical comedyBill and Ted ’s Excellent Adventure .
Critics were dissever at times as to whether Reeves ' acting power was all that it should have been , but it was absolved he ’d already won the popular vote with audience , who flocked to see his outings no matter what musical style he was exploring , from read-only storage - coms to bleak dramas to natural action blockbuster .
Rob Lowe
Lowe was considered one of the prettiest boys of the honorary Brat Pack , often underrated for his formidable act chops due to his chiseled good looks . He starred in a number of laud ' LXXX offerings admit his breakthrough role of Sodapop in Francis Ford Coppola’sThe Outsiders , alongside fellow teen idol Andrew McCarthy inClassand Jodie Foster inThe Hotel New Hampshire , Youngblood , St. Elmo ’s Fire , and the underrated ' 80s gemAbout Last Nightwith Demi Moore .
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While Lowe became more infamous later on in life due to a sex tape debacle , nanny lawsuit , and overcoming substance abuse , he found late career opportunities inWayne ’s World , Tommy Boy , Austin Powers , and911 Lone Star , showcasing a subtle and steely intensity throughout every role .
Christian Slater
Slater is often overlooked as an ' 80s teen paragon , but he was there in blaze technicolor glory all the same . With germinal operation in grownup offer likeThe Legend of Billie JeanandThe Name of the Rose , his most notorious eighties breakout was in the cult hitHeatherswith Winona Ryder .
He went on to represent another troubled youth inPump Up the Volumeand in the former ' 90s became a legitimate star with his starring turns as Lucky Luciano inMobsters , a earmark Quentin Tarantino - indite crime caperTrue Romance , Interview with the Vampire , andBroken Arrow . woodlouse managed to escape the Brat Pack curse and forge his own singular path through Hollywood , now acclaimed for his role inMr . Robot .
Anthony Michael Hall
Geek banner bearers the existence over would be intemperately - iron to recover a better captain than the ' LXXX ' reigning nerd king in Anthony Michael Hall . His stint across several hallmarks of 1880s glory are globally fear with his illustrious turns inNational Lampoon ’s holiday , Sixteen Candles , Weird Science , andThe Breakfast Club .
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fear typecast inductive reasoning , he actually turn down important roles inFerris Bueller ’s Day OffandPretty in Pink . Other attempts at snap off out of his go - to character fell short until later roles in Tim Burton’sEdward Scissorhands ( play unquestionably against type ) and Will Smith’sSix Degrees of Separation . Hall ’s innocent appealingness and understated acting prowess cemented his place in ' eighty nostalgia for posterity .
River Phoenix
Perhaps the most tragic good example of ' 80 adolescent renown locomote awry , River Phoenix ’s early demise appall the humans , as his adept was glint lustrous at the time of his death . Most splendidly feature in uptight ' 80s do likeStand By Me , My Own Private Idaho , Sneakers , andDogfight , as well as more mainstream roles like youthful Indy inIndiana Jones and The Last Crusade , Phoenix exhibited an strength and allegiance to his craft unparalleled by many of his coeval .
Phoenix ’s work gain a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for his work inRunning On Empty . His overdose in 1993 outside the Viper Room in Los Angeles was a pitiful coda to what certainly would ’ve been a hopeful career .
Molly Ringwald
Few young female idols reached the elevation of Ringwald ’s celebrity . She was largely known as the most globally renowned teen of her time , even being sport on the cover ofTimemagazine . Ringwald starred in several ' 80s clowning collapsible shelter poles likeSixteen CandlesandPretty in Pink .
It was her role as Claire inThe Breakfast Clubwhich brought Ringwald the most notoriety , emulating what was often perceived as a near - unadulterated rendition of high school popularity and the pit and promises of American classism in the 1980s . Ringwald brought a sense of pathos and exposure to her portrait of unpopular and most democratic young lady on both ends of the societal strata spectrum .
Johnny Depp
Most people in the modern epoch think of Johnny Depp in his more adult function since the turn of events of the century , such as his function as thelikable Captain Jack Sparrow inThe Pirates of the Caribbeanfranchise or in his multiple projects with managing director Tim Burton . Yet Depp was hero-worship by adore teens decades before that , mostly through his breakout role as Tom Hanson in the tv set series21 Jump Street .
Depp bestow a peculiar intensity to all his theatrical role , commit to the handwriting wholeheartedly while also adding his own steel of unequaled mannerisms to furnish unforgettably oddball character .
Michael J. Fox
To use a proper ' 80 accolade , it ’s totally awesome to see Michael J. Fox top the crop in this Ranker poll . Sometimes folk in the current era forget how massively charismatic and democratic Fox was back in the ' 80s . He first came to the world ’s tending through his outstanding work as Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcomFamily Ties , where he portrayed a immature man enthralled in Reaganomics and light conservatism much to the mortification of his demode - hippie parents .
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