Born: 21-Mar-1962
Birthplace: New York City

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Matthew Broderick played the truant teen in the popular comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It remains his most famous role, but he was a successful actor before and after that film. He first stepped on the professional stage at age 17, in a production of Horton Foote's play On Valentine's Day, starring his father. His first film was supposed to be No Small Affair, starring Sally Field. He prepared for months and they filmed for two weeks, until the film's funding was yanked. It was finally financed, recast, and released two years later, with Demi Moore and Jon Cryer. At 19, Broderick turned down the role of Alex Keaton on Family Ties, a role that went to Michael J. Fox.

At 20, Broderick finally made his film debut in Neil Simon's Max Dugan Returns. At 21, Broderick appeared on Broadway in Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, winning a Tony for his performance. The 1983 film War Games, with Broderick as computer-savvy teen who hacks into the Defense Department's mainframe, was Broderick's first big hit movie. Ferris Bueller was filmed three years later. He won a second Tony in 1995, for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, but he was passed over for a third Tony for his performance in the huge hit Broadway production of Mel Brooks's The Producers.

In 1987, while Broderick was vacationing in Northern Ireland with his then-girlfriend Jennifer Grey (who'd played his sister in Ferris Bueller), he steered his rented BMW into the opposite lane and it collided head-on with an oncoming car. Margaret Doherty, 63, and her daughter Anna Gallagher, 30, were killed. Doherty's son Martin Doherty was crippled. Broderick and Grey were slightly injured. Broderick, whose blood tested negative for alcohol, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, and under Irish law he could have been imprisoned for five years. He was convicted only of careless driving, and fined $175. The family of the dead were understandably furious. Broderick has since said he's "willing to" meet with Doherty to apologize, but he hasn't.

Father: James Broderick (actor, b. 7-Mar-1927, d. 1-Nov-1981 cancer)
Mother: Patricia (b. 23-Feb-1925, d. 18-Nov-2003)
Sister: Janet Broderick Kraft (Episcopalian priest)
Sister: Martha Broderick
Girlfriend: Jennifer Grey (actress, engaged 1986)
Girlfriend: Daisy Foote (dau. of writer Horton Foote, dated 1986)
Girlfriend: Helen Hunt (actress, dated 1987)
Girlfriend: Penelope Ann Miller (actress, dated 1990)
Girlfriend: Lili Taylor (actress, dated 1994)
Wife: Sarah Jessica Parker (actress, m. 19-May-1997)
Son: James Wilke Broderick (b. 28-Oct-2002)

    High School: Walden School, Manhattan, NY (1980)

    Tony 1983 for Brighton Beach Memoirs
    Tony 1995 for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
    Vehicular Manslaughter Northern Ireland 5-Aug-1987
    Reckless Driving Northern Ireland 5-Aug-1987, convicted
    Irish Ancestry Paternal and Maternal
    Jewish Ancestry Maternal

    FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
    Infinity (7-Sep-1996)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Finding Amanda (Apr-2008)
    Bee Movie (28-Oct-2007) [VOICE]
    Then She Found Me (7-Sep-2007)
    Deck the Halls (22-Nov-2006)
    Strangers with Candy (17-Jun-2006)
    The Producers (16-Dec-2005)
    The Last Shot (24-Sep-2004)
    The Stepford Wives (6-Jun-2004)
    The Lion King 1½ (10-Feb-2004) [VOICE]
    Good Boy! (10-Oct-2003) [VOICE]
    The Music Man (16-Feb-2003)
    You Can Count On Me (21-Jan-2000)
    Inspector Gadget (18-Jul-1999)
    Election (23-Apr-1999)
    The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (27-Oct-1998) [VOICE]
    Walking to the Waterline (13-Jun-1998)
    Godzilla (18-May-1998)
    Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (4-Nov-1997) [VOICE]
    Addicted to Love (23-May-1997)
    Infinity (7-Sep-1996)
    The Cable Guy (14-Jun-1996)
    Arabian Knight (25-Aug-1995) [VOICE]
    The Road to Wellville (28-Oct-1994)
    Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (7-Sep-1994)
    The Lion King (15-Jun-1994) [VOICE]
    The Night We Never Met (30-Apr-1993)
    Out on a Limb (4-Sep-1992)
    The Freshman (20-Jul-1990)
    Glory (15-Dec-1989)
    Family Business (13-Dec-1989)
    Torch Song Trilogy (14-Dec-1988)
    Biloxi Blues (25-Mar-1988)
    Project X (17-Apr-1987)
    Ferris Bueller's Day Off (11-Jun-1986)
    Ladyhawke (29-Mar-1985)
    WarGames (3-Jun-1983)
    Max Dugan Returns (25-Mar-1983)

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