Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American film and stage actor who played the title character in
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Nick Tatopoulos in
Godzilla and David Lightman in
WarGames. He voiced the characters of the adult
Simba in
The Lion King and
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and
Tack the Cobbler in
The Thief and the Cobbler. He played
Leo Bloom in the
film and
Broadway productions of
The Producers, and Colonel
Robert Gould Shaw in the
Civil War drama
Glory.
Early life
Broderick was born in
New York City, the son of
Patricia (née Biow), a
playwright,
actress, and
painter; and
James Wilke Broderick, an actor.
Broderick's mother was
Jewish, and his father a
Catholic of
Irish descent.
Broderick attended grade school at the City & Country School (a progressive K–8 school in Manhattan) and attended high school at Walden School (a defunct private school in
Manhattan with a strong drama program). After the death of his mother, her paintings were exhibited at the
Tibor de Nagy gallery in New York.
Career
Broderick's first major acting role came in an
HB Studio workshop production of playwright
Horton Foote's
On Valentine's Day, playing opposite his father, who was a friend of Foote's. This was followed by a lead role in the
off-Broadway production of
Harvey Fierstein's
Torch Song Trilogy; then, a good review by
New York Times theater critic
Mel Gussow brought him to the attention of
Broadway. Broderick commented on the effects of that review in a 2004
60 Minutes II interview:
[
Broderick.jpg|thumb|175px|left|Broderick in Sweden during his promotion of [[Ferris Bueller's Day Off], December 1986.]]
He followed that with the role of Eugene Morris Jerome in the
Neil Simon Eugene Trilogy including the plays,
Brighton Beach Memoirs and
Biloxi Blues. His first movie role was also written by Neil Simon. Broderick debuted in
Max Dugan Returns (1983). His first big hit film was
WarGames, a summer hit in 1983. This was followed by the role of Philippe Gaston in
Ladyhawke, in 1985.
Broderick then got the role as the charming, clever slacker in
Ferris Bueller's Day Off. At age 23, Broderick played a high-school student who, with his girlfriend and best friend,
plays hooky and explores
Chicago. The movie remains a 1980s comedy favorite today and is one of Broderick's best-known roles (particularly with teenage audiences). In the 1989
Glory, Broderick received good notices for his portrayal of the
American Civil War hero
Robert Gould Shaw.
In the 1990s, Broderick took on the role as the adult lion,
Simba, in the successful
animated film,
The Lion King, and also voiced
Tack the Cobbler in
The Thief and the Cobbler. He won recognition for two dark-comedy roles. The first was that of a bachelor in
The Cable Guy. The second was that of a high-school teacher in Alexander Payne's
Election.
Broderick returned to Broadway as a
musical star in the 1990s, most notably with his Tony Award–winning performance in
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and his Tony Award–nominated performance in the
Mel Brooks' stage version of
The Producers in 2001. He continued to make feature films, including the 2005 adaptation of
The Producers. Broderick played the role of Leopold “Leo” Bloom, an accountant who co-produces a musical designed to fail, but which turns out to be successful.
Broderick reunited with his co-star from
The Lion King and
The Producers,
Nathan Lane, in
The Odd Couple, which opened on Broadway in October 2005. He appeared on Broadway as a college professor in
The Philanthropist, running April 10 through June 28, 2009.
[Jones, Kenneth.Broadway's Philanthropist, Starring Broderick, Goes On Sale",playbill.com, February 20, 2009]
Awards
He has won two
Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his featured role in the play
Brighton Beach Memoirs and one in 1995 for his leading role in the musical
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He was also nominated for the Tony Award, Best Actor in a Musical, for the
The Producers but lost to Lane. To date, Matthew Broderick is the youngest winner of the Tony Award, Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Personal life
[
Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker 2009.jpg|thumb|Broderick and his wife [[Sarah Jessica Parker] in 2009.]]
Broderick met actress
Jennifer Grey on the set of
Ferris Bueller's Day Off and in 1986 was briefly engaged to her. Broderick met actress
Sarah Jessica Parker through her brother. The couple married on May 19, 1997 in
a civil ceremony in an historic deconsecrated
synagogue on the
Lower East Side; and although Broderick considers himself culturally
Jewish,
the ceremony was performed by his sister, Janet Broderick Kraft, an
Episcopal priest.
Parker and Broderick have a son, James Wilke Broderick, born on October 28, 2002. On April 28, 2009, it was confirmed that Broderick and Parker were expecting twin girls through surrogacy.
Broderick and Parker's surrogate delivered their twin daughters, Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge, on June 22, 2009.
[www.people.com/people/article/0,,20286959,00.html] Marion Loretta Elwell weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, while Tabitha Hodge was 6 pounds.
Although they live in New York City, they spend a considerable amount of time at their holiday home in
County Donegal,
Ireland, where Broderick spent his summers as a child. He is left-handed, a fact made evident in his first movie,
Max Dugan Returns, in which he plays baseball. Broderick is an avid baseball fan. His favorite team is the
New York Mets. He narrated the DVD "Shea Goodbye: 45 Years of Amazin", which chronicled the life of Shea Stadium. Broderick is good friends with his
The Producers co-star, Nathan Lane. Fellow '80s teen actor
Jon Cryer is often said to look like Broderick;
[movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800022334/bio] their striking resemblance has been portrayed in two episodes of Cryer's TV show,
Two and a Half Men. They also have a house in The Hamptons. Sarah and their son James are also left-handed.
[hookedonhouses.net/2009/04/29/sarah-jessica-parker-matthew-brodericks-hamptons-house/]
Auto accident
On August 5, 1987, Broderick was in
Northern Ireland, vacationing with Grey, when his rented
BMW veered into the wrong lane on a country road in
Enniskillen,
County Fermanagh and smashed head-on into a car driven by Anna Gallagher, 30. She and her mother, Margaret Doherty, 63, died instantly.
Broderick spent four weeks in a
Belfast hospital with a fractured leg and ribs, collapsed lung and concussion. Grey suffered minor injuries.
Broderick told authorities he had no recollection of the crash and did not know why he was in the wrong lane. "I don't remember the day. I don't remember even getting up in the morning. I don't remember making my bed. What I first remember is waking up in the hospital, with a very strange feeling going on in my leg," he said at the time.
Broderick was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced a prison term of up to five years. He was later convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and fined $175. The victims' family called the case "a travesty of justice."
Broderick agreed to meet with the family of the two women in the spring of 2003 so that the family could gain some sense of closure on the accident.
Work
Filmography
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Stage
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Television
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