Actors of the eighties

What can you say about actors?

They act.

Is it them or the roles they play that reflect the times?

Probably both.

The actors that were distinctly eighties tended to be young, reflecting the trend in the entertainment industry to show youth culture.

Not a lot of movies in the Reagan era about politics. Not like the Clinton years.

A good reference point for actors in the eighties is the "brat pack" of young, popular actors that mostly starred in teen angst films.

To put this into a little perspective, however, the eighties also spawned a large number of television shows starring obnoxiously cute little kids.

Ricky Schroeder is a good example. He starred in "Silver Spoons", a show that I haven't even seen a re-run of in about ten years. Thank God. Other shows included the infamous "Punky Brewster" or "Webster".

On a lighter note, we must include homage to the star of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off,"

Matthew Broderick.

Besides starring in true eighties films, he actually has talent and tends to work on Broadway or in film such as the screen version of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold and the Boys" (excellent)

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