Matthew Broderick
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Broderick was the original choice to play Alex Keaton on the TV series "Family Ties," but bowed out because he did not want to leave New York where his father, actor James Broderick, was dying of cancer. Michael J. Fox was cast in the part instead.
"I think one nice thing about it is ... it sounds unromantic, and I don't mean it to ... it defines things, because you make a contract, a commitment, which is nice. But I can't say I feel differently because I'm married."---Broderick on getting married to E! Online
Biography
Stage and screen actor Matthew Broderick was already a Tony Award-winning Broadway actor when film audiences fell in love with his 1986 performance as a highly evolved high school truant in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Apart from his onscreen successes, Broderick was one of the most respected musical and comedy stage actors of his generation, with highly acclaimed starring roles in "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "The Producers." On the big screen, he enjoyed occasional success with broad comedies like "The Cable Guy" (1996) and "Bee Movie" (2007) - as well as his first big hit, the nuclear thriller "Wargames" (1983) - but Hollywood often failed to find a solid place for the mild mannered, bookish-looking New Yorker and he was usually more memorable in independent, character-based films like "Election" (1999) and "You Can Count on Me" (2000). Unlike many teen stars of his generation, Broderick aged gracefully into a mature character actor, starring opposite Nathan Lane in the film adaptation of the musical version of Mel Brooks' "The Producers" (2005), playing a sly cameo as himself in Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck" (2015) and co-starring in the dysfunctional family drama "Manchester by the Sea" (2016) as well as Warren Beatty's Golden Age of Hollywood tale "Rules Don't Apply" (2016). He also maintained a stable Hollywood marriage, wedding Sarah Jessica Parker in 1997 and having twin daughters in 2009.
The son of stage and screen actor James Broderick and playwright and artist Patricia Broderick, Matthew Broderick was born in New York City, NY on March 21, 1962. He grew up downtown in Greenwich Village where he attended liberal, arts-oriented private schools and hung out with his father backstage at theaters and movie sets. Broderick loved the atmosphere of the theater from an early age, but the shy kid could not imagine mustering up the nerve to perform, so he thought one day he might have a career as a set designer or a stage manager. But during his teen years at the Walden School, he still ached to be an actor; enough that that desire eventually overcame his fright. Jumping into his new passion, he took a starring role in a school production written by Kenneth Lonergan, the future Oscar-nominated screenwriter, but at that time, his 15-year-old best friend. Broderick's father believed in his son's talent, and starred opposite him in Horton Foote's "On Valentine's Day" Off-Broadway. The teen graduated from high school and began taking acting classes with famed coach Uta Hagen, and in a very short period of time, was making a name for himself on the New York theater scene.
In 1981, Broderick won acclaim for his portrayal of David, the adopted gay son of drag queen Arnold Beckoff (Harvey Fierstein) in the Off-Broadway production of "Torch Song Trilogy." Sadly, after only a few early preview performances in his first big show, Broderick's father and acting inspiration died from cancer. The devastated son soldiered on and a glowing review of his performance in The New York Times brought him wider attention and a starring role on Broadway in Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical "Brighton Beach Memoirs." For over a year, Broderick portrayed Eugene Jerome - a Brooklyn teenager and aspiring author - in this Depression-era coming of age tale, winning a Tony Award and Theater World Award for his endearing performance.
Not surprisingly, Hollywood came calling. Broderick was flown to L.A. to film his first feature, "Max Dugan Returns" (1982). His follow-up, however, the timely Cold War thriller "War Games" (1983), proved to be a huge summer smash that earned Broderick a following for his portrayal of a teen computer hacker who breaks into a military computer system and unwittingly begins a dangerous face-off between U.S. and Russian nuclear defense systems.
Following his first big screen success, Broderick returned to Broadway where he reprised the role of Eugene Jerome in "Biloxi Blues," which found Neil Simon's character joining the Army during World War II. He was tapped to reprise his first stage role in the 1986 film version of "On Valentine's Day" (broadcast on PBS as "Story of a Marriage, Part 2") and also appeared Off-Broadway in "The Widow Claire." In one of the most memorable roles of his film career, the 23-year-old actor went on to charm audiences as a resourceful high school student who orchestrates a highly complex day of hooky in John Hughes comedy classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). Audiences loved the baby-faced actor as the clever school rebel they all wished they could be, but despite the impact of the film, Broderick rarely returned again to that type of "cool" character.
