Matthew Broderick

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Matthew Broderick
Image:Matthew Broderick.jpg Matthew Broderick
Born	March 21 1962 (1962-03-21) (age 47) New York City, New York, United States
Spouse(s)	Sarah Jessica Parker (May 19, 1997 - present) 1 child
Awards Tony Awards Leading Actor in a Musical 1995 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Featured Actor in a Play 1983 Brighton Beach Memoirs

Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American film and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Simba in Disney's The Lion King. He also played Leo Bloom in the 2001 Broadway production of The Producers (and the 2005 movie version).

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 1.4 Legal problems 2 Filmography 3 Television work 4 Stage appearances 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Broderick was born in New York City, the son of Patricia (née Biow), a playwright, actress and painter whose work was posthumously shown at the Tibor de Nagy gallery in New York, and James Wilke Broderick, an actor.^[1][2] Broderick's mother was Jewish^[3] and his father a Catholic^[4] of Irish descent.^[5] Broderick attended grade school at the City & Country School, a progressive K–8 school in Manhattan; and high school at Walden School (now closed), a private school in Manhattan with a strong drama program.

[edit] Career

Broderick's first major acting role came in a role in an HB Studio workshop production of playwright Horton Foote's On Valentine's Day, playing opposite his father James, 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; 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:

“

Before I knew it, I was like this guy in a hot play. And suddenly all these doors opened. And it’s only because Mel Gussow happened to come by right before it closed and happened to like it. It’s just amazing. All these things have to line up that are out of your control.

”

He followed that with the role of Eugene Morris Jerome in two Neil Simon plays: Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues, both plays are part of what is known as the "Eugene Trilogy." 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 auditioned for the role of Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom Family Ties and was offered the role, but he had to turn it down because of his movie schedule. Broderick then got the role as the charming, clever slacker in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Broderick, who in real life was in his mid-20s, played a high-school student who, with his girlfriend and best friend, plays hooky and explores Chicago while avoiding the clutches of the dean of students, who is eager to catch Bueller in the act. The movie remains an 80's comedy favorite today. In 1989's Glory, Broderick received good notices for his portrayal of the American Civil War hero Robert Gould Shaw in a script largely written by his mother.

Broderick in the 1990s took on his famous role as the adult lion, Simba, in the spectacularly successful animated film, The Lion King. Furthermore, he distinguished himself in two dark comedy roles. The first was that of a bachelor who attracts the friendship of an insane and lonely cable repairman (played by Jim Carrey) in The Cable Guy. The second was that of an Omaha high school teacher determined to stop an overachieving student (played by Reese Witherspoon) from becoming class president in Alexander Payne's Election. Election had also been a coming-of-age role for Broderick; his fans from Ferris Bueller's Day Off noted that where Broderick played a popular student who took an easygoing approach to school, in Election he played a popular teacher who is trying to convince students there is more to education than simply grades and looking good for college-admission boards.

Broderick returned to Broadway as a musical star in the 1990s, most notably 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 also continues 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. In “The Producers” Broderick sings several songs, both alone and with other characters.

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 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 Producers, but lost to co-star Nathan Lane.

[edit] Personal life

Broderick met actress Jennifer Grey on the set of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and in 1987 was briefly engaged to the actress.

Broderick met actress Sarah Jessica Parker through her brother. The couple was married on May 19, 1997 in a civil ceremony in a historic deconsecrated synagogue on the Lower East Side; and while Broderick considers himself Jewish,^[6][7] the ceremony was performed by his sister, the Reverend Janet Broderick Kraft, an Episcopal priest.^[8]

Parker and Broderick's first child, James Wilkie Broderick (born on October 28, 2002), is named after his grandfather James Brian Broderick. His middle name is that of author Wilkie Collins, an author Broderick and Parker greatly admire. 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 already in his first movie, Max Dugan Returns, where he is playing baseball. Broderick is an avid baseball fan. His favorite team is the New York Mets.

[edit] Legal problems

In 1987, while vacationing in Ireland with Jennifer Grey, Broderick was involved in a fatal collision that killed 63 year old Margaret Doherty and her 30 year old daughter, Anna Gallagher.

