If the eighties had a face, it would be Matthew Broderick. Arguably the greatest of all teen actors, he made perhaps the signature comedy of the era, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and if that 1986 classic had been the old movie he ever made, he would still be a legend. But Broderick’s had a pretty great career; even if recent years, he’s taken an extended break from the big screen and primarily focused his energy on the stage.
Bursting onto the scene in John Badham’s 1983 computer hacking classic WarGames, Broderick made quite a few solid eighties flicks in addition to Ferris Bueller. There’s 1985’s Ladyhawke, where he’s improbably cast as a French thief from the Middle Ages, Biloxi Blues, Project X, and the Civil War classic Glory. The nineties were mostly good to Broderick, with him voicing Simba in The Lion King and starring in The Cable Guy, Godzilla, Inspector Gadget and the cult classic Election.
Through it all, Broderick often ventured back to Broadway, winning two Tony’s, one from Brighton Beach Memoirs and another for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. On the stage, he had, arguably, the biggest success of his career (other than Ferris Bueller) by co-starring in Mel Brooks’ Tony-winning phenomenon, The Producers, opposite Nathan Lane. Since then, he’s been among the most bankable Broadway stars, but his screen career took a backseat. In this episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity, we look at his career highs (Ferris), lows (a controversial and deadly episode in London) and future!
WTF Happened to this Celebrity is written (wth Brad Hamerly), produced, edited and narrated by Taylor James Johnson. Watch previous episodes below and give us your thoughts on Matthew Broderick in the comments!