had become an actor, director, journalist, travel writer, author, and filmmaker.
McCarthy returned more explicitly to the 1980s with his 2021 memoir Brat: An ’80s Story. The book examines the period when success came suddenly and he found himself surrounded by celebrities, parties, hotels, and opportunities he had never anticipated. It also addresses his drinking, insecurity, relationships, and complicated feelings about the “Brat Pack” label. Rather than presenting the decade purely through affectionate nostalgia, McCarthy examined how uncomfortable he had often been while living through it. That perspective makes his
