Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and television director. Born into a show business family, Cryer made his motion picture debut as a teenaged photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy "No Small Affair"; his breakout role came in 1986, playing "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-written film "Pretty in Pink". In 1998, he wrote and produced the independent film "Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five".
Jon Cryer
Cryer's first professional acting effort was as David in the Broadway play "Torch Song Trilogy", replacing Matthew Broderick, whom he "closely resembled". Cryer was later an understudy and replacement for Broderick in Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" in 1989.
At age 19, Cryer appeared in the 1984 romantic comedy film "No Small Affair", in the lead role as Charles Cummings, after the original production with Matthew Broderick was shut down due to a heart attack by director Martin Ritt. He went on to have small roles in films and television movies, and he made his breakthrough as Phil "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-scripted film "Pretty in Pink". In an interview with the "Daily News", Cryer's mother said that after "Pretty in Pink", she started getting calls from teenage girls from all over the world, who would leave hysterical, giggling messages on her answering machine. In 1989, he got the lead role in the TV comedy series "The Famous Teddy Z". His performance gained poor reviews and the show was canceled after the first season.