BIOGRAPHY
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"When I was like five, we had library cards in my school and I remember I wrote 'actor' under the space for profession."
Matthew Broderick
BIOGRAPHY
On March 21st 1962, Matthew Broderick was born in New York City's Greenwich Village to actor James Broderick and screenwriter/painter Patricia Broderick. While he had two loving parents, he had an especially close relationship with his father. When Matthew was a child, he and his father often spent time in the theatre. Matthew’s interest in acting began from this early exposure to the theatre. Whenever Matthew would prepare for an audition, his father would coach him beforehand. By the time he was a teenager, he decided to pursue this interest by attending Walden School. While in school, he performed his first acting role as a Wall in A Midsummer Night's Dream. When he was 17, he got his stage debut Horton Foote's On Valentine's Day in which his father also had a part.
After graduating from high school, Matthew immediately began his acting career. Matthew finally landed his first professional acting job when he appeared in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy as Fierstein's adopted son. It was after the success of Torch Song Trilogy that Neil Simon recognized Matthew's talent and offered him a part in the play Brighton Beach Memoirs (1982-83) and in the film Max Dugan Returns (1983). Sadly, just before the opening night of Brighton Beach,on November 1, 1982, James Broderick past away. Matthew was left to prepare for his role of Eugene Morris Jerome alone. Despite this tragedy, Matthew was able to perform well enough to earn him a Tony for Brighton Beach Memoirs. Then, he got his first leading role in the film War Games (1983), which was a screen success. Other works such as Ladyhawke, and Master Harold and the Boys (TV adaptation of the Fugard play) followed. In 1985, Matthew reprised the role of Eugene Morris Jerome in Neil Simon's Broadway production of Biloxi Blues. At this point, Matthew was a well-known stage actor. Regardless, he was not a widely recognizable name outside of theatre until the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. John Hughes gave Matthew his breakout role as Ferris Bueller, the loveable teenage trickster who makes an art out of skipping school. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Matthew worked with former co-star of Broadway’s Biloxi Blues, Allan Ruck. This part got Matthew a Golden Globe nomination and he is forever known for the role of Ferris Bueller.
In 1987 he starred opposite Helen Hunt in Project X and in 1988 was in the movie version of Torch Song Trilogy. In this version, Matthew played Alan, Fierstein’s lover, and this role is his most daring to date. Matthew also starred in another movie version of the play Biloxi Blues opposite Christopher Walken and in 1989 he acted beside Dustin Hoffman and Sean Connery in Family Business. Later that year he stared in the critically acclaimed Glory with Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. He continued his work with award winning actors when he starred in The Freshman with Marlon Brando. After this, he appeared in other lesser known films such as Out on a Limb, The Night we Never Met, A Life in the Theatre (a made for TV movie with Jack Lemmon), and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.
Matthew then turned to his true love: Broadway. He starred in another Tony winning role in How to Succeed without Really Trying opposite Megan Mullally. Later, Mullally was replaced with Matthew’s then girlfriend Sarah Jessica Parker. With this success, Matthew then took at shot at directing in the film Infinity. In this independent film, Matthew portrays Dr. Richard P. Feynman, a physicist helping develop the atom bomb. At its core, the film is a love story about Feynman and his wife Arlene. Matthew's mother wrote the screenplay and can be heard giving a lovely commentary on the DVD. On March 19th 1997, Matthew Broderick married girlfriend Sarah Jessica Parker. The wedding was a surprise to fans and the paparazzi. In order to have an intimate ceremony, the couple called their wedding a "party" on all the invitations. After the wedding, Matthew continued his film career starring in bigger films such as Addicted to Love (opposite Meg Ryan), The Cable Guy (opposite Jim Carey), Godzilla (with Hank Azaria and Jean Reno), and Inspector Gadget (opposite Rupert Everett). Even though these films are not necessarily critical successes, they gave Matthew great financial freedom. He continued his film career doing a small role in the independent film You Can Count on Me, which was written by his childhood friend Kenneth Lonergan (staring Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo). In 1999, he stared in Alexander Payne's dark comedy Election, which featured rising stars Reese Witherspoon and Chris Klein.
Matthew again went back on Broadway in 2001 when he starred opposite Nathan Lane in The Producers. This blockbuster Broadway musical won 12 Tonys. Matthew was nominated for Leo Bloom but Nathan Lane won for the role of Max Bialystock. Regardless, it is this comedy duo that kept the show's audience laughing hysterically. His more recent movies include a made for TV version of The Music Man, The Stepford Wives, and The Last Shot. His newest film, The Producers, was released on DVD in May 2006. Matthew and Nathan Lane will also starred on Broadway in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. Matthew's next stage project will be Kenneth Lonergan's play The Starry Messenger. His next film projects are Margaret, Bee Movie, Then She Found Me, Finding Amanda, and Wonderful World.
Matthew's other Broadway credits include The Widow Claire (1986), Love Letters (1990), The Death of Papa (1997), Night Must Fall (1999), Taller Than a Dwarf (2000), and The Foreigner (2004).
By: Elizabeth E. Rojas
Special thanks to A&E Biography-Matthew Broderick: Center Stage, IMDB, IBDB.
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