Matthew Broderick, from the rebel Ferris Bueller to an evil 'Painkiller' tycoon

You may have thought he was gone, but veteran actor Matthew Broderick returned to the small screen in 2023 with a lead role in the series 'Painkiller' and a hilarious cameo in 'Only Murders in the Building.' He's come a long way since his first roles as a teenager. Let's have a look at the most remarkable things in his professional and personal life.

How old would you guess Matthew Broderick to be? Well, in fact, he was born in March 1962. His birthplace was New York City and his parents were artists too. Patricia Biow, his mom, was a playwright and painter, and his father James Broderick was a well-known American actor.

His early interest in acting led him to make his stage debut at age 17 in a workshop production of the play 'On Valentine's Day.'

Matthew Broderick's film debut was with the role of Michael McPhee in the movie 'Max Dugan Returns' (1983). It wasn't a great hit, but it did bring us the debut of Kiefer Sutherland as well!

Broderick's breakthrough role came in 1986 when he starred as the charming and witty Ferris Bueller in the classic teen comedy 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off.' The film's success catapulted him into stardom and became one of his most iconic roles.

Did you know Matthew Broderick was actually the first choice to play the role of Alex P. Keaton in the sitcom 'Family Ties' (1982)? He said no to the role because he did not want to commit to a long television stint. Michael J. Fox took his place and became very famous thanks to the show.

Following his success in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off,' Broderick appeared in a variety of films, including 'Biloxi Blues' (1988), 'Glory' (1989), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, 'The Cable Guy' (1996), and 'Inspector Gadget' (1999).

The film 'Election' (1999) was not a box office hit but did become somewhat of a cult classic. Reese Witherspoon played an overzealous student trying to become student government president at all costs, and Broderick was a high school teacher trying to get someone else elected instead. According to director Alexander Payne, 'Election' is the favorite political movie of former U.S. president Barack Obama.

In 'The Lion King' (1994), Matthew Broderick provided the voice for the adult lion Simba. The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress has selected both 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'The Lion King' for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." That's an honor forever.

In addition to his film career, Broderick has continued to work in the theater. He won a Tony Award for 'Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play' with his performance in Neil Simon's 'Brighton Beