Matthew Broderick

With 1986's 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', young actor Matthew Broderick celebrated truancy, girls, and a lust for life. Bueller's now-famous shenanigans subsequently made Broderick a huge star, and his boyish good looks and lovable sense of humor became the standard for a slew of later teen comedies.

Broderick was born in New York City on March 21, 1962 to successful actor James Broderick and playwright Patricia Biow. Starting out on the stage immediately after high school, Broderick received raves for his performances in Horton Foote's 'On Valentine's Day' (alongside his father) and Harvey Fierstein's 'Torch Song Trilogy'. The latter production garnered Broderick a terrific review from New York Times theatre critic Mel Gussow, which instantly bolstered his career. Broderick was soon seen in two Neil Simon plays, 'Biloxi Blues' and 'Brighton Beach Memoirs', which won him a 1983 Tony Award for Best Actor. He received another in 1995 for the hit Broadway revival of the musical 'How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying'.

Also in 1983, Broderick starred in the hit film 'Wargames' after his film debut in 'Max Dugan Returns' the same year, which was also the debut film for Kiefer Sutherland. The young actor then famously turned down Michael J. Fox's star-making role in the hit series 'Family Ties', though the huge success of 'Ferris Bueller' ended up giving him a similar boost in name recognition. For the next ten years Broderick concentrated on film projects, the majority of them being film adaptations of comedic stage plays he had previously starred in, including both of the aforementioned Neil Simon pieces. In 1994 he voiced the lead role of Simba in Disney's 'The Lion King', which became one of the biggest animated hits of all time.

After returning to Broadway fame in 1995 with 'How to Succeed