Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American film and stage actor who is perhaps most widely known for his role as the protagonist in Ferris Bueller's Day Off although the most successful film where he has a starring role is The Lion King.

Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Broderick's first break came in role in an HB Studio workshop production of Horton Foote's On Valentine's Day , playing opposite his father James Broderick , 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 . In between those plays he starred in WarGames, the summer hit of 1983.

He returned to Broadway as a musical star in the 1990s, most notably in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Mel Brooks' stage version of The Producers in 2001, and continues to make films.

He has won two Tony Awards, in 1983 for his featured role in the play Brighton Beach Memoirs, and in 1995 for his leading role in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!; he was also nominated for The Producers, with the award going to co-star Nathan Lane.

Personal life

He was born in New York City, the son of actor James Broderick and his wife Patricia. Broderick attended the Walden School, a private school in Manhattan with a strong drama program.

Broderick met Jennifer Grey on the set of Ferris Bueller's Day Off; in August 1987, she was with him in Northern Ireland as he drove on a rain-slicked road on the outskirts of Enniskillen. Broderick, possibly on the wrong side of the road, drove his car head-on into another car carrying the 63-year-old Margaret Doherty and her 30-year-old daughter Anna Gallagher: both were killed. Broderick had to be cut out of the car; he was unconscious and suffered facial lacerations and a broken thigh. Grey escaped with minor injuries. Broderick had no memory of the event and Grey was distracted at the moment of the accident and saw nothing. The lack of witnesses, skid marks, or other evidence led Broderick to plead guilty in absentia on February 15, 1988 to the lesser charge of careless driving . He was fined £100.

He met actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1992 and has been married to her since 1997. The couple has one child, named after Broderick's late father.

Selected filmography

• Max Dugan Returns (1983)
• WarGames (1983)
• Ladyhawke (1985)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
• Project X (1987)
• Biloxi Blues (1988)
• Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
• Glory (1989) with Denzel Washington
• The Freshman (1990)
• The Lion King (1994)
• The Road to Wellville (1994)
• The Cable Guy (1996) with Jim Carrey
• Addicted to Love (1997)
• Godzilla (1998)
• The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
• Election (1999)
• Inspector Gadget (1999)
• You Can Count on Me (2000)
• The Music Man (2003, TV)
• Good Boy! (2003) (voice)
• The Stepford Wives (2004)
• The Last Shot (2004)

External links

• NNDB entry
• 2004 Story from 60 Minutes II