Catching Up with Andrew McCarthy

Back in the 1980s when I was watching Andrew McCarthy in movies, I never thought I would interview him. Fast forward 40 years and I have interviewed him multiple times.

I admit, several years ago I had no idea he became a travel writer. I attended a travel show and there he was, giving a presentation on travel. He was promoting Walking with Sam, a story of his walk in Spain with his son. It was a great lecture and later I saw the book was great, too. It was about his relationship with his son, with travel (a lot of travel) as the backdrop..

I immediately wanted to interview him for Global Traveler. It was a great fit and should get lots of views. To my surprise, his people set it up quickly. Since then, I have seen, chatted with and interviewed him a few times. He is extremely nice and very passionate about travel.

After my last interview with him, he did a book chat close to me. Afterwards, when I chatted with him, the first thing he did was ask how the interview was. How cool of him.

McCarthy is a very talented writer. I have read all of his books and enjoyed each one.

My latest interview with him is at Talking Travel with Andrew McCarthy. While you are there, please subscribe to the Global Traveler YouTube channel, too.

Andrew McCarthy and me in Winnetka, IL-April 2026.

Talking Travel with Andrew McCarthy

Similar to my feelings about interviewing musician Suzi Quatro, when I watched Andrew McCarthy's movies in the 80s, I never thought I would interview him. Like with Suzi, I also interviewed McCarthy on multiple occasions now.

To be honest, I didn't even know he was a travel writer until several years ago. Then I attended a couple of his presentations, met him a couple times and interviewed him. That first interview was one of the main reasons I was given the Talking Travel platform on Global Traveler.

Don't take McCarthy lightly. He is a legit travel journalist and enthusiast. Two of his previous books used travel as the backdrop for other stories. He walked 500 miles with his son in one and traveled to several cities finding himself in the other.

In his new book, "Who Needs Friends," McCarthy once again found travel to be a theme in his book. Initially, the focus was on reconnecting with old friends and exploring male friendships. He intended to return home after the first reunion, but found himself driving to the next after it. Friend after friend, mile after mile, he drove over 10,000 miles on his physical and mental journey. 

Once again, I approached his PR person and landed an interview. Once again, McCarthy gave a very interesting interview, which is at Talking Travel with Andrew McCarthy.

McCarthy's book is available now and I highly recommend it. I read am advance copy, but I picked up a hard copy at his recent presentation. It's a great read and not just for travel content. McCarthy is a very talented writer and this book works on several levels.

Talking Travel With Andrew McCarthy

Last year at the Travel & Leisure Show in Chicago, actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy gave an amazing presentation. Discussing his thoughts on travel with his book The Longest Way Home as a focal point, McCarthy mesmerized the audience, including me.

Through years of writing travel pieces for several publications, McCarthy proved he had passion for travel and the necessary writing chops to be taken seriously. McCarthy successfully added writing to a lengthy resume of acting and directing successes.

Citing travel as a necessity, McCarthy differentiated travel from vacations. He emphasized travel taking us out of comfort zones and conquering fears.

Being familiar with many of his travel articles and thoroughly enjoying McCarthy's talk, I purchased The Longest Way Home. I was so engrossed, I finished it in one weekend. It is a perfect blend of introspection and travel, with each enhancing the other.

When I saw McCarthy wrote Walking With Sam, about a journey with his teenage son, I was immediately intrigued. I reached out to McCarthy for an interview for Global Traveler.

The interview started with McCarthy discussing discovering his love of travel and how it led to a writing career. He talked about being taken seriously as a writer and his writing career progression. He expounded on a few main points from last year's presentation.

Talked turned to his books. While The Longest Way Home was a solo trip and a journey for self-reflection, Walking With Sam is the story of “a father, a son, and five hundred miles across Spain.”

As his eldest son neared adulthood, McCarthy hoped to create a meaningful connection with a trek of 500 miles across Spain's Camino de Santiago. It's the story of father and son traveling across a country and toward each other. The intimate, candid tale has travel as the backdrop.

I find it fascinating McCarthy turned to travel for two of the most important points in his life. The first was a period of self-discovery, while the second was building on his relationship with his son. He chose travel on both occasions.

