10 Potential Castings We're SO Glad Didn't Happen
4. John Cusack As John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
Judd Nelson’s career has been defined by his role as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role. John Cusack has gone on to have a much longer and stronger career, but the movie just wouldn’t be the same without Nelson.
Cusack has a charm and wit which probably would’ve made Bender seem more like a cool rebel than the nasty burnout Nelson plays. It’s doubtful Cusack would have been able to sell the beaten down outcast angle as well as Nelson; a key part of John Bender’s character.
A movie like The Breakfast Club lives and dies by its character dynamics. Taking any of the main five out (arguably seven, with Vernon and Carl) has a huge ripple through the movie.
You have to say though that Molly Ringwald might have preferred John Cusack’s company on set. Despite Judd Nelson not being known as a method actor, he took it upon himself to stay in character and bully her mercilessly on set.
After she and other crew members complained about his behaviour, director John Hughes had to keep them away from each other unless absolutely necessary.