Anthony Michael Hall started his career as a child artist, appearing on stage and commercials. He went on to star in many teen-oriented films in the 1980s that included the popular comedy film ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’ (1983) and coming of age movie ‘Sixteen Candles’ (1984). He was doing well during his early career and had a hit film like ‘The Breakfast Club’ (1985), but his first failure came in the comedy film ‘Jonny Be Good’ (1988), in which he appeared as Jonny Walker. He later regained popularity with his role as 'Bill Gates' in the movie ‘Pirates of Silicon Valley’ (1999) and 'Engel' in ‘The Dark Knight.’  Â
In order to avoid getting typecast as a geek, he joined the cast of the variety show ‘Saturday Night Live’ (1985 – 1986). He then appeared as Hanson Riker in the police drama series ‘NYPD Blue’ (1995). He made his first regular series appearance in the supernatural drama series ‘The Dead Zone’ (2002 – 2007).Â
He received positive reviews for his performance in ‘Psych’ (2013) and ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L. D.’ (2019).