Andrew McCarthy, the actor whose face became synonymous with the 1980s Brat Pack, is stepping into a new role: that of an author exploring the complexities of male friendship. On March 24, 2026, McCarthy sat down to discuss his latest book, Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America, a deeply personal journey inspired by a piercing question from his own son. The conversation, both candid and vulnerable, has sparked a broader discussion about the state of male friendships in modern America—a topic that, as McCarthy’s odyssey reveals, is far more complicated than it might first appear.
The book’s origins are as relatable as they are poignant. A few years ago, McCarthy found himself chatting with his then 20-year-old son, Sam, about the ups and downs of a friend’s love life. Out of the blue, Sam asked, “You don’t really have any friends, do you, Dad?” The remark stung. “I kind of felt exposed in a certain way,” McCarthy told The Post. “Kids will just say what they perceive to be the truth, and attention must be paid, you know?”
That moment led McCarthy to reflect on his own friendships—or, more accurately, the lack thereof. He realized he hadn’t modeled close relationships for his son and that, somewhere between the demands of work and family, many of his old friendships had quietly faded away. Determined to change that, he reached out to a friend near Baltimore he hadn’t seen in years, rented a car, and set out to reconnect. What he found was sobering: his once-outgoing friend was now isolated by chronic back pain, surrounded by unopened Amazon packages. “If I had been doing my friendly duty, I would have known and he would have felt he could open up to me,” McCarthy admitted.
This visit was just the beginning. McCarthy’s quest soon became a 10,000-mile, 22-state road trip, chronicled in Who Needs Friends. Along the way, he met with old pals and struck up conversations with strangers, all in an effort to understand the elusive nature of male friendship. The journey, which he describes as both enlightening and humbling, forms the backbone of his new book, released on March 24, 2026.
“It’s the story of connection and an active look at the value of friendship and the place it has in our lives—set along 10,000 miles of American backroads. Hopefully you’ll pick up the phone and call that friend, or better yet, go see them!” McCarthy told Page Six, emphasizing the book’s central message.
One of the most striking aspects of McCarthy’s exploration is his willingness to address the differences between how men and women form and maintain friendships. “Women know the value of friendship, I think, more than men do,” he reflected in his interview with The Post. “We’re afraid of the easy intimacy that women are sort of willing to go to right away… the vulnerability, which is required to be a friend, can be equated with weakness—and the one thing a man can’t be is weak.”
McCarthy traces this cultural shift back through American history. “In the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed, these men were really intimate. You look at old letters between men, and they were very affectionate and loving and effusive,” he explained. “And then somehow, by the time John Wayne and the Second World War happened, being an American man had become, ‘You carry your own water, you pull your hat down, you don’t talk about it. You’re stoic and, you know, suck it up.’”
During his travels, McCarthy was struck by the genuine intimacy he witnessed in unexpected places. He recalled meeting two elderly police officers in Ohio at a roadside fast-food joint. “The level of unapologetic intimacy that they had with each other was almost alien to me, and so touching and generous… They said, ‘You know, we started telling each other, “I love you.” Like I tell my wife and my kids, I love them. Why can’t I tell my best bud of 60 years [that] I love them? It’s not a sexual thing.’ It was just that kind of tenderness and openness and willing to acknowledge how important their friends are.”
McCarthy’s reflections aren’t just theoretical; they’re shaped by his own experiences in Hollywood and beyond. While he’s been friendly with many of his co-stars over the years—think Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, and the cult classic Weekend at Bernie’s—he admits that most of his closest friendships exist outside the entertainment industry. “Anyone who is working on a job, you have a work relationship and you develop a friendship, and most of them don’t, you know, don’t continue on after that,” he told The Post.
Still, McCarthy’s career has left its mark on his personal life—and vice versa. In his new book, he reveals that the character Larry Wilson from Weekend at Bernie’s was inspired by a real-life friend named Eddie, his high school English teacher. “I admired him hugely, but mostly from a distance,” McCarthy writes in Who Needs Friends. Eddie’s distinctive style—retro suits, skinny ties, and a motorcycle—left such an impression that McCarthy later adopted it for his roles in both St. Elmo’s Fire and Weekend at Bernie’s. “I would later adopt this look for my role in the movie St. Elmo’s Fire and base my portrayal of my character in Weekend at Bernie’s on Eddie—if Eddie had been a complete idiot,” McCarthy quips in the book.
Beyond acting, McCarthy has become a prolific author and director, with credits on TV shows like Orange is the New Black and Gossip Girl. His memoir, Brat, was released in 2021, followed by Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain in 2023. Now, with Who Needs Friends, he’s turning his attention to the emotional landscape of adulthood—a subject that resonates with readers across generations.
In addition to sharing his journey, McCarthy recently revealed his six favorite books, ranging from Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled detective classic Red Harvest to Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. He alternates between reading physical novels and listening to nonfiction audiobooks, explaining to Page Six that novels let him “paint pictures in my head,” while audiobooks help him process information.
McCarthy’s hope is that his book will inspire others to reconnect with friends—before it’s too late. “If you’re not going to show up on the page, how can you ask someone else to show up for you?” he muses. The vulnerability required to write Who Needs Friends mirrors the vulnerability needed to sustain meaningful friendships, a truth McCarthy is no longer willing to ignore. For anyone who’s ever wondered why old friendships fade, or how to rekindle them, McCarthy’s journey offers both an answer and an invitation.
As McCarthy’s story proves, sometimes the hardest questions—especially those from our own children—are the ones that lead to the most rewarding journeys.