Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick, born March 21, 1962, in Manhattan, New York, is an American actor whose career has spanned stage, film, and voice work for more than four decades. The son of actor James Broderick, a World War II veteran of Irish and English Catholic descent, and Patricia Broderick, a playwright, actress, and painter of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, he grew up in Manhattan attending the City and Country School and later the private Walden School. His maternal grandfather was advertising executive Milton H. Biow. Broderick trained at HB Studio, where his first significant acting opportunity arose in a workshop production of Horton Foote's On Valentine's Day, performed alongside his father.

His path to Broadway began off-Broadway, where he played Harvey Fierstein's gay adopted son David in Torch Song Trilogy. A favorable review from New York Times critic Mel Gussow drew wider attention to his work and led to his Broadway debut. He subsequently took on the role of Eugene Morris Jerome in Neil Simon's Eugene Trilogy, appearing in both Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. His performance in Brighton Beach Memoirs earned him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1983, a distinction he continues to hold as the youngest winner in that category. Broderick is also a founding member of Naked Angels theater company.

His film career launched in parallel with his stage work. His first screen role came in the Neil Simon–written Max Dugan Returns in 1983, followed quickly by WarGames, in which he played Seattle teen hacker David Lightman. He appeared in the medieval fantasy Ladyhawke in 1985 alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer, then took on the title role in the Golden Globe–nominated Ferris Bueller's Day Off in 1986, playing a high school student who skips school to explore Chicago with his girlfriend and best friend. In 1987 he appeared in Project X as Air Force research assistant Jimmy Garrett, and in 1988 returned to the Torch Song Trilogy material by playing Alan, Harvey Fierstein's ill-fated lover, in the film adaptation. His 1989 role as Civil War officer Robert Gould Shaw in Glory, alongside Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and Cary Elwes, drew favorable critical notice.

Throughout the 1990s, Broderick maintained an active film presence. He appeared as Clark Kellogg in The Freshman in 1990, provided the voice of adult Simba in Disney's The Lion King in 1994, and voiced Tack the Cobbler in the 1995 Miramax release Arabian Knight. He played bachelor Steven Kovacs opposite Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy in 1996, directed himself in Infinity that same year, and portrayed Dr. Niko Tatopoulos in Godzilla in 1998. He took the title role in Disney's Inspector Gadget in 1999 and appeared as a high school teacher in Alexander Payne's Election, also in 1999.

In the 2000s, Broderick starred as Brian in the drama You Can Count on Me in 2000, voiced Hubble in Good Boy! in 2003, appeared in The Stepford Wives alongside Nicole Kidman in 2004, starred opposite Danny DeVito in the Christmas comedy Deck the Halls in 2006, voiced Adam Flayman in the animated Bee Movie in 2007, and voiced the title character in The Tale of Despereaux in 2008. He later appeared in Tower Heist in 2011 alongside Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and Alan Alda, and provided voice work in Wonder Park in 2019. In 2006, Broderick received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to film.

Broderick's return to Broadway as a musical performer produced some of his most recognized stage work. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1995 for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, also earning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical that year. In 2001, he starred alongside Nathan Lane in Mel Brooks's The Producers, playing accountant Leopold "Leo" Bloom, who co-produces a musical designed to fail. The production won a record twelve Tony Awards, and Broderick received a Tony nomination for his performance, though the award went to Lane. Broderick and Lane reprised their roles in the 2005 film adaptation. He also appeared on Broadway in Taller Than a Dwarf and Night Must Fall, among other productions, with his Broadway career spanning 1983 to 2022.

Broderick reunited with Lane in the 2005 Broadway revival of The Odd Couple and again in the 2014 Broadway revival of Terrence McNally's It's Only a Play. In 2013, he starred in the Broadway musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. He appeared on Broadway in The Philanthropist in 2009 as a college professor and in the 2015 Broadway production of A.R. Gurney's Sylvia, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan. In 2017, Broderick was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. He made his West End debut in The Starry Messenger in May 2019, co-starring with Elizabeth McGovern, and in 2022 returned to Broadway in a revival of Plaza Suite alongside his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker. That production subsequently transferred to London's Savoy Theatre in 2024. In 2025, it was announced that Broderick would star as Tartuffe in a new production at New York Theatre Workshop alongside Bianca Del Rio, Francis Jue, and Amber Gray.