Matthew Broderick(I)

A slight comic actor chiefly known for his boyish charm, Matthew
Broderick was born on March 21, 1962 in New York City, to
Patricia Broderick (née Biow), a
playwright and painter, and
James Broderick, an actor. His
father had Irish and English ancestry, and his mother was from a Jewish family (from Germany and Poland).

Matthew initially took up acting at New York's upper-crust Walden
School after being sidelined from his athletic pursuits (football and
soccer) by a knee injury. His father got him his stage debut at age 17
in a workshop production of the play "On Valentine's Day". Matthew's
career then accelerated with parts in two
Neil Simon projects: the play
"Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1982-83) and the feature film
Max Duganin paluu (1983).
Broderick reprised the role of Eugene in "Biloxi Blues" (1988), the
second installment of the Simon trilogy, for both the Broadway
production and the film adaptation
(Elämäni kesä (1988)). For the third
and final installment of the trilogy, he was replaced by
Jonathan Silverman. In 1983,
the same year as
Max Duganin paluu (1983),
Broderick had his first big-screen success in the light comedy
WarGames (1983). Since then he has had
his fair share of hits and misses, with some of his better films
including Salainen projekti (1987) also
starring Helen Hunt, whom he
subsequently dated;
Rakkauden koukussa (1997); and
Inspector Gadget (1999). Other
films he has appeared in which may be known but not so much respected
include Tiukat paikat (1992) with
his
Vaihdetaan vapaalle, Ferris (1986)
co-star Jeffrey Jones;
Ilta on meidän? (1993);
Matka onnelaan (1994);
and Sähköputkimies (1996) with
Jim Carrey, which got him an MTV "Best Fight"
award nomination; and the MTV film
Vaalit (1999) with
Reese Witherspoon. In 1985 he was
involved in a controversial car crash while driving in Ireland with his
then fiancée Jennifer Grey. The crash
killed a woman and her daughter. Broderick paid a small fine to the family of the victims. He broke
his leg in the accident, which happened just as
Vaihdetaan vapaalle, Ferris (1986),
his biggest hit, was coming out in the US. The box office success (but
critical flop) and special effects blockbuster
Godzilla (1998) gave Broderick his
first action role (should any "Godzilla" sequels be planned, he is
under contract for two more). He has occasionally returned to the stage
in New York, either in revivals of old musical warhorses such as "How
To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" or in revivals of old
"show people"plays, such as "Night Must Fall". In 1996 Broderick
attempted to wear three hats as co-producer/director/actor in
Päättymätön rakkaus (1996), working very closely
with his mother, who also wrote the screenplay. It was not a critical
or commercial success, and he has not directed or produced since. Since
May 1997 he has been married to actress
Sarah Jessica Parker. He was
previously engaged to both Helen Hunt
and dated Lili Taylor. In 1999 he
donned a trenchcoat for the children's film
Inspector Gadget (1999),
alongside Rupert Everett as the evil
villain Claw. In March 2001 Broderick returned to Broadway in the
musical smash "The Producers" (based on the 1968
Mel Brooks film of the same name). He
was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, which he
lost to his co-star, Nathan Lane.