As you will learn in the interview, McCarthy has unique and intriguing views on travel. Those thoughts are woven throughout his books, too. Through his writing, I learn about McCarthy and spectacular places, as well as a bit about myself.

Before finishing the interview, I asked McCarthy for his travel advice. McCarthy's response was another example of his deep respect and passion for travel. This wasn't a Hollywood star spouting taglines. This was a person speaking from the heart about a subject rooted in his very being.

Walking With Sam is released today. I preordered mine and can't wait to dive into it. McCarthy's book tour starts, too. He said Chicago is on the list and I promised to be there to see him again and talk a bit more travel.

Watch the interview at Talking Travel With Andrew McCarthy. Go to AndrewMcCarthy.com for more info.

Andrew McCarthy Talks Travel

The Travel & Adventure Show series made Chicago its first stop of the year. In its 17th year, with more than 100 previous events, it filled the exhibit hall with travel brands and celebrities, including actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy.

Perhaps better known for his 40 years of acting and directing, McCarthy has an impressive writing résumé, too. He was an editor-at-large for 12 years with National Geographic Traveler magazine. He has written travel pieces for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and several other publications.

Saturday morning’s session with McCarthy started with him explaining how walking the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain changed his view of the world. He began writing little stories about his experiences. After about 10 years, he wrote his first piece for National Geographic Traveler. From there, his passion grew and his writing increased.

For McCarthy, travel is a necessity, not a frivolous thing. He differentiates travel from vacations. Travel should take us out of our comfort zone, while vacations are all about being comfortable.

McCarthy travels to conquer fear. He feels vulnerable as he offers himself to different destinations and people. He sums up his theory as, “Traveling is an act of faith and optimism. Travel obliterates fear.”

In a particularly poignant moment for me, McCarthy played a video of himself walking 42nd Street in New York City. This wasn’t a walk to a particular destination. It was a walk of discovery of the people, places and activities along the route. Just a few months ago, I did that same walk. For me, it was one path from my hotel to the Javits Convention Center. I took different routes each of my four days to do exactly what he did. I used those walks to explore New York. I wanted to experience New York City, and I did just that with each walk.

McCarthy also discussed the benefits of traveling alone. Solo trips force travelers to face and conquer fears. You are more likely to need and ask for help when alone than with others. In groups, even of two, people tend to figure out things on their own. Both type of travels have upsides, and a mix of both is optimal.

His passion was palpable. Immediately when I got home, I ordered The Longest Way Home, his first book. It’s a memoir of self-discovery played out while traveling to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Costa Rica and other fascinating locations. Needing to understand his relationship with his fiancée, McCarthy hit the road for self-discovery.

Andrew McCarthy and me in Rosemont, IL-February 2022.

Andrew McCarthy at Motor City Comic Con

Andrew McCarthy's first role was in Class, in which he had an affair with Jacqueline Bisset.  He has gone on to have a lengthy and successful career, but who really cares?  He got to do love scenes with Jacqueline Bisset!!  It doesn't get much better than being 21 and doing a love scene with Jacqueline Bisset in her prime.

I was 18 when Class came out.  It was a few years after her famous role in The Deep, but Jacqueline was looking great at 39.  McCarthy was 21, just a couple years older than me at the time.

McCarthy was living every man's dream.  He was a young promising actor and he was already in a love scene with Jacqueline Bisset.  He was hated and admired all at once.

At the Motor City Comic Con, I talked to him about that role and about Jacqueline Bisset.  He pretty much confirmed what I already suspected.  While he gave me the usual talk of it being an acting job, he also admitted he did enjoy those scenes with her.  What guy back then wouldn't?

McCarthy was a likable guy at MCCC.  He went out of his way to make sure everyone was happy with their pictures with him.  He talked with fans as much as time would permit, too.

I have to say it was a good experience meeting McCarthy, even if I did want to strangle him and shake his hand all at the same time.  I guess it isn't his fault and at least he didn't rub it in!

Andrew McCarthy and me in Novi, MI-May 2015.