Emilio Estevez Biography

Emilio Estevez was born on May 12, 1962 in New York City. He lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side until his family relocated to Malibu in 1968. Before graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1980, Estevez had already acted as his famous father's stand-in on the set of Apocalypse Now (1979), and also had a small role as a messenger boy that was ultimately cut from the film. Originally cast as Bender, 'The Criminal' in the seminal John Hughes flick The Breakfast Club (1985), Estevez took the part of Andrew, 'The Athlete' instead after Hughes could find no one else to fill the role. Another ensemble film, St. Elmo's Fire (1985) came next, then Estevez made his screen-writing debut with That Was Then... This Is Now (1985). The ambitious young actor added directing to his palette with Wisdom (1986) in 1986, but the film struck out at the box office. Estevez quickly rebounded with hits like Stakeout (1987) and Young Guns (1988), as well as their subsequent sequels. He tried his hand at directing again with Men at Work (1990). Though smiled on by critics, The War at Home (1996) received a paltry distribution by Disney and thus went largely unseen. A devastated Estevez considered quitting the business but has ultimately continued to work in films, including a fourth effort as director and star, Rated X (2000), which co-starred brother Charlie Sheen and was a selection at the Sundance Film Festival.