‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Star Alan Ruck Reflects on ’80s Classic Almost 35 Years Later (Exclusive)

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is almost 35 years old, but the John Hughes classic has lost none of its staying power. Sure, Matthew Broderick got to have all the fun as Ferris, but Alan Ruck was by his titular friend’s side the entire time as Cameron Frye, with Mia Sara as Ferris’ girlfriend Sloane tossed in for good measure. In a new interview with PopCulture.com, Ruck reflected on the film’s lasting impact on pop culture.

Ruck stars in a new campaign for LiftMaster, a smart garage system with a camera, allowing owners to keep an eye on their precious cars at all times, even when they are not at home. A camera like that would have made it difficult for Ferris and Cameron to make off with Cameron’s father’s car. “It has an integrated video camera and two-way communication. So I mean the whole point of the commercial that we made was that that won’t fly today,” Ruck said. “Ferris and Cameron wouldn’t be able to rip the car off because [his father would] be able to eyeball the whole thing on his smartphone using the myQ app. So it’s just those days are over and we should remember them fondly. But there will be no more stealing of sports cars from daddy’s garages.”

The fact that Ferris Bueller could still be referenced at all in an advertisement 34 years after it hit theaters in 1986 proves just how beloved it remains. Ruck quoted Ben Stein, the economist who played Ferris’ teacher, who once said Ferris Bueller does not have a “mean bone in its body.” Ruck agreed. “It’s a movie about friendship and… the last days of teenage freedom,” Ruck said. “I think lots of people wish they could be like Ferris, but the truth is more people are like Cameron. So it rings true for everybody on a couple of different levels. That’s what keeps it cooking. That’s what keeps it alive I think after all this time.”

Today, Ruck is busy working on the new season of HBO’s Succession, 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series winner. A successful and critically acclaimed career has not kept him from looking back on Ferris Bueller, though. In June, Ruck joined Broderick, Jennifer Grey, Stein, Lyman Ward, and Cindy Pickett for a virtual reunion hosted by Josh Gad.

Ruck stars as Connor Roy on Succession, a very different character from Cameron. Although Connor might be much older than Cameron, he does not act like it. “Hopefully Cameron resolved his daddy issues later that day at the age of 18, whereas Connor Roy is in his fifties and he’s still struggling with needing validation from his pops,” Ruck said. “So it’s a sad case of arrested development. Connor has not moved on probably from when he was about eight years old.”