Broderick was driving a rented BMW in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, when he inexplicably swerved into oncoming-traffic lane. Anna Gallager, who was driving, and her mother were killed instantly. Broderick suffered a broken leg, concussion and collapsed lung. Jennifer Grey escaped with minor injuries.^{[9] [10]}

Broderick was initially charged with reckless driving but later pled guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving and was fined $175. ^[11]

The victim’s family called the lightness of the sentence a “travesty of justice.” Martin Doherty, son to Margaret and brother to Anna, is quoted as saying:

“

I was very angry. Did Matthew get off lightly because of who he was? In the end, he got the same punishment he would have got if he had run over cattle.

”

In 2003, 16 years after the accident, Martin came forward and said he was ready to forgive Broderick and wanted to meet him. That same year Broderick‘s spokesman told the Post “Matthew is willing to meet up with them“.^{[12] [13]}

[edit] Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1983	Max Dugan Returns	Michael McPhee
	WarGames	David Lightman
1985	1918	Brother
	Ladyhawke	Phillipe Gaston
1986	Ferris Bueller's Day Off	Ferris Bueller
	On Valentine's Day	Brother
1987	Courtship
	Project X	Jimmy Garrett
1988	She's Having a Baby	Ferris Bueller	Cameo
	Biloxi Blues	Eugene Morris Jerome
	Torch Song Trilogy	Alan
1989	Family Business	Adam McMullen
	Glory	Colonel Robert Gould Shaw
1990	The Freshman	Clark Kellogg/Narrator
1992	Out on a Limb	Bill Campbell
1993	The Night We Never Met	Sam Lester
1994	The Lion King	Adult Simba	Voice
	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Charles MacArthur
	The Road to Wellville	William Lightbody
1995	The Thief and the Cobbler	Tack the Cobbler	Voice (Miramax version)
1996	The Cable Guy	Steven M. Kovacs
	Infinity	Richard Feynman	Also director and producer
1997	Addicted to Love	Sam
1998	Godzilla	Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatapolis
	The Lion King II: Simba's Pride	Adult Simba	Voice
	Walking to the Waterline	Michael Woods
1999	Election	Jim McAllister
	Inspector Gadget	Inspector Gadget/RoboGadget/John Brown
2000	You Can Count on Me	Brian Everett
2003	The Music Man	Professor Harold Hill
	Good Boy!	Hubble	Voice
2004	"The Lion King 1½"	Adult/teenage Simba	Voice
	Marie and Bruce	Bruce
	The Stepford Wives	Walter Kresby
	The Last Shot	Steven Schats
2005	The Producers	Leo Bloom
2006	Strangers with Candy	Roger Beekman
	Deck the Halls	Steve Finch
2007	Then She Found Me	Ben
	Bee Movie	Adam Flayman	Voice
2008	The Tale of Despereaux	Despereaux	Voice
	Margaret	TBA	awaiting release
	Finding Amanda	TBA	post-production
	Diminished Capacity	TBA	post-production
	Wonderful World	TBA	filming

[edit] Television work

• Cinderella (1985)
• Master Harold...and the Boys (1985)
• A Life in the Theater (1993)
• The Music Man (2003)

[edit] Stage appearances

• Torch Song Trilogy (1981)
• Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983)
• Biloxi Blues (1985)
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1995) (revival)
• Night Must Fall (1999) (revival)
• Taller Than a Dwarf (2000)
• The Producers (2001-2002) (returned briefly in 2003)
• Short Talks on the Universe (2002)
• The Odd Couple (2005) (revival)

Awards
Preceded by Boyd Gaines for She Loves Me	Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical 1995 for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Succeeded by Nathan Lane for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Matthew Broderick at the Internet Movie Database
• Matthew Broderick at the Internet Broadway Database

• 2004 Story from 60 Minutes II
• Matthew Broderick - Downstage Center 2004 interview at American Theatre Wing.org
• TonyAwards.com Interview with Matthew Broderickbg:Матю Бродерик

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