In the midst of all his newfound fame, Broderick's happiness was shattered after a painful incident occurred which changed his life overnight. In August 1987, the actor and his fiancée, actress Jennifer Grey - who had played his sister in Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- were vacationing in Northern Ireland when Broderick caused a fatal collision that killed 63-year-old Margaret Doherty and her 30-year-old daughter, Anna Gallagher. Broderick was driving a rented BMW when he swerved into oncoming-traffic lane. Anna Gallagher, who was driving the other car, and her mother, were killed instantly. Broderick suffered a broken leg, concussion and collapsed lung. Jennifer Grey escaped with minor injuries. Initially charged with reckless driving, Broderick later plead guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving and was fined the equivalent of $175 in U.S. dollars. Not surprisingly, the victims' family considered the light sentence a miscarriage of justice.
In 1988, Broderick appeared opposite Harvey Fierstein in the film version of "Torch Song Trilogy" (1988), this time not as his character's son, but as his lover. The same year he helped make a Mike Nichols screen adaptation of "Biloxi Blues" a hit, finally bringing Simon's beloved stage character to film audiences. From that light comedy, he delivered a dramatic performance as the young commander of the first Black Union regiment in acclaimed Civil War drama "Glory" (1989).
With his clean-cut looks and bookish demeanor, Broderick was well-cast to play the unwitting son of a crime family in Sidney Lumet's drama "Family Business" (1989), but despite a dream cast including Dustin Hoffman and Sean Connery, it proved to be a critical and commercial miss. Broderick fared slightly better as a naïve Vermont transplant to New York University in "The Freshman" (1990), which also starred Marlon Brando as a con man who disrupts the hapless student's life. Sporting a beard, the baby-faced actor joined an ensemble of bright young talents for the romantic comedy "The Night We Never Met" (1993), but went on to score huge success as the voice of the adult Simba in Disney's animated blockbuster "The Lion King" (1994). The period drama "The Road to Wellville" (1994) failed to score with audiences or critics, but Broderick was redeemed by his association with another vintage offering based on the career of writer Dorothy Parker, "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994), which was nominated for the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
After too many years away from the medium he loved, Broderick returned to the stage in the acclaimed 1995 Broadway revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." In the original production, Robert Morse interpreted what would become his signature role as an outwardly simple soul who lucks into good fortune. In contrast, Broderick made his character a bit more knowing and openly ambitious, and that characterization - combined with his vocal mettle - earned the actor a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Broderick took a leave from the show to film "The Cable Guy" (1996), where he played a hapless customer whose life becomes a nightmare after he becomes the object of obsession of Jim Carrey's title character in Ben Stiller's black comedy. When he returned to "How to Succeed" in early 1996, he was teamed with his future wife Sarah Jessica Parker in the female lead. Switching gears, Broderick made his film directing debut in "Infinity" (1996) a biopic of Nobel laureate Richard Feynman (whom he also played) in a script authored by Broderick's mother. The following year Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker were married in a small ceremony in New York.
In a rare big budget actioner, Broderick was tapped to play a scientist in 1998's "Godzilla." That same year, he rejoined the cast of an earlier blockbuster hit in the direct-to-video sequel "The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride" (1998). He finished out a run of high profile, big budget offerings with a starring role in the family film "Inspector Gadget" (1999), where he played the tool-laden detective from the classic animated series to the tune of over $100 million dollars at the box office. But for Broderick fans, the actor was at his big screen best in the indie comedy "Election" (1999), where he played a high school teacher in a mid-life lull who is intent on stopping a perky, overachieving honor student (Reese Witherspoon) before she takes over as class president and goes on to enjoy a level of success that he was never able to attain. He again mined the depths of the middle-class, middle-American man trapped by his middle-of-the-road life choices in "You Can Count on Me" (2000), childhood pal Kenneth Lonergan's Oscar-nominated study of small town siblings on wildly different paths. On the New York stage, he appeared in the National Actors Theatre revival of "Night Must Fall" in 1999 and in Elaine May's comic "Taller than a Dwarf" in 2000.
In 2001, Broderick was back on Broadway in a Tony-nominated turn as Leo Bloom, Nathan Lane's sidekick in the 2001 musical adaptation of Mel Brooks' "The Producers" (1968). The production was a sensation and Broderick and Lane's electric pairing was credited with a widespread renewed interest in Broadway musicals. Broderick took a break from the show to shoot an ABC television version of the perennial favorite "The Music Man" (2003) and a Frank Oz-helmed remake of the cult classic "The Stepford Wives" (2004). This satirical-minded take of Stepford cast the actor alongside Nicole Kidman as an upwardly mobile couple whose lives are suddenly overwhelmed by their all-too-perfect community. He returned to Broadway to complete his run of "The Producers" and reprised his voice role in the direct-to-video sequel "The Lion King 1/2" (2004). After a 10-week engagement off-Broadway in Larry Shue's comedy "Foreigner," Broderick re-teamed with Nathan Lane for a big screen adaptation of "The Producers" (2005). The film was a moderate hit at the box office though critics were split, as well as confused about whether to judge it based on the original film or the recent Broadway production.
Lane and Broderick were back on stage the next year, reigniting Broadway in a revival of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" where Broderick essayed the role of fussy Felix Unger. In 2006, Broderick co-starred opposite Danny DeVito as warring neighbors in the Christmas comedy "Deck the Halls" (2006) and the following year he voiced the sidekick of Jerry Seinfeld's lead in his animated "Bee Movie" (2007), a box office success despite backlash over its aggressive marketing. Broderick again played midlife crisis with aplomb in Helen Hunt's directorial debut "Then She Found Me" (2008) and went on to enjoy a heavy year of film releases including Peter Tolan's comedy "Finding Amanda," where he played a floundering TV producer who sets off to rescue his niece (Brittany Snow) from a life of sin in Las Vegas, as well as "Diminished Capacity" and Kenneth Lonergan's drama "Margaret." Supporting roles in the action comedy "Tower Heist" (2011) and Garry Marshall's "New Year's Eve" (2011) marked Broderick's last film work for several years, while he starred in the throwback musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It" during the 2012-13 Broadway season, Terrence McNally's theater-world satire "It's Only a Play" during 2014-15 and A.R. Guerney's surreal comedy "Sylvia" during 2015-16. Broderick returned to the screen in Neil LaBute's "Dirty Weekend" (2015), followed by a wry cameo in Amy Schumer's romantic comedy "Trainwreck" (2015) and another collaboration with Lonergan on dysfunctional family drama "Manchester by the Sea" (2016). Broderick next appeared in indie drama "The American Side" (2016) and in a supporting role in Earren Beatty's critical and commercial disappointment "Rules Don't Apply" (2016). After appearing off-Broadway in a revival of Conor MacPherson's "Shining City" in 2016, Broderick played the adult narrator of the television musical "A Christmas Story: Live!" (Fox 2017).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Music (Special)
Life Events
1980
Made acting debut as Brother Vaughn in Horton Foote's play "Valentine's Day"; also starred his father James
1981
Played lead role in the off-Broadway production of Harvey Fierstein's "Torch Song Trilogy"
1982
Made film-acting debut in "Max Dugan Returns"
1982
Made TV acting debut on an episode of "Lou Grant" (CBS)
1983
Had leading role in the summer hit "WarGames"
1983
Made Broadway debut as Eugene Jerome in Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical play "Brighton Beach Memoirs"
1984
Reprised role of Eugene Jerome in Simon's "Biloxi Blues" on Broadway
1985
Appeared in the Showtime production of Athol Fugard's "'Master Harold'... and the Boys"
1986
Appeared in the off-Broadway production of Horton Foote's "The Widow Claire"
1986
Reprised his stage role of Brother Vaughn in the film "On Valentine's Day"
1986
Gave his breakthrough film performance in title role of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
1988
Recreated stage role of Eugene Jerome in Mike Nichols film adaption of "Biloxi Blues"
1989
Delivered a fine turn as Robert Gould Shaw, the white commander of a black infantry during the Civil War in "Glory"
1990
Offered a comic turn opposite Marlon Brando in "The Freshman"
1993
Made rare TV acting appearance opposite Jack Lemmon in the TNT movie "A Life in the Theatre"
1994
Voiced the adult Simba in Disney's animated blockbuster "The Lion King"; also sang
1995
Returned to Broadway to star in the revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"; wife Sarah Jessica Parker co-starred in the final months of the show's run
1996
Starred opposite Jim Carrey in dark comedy "The Cable Guy"
1996
Co-produced (also directed and co-starred) the biopic "Infinty"; film scripted by his mother Patricia Broderick
1998
Played a scientist tracking the monster in the blockbuster "Godzilla"
1999
Starred in the National Actors Theater Broadway revival of "Night Must Fall"
1999
Offered a winning performance as a teacher out to thwart an overachieving female student in in Alexander Payne's "Election"
1999
Had title role in the live-action adaptation of "Inspector Gadget"
2000
Acted opposite Parker Posey in the ill-fated Broadway comedy "Taller Than a Dwarf"
2000
Played a bank manager in the Sundance hit "You Can Count on Me," directed by Kenneth Lonergan
2001
With Nathan Lane, co-starred in the Mel Brooks' stage version of "The Producers"; received a Tony nomination
2003
Portrayed Professor Harold Hill in the ABC television remake of the "Music Man"
2004
Starred as a movie director in "The Last Shot" with Alec Baldwin, Toni Collette and Tony Shalhoub
2004
Co-starred with Nicole Kidman in the Frank Oz remake of the 1975 cult classic "The Stepford Wives"
2005
Re-united with Nathan Lane to play Oscar and Felix in the Broadway revival of "The Odd Couple" directed by Joe Mantello
2005
Reprised his role as Leo Bloom opposite Nathan Lane in the feature adaptation of "The Producers"
2006
Played an astronomy teacher in the Broadway play "The Starry Messenger"; second collaboration with director Kenneth Lonergan
2006
Co-starred with Danny DeVito in the holiday comedy "Deck the Halls"
2006
In January, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
2007
Was featured in Helen Hunt's directorial debut "Then She Found Me"
2008
Voiced the animated title character in "The Tale of Despereaux"
2009
Co-starred with Catalina Sandino Moreno in The New Group's off-Broadway premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's "The Starry Messenger"
2010
Guest starred as himself on "Louie" (FX)
2011
Teamed with Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in the ensemble comedy "Tower Heist"
2016
Had a supporting role in Kenneth Lonnergan's "Manchester by the Sea"
2018
Starred as former Homeland Security chief Michael D. Brown on "American Crime Story"
Videos
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Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Broderick was the original choice to play Alex Keaton on the TV series "Family Ties," but bowed out because he did not want to leave New York where his father, actor James Broderick, was dying of cancer. Michael J. Fox was cast in the part instead.
"I think one nice thing about it is ... it sounds unromantic, and I don't mean it to ... it defines things, because you make a contract, a commitment, which is nice. But I can't say I feel differently because I'm married."---Broderick on getting married to E! Online
"When I used to audition, when you got a part, generally that meant the director liked what you were bringing. When you're a little more successful, you find yourself having lunch or dinner and then picking a costume with the director and then coming on a set and starting."---Broderick to Interview April 2000
"I think I liked him because he reminded me of the things that my mom talked about, about men when she used to read "The New Yorker." He was really smart and he's from this really wonderful family and he was raised in the west village in New York and he's the funniest person I've ever known, continues to be the funniest person I've ever known. And you know, he's got this really beautiful face and I just -- and we didn't date for quite a while. We didn't date for another few months, but I liked him immediately. He reminded me of memories I didn't have.---Sarah Jessica Parker on her husband to Larry king CNN February 25, 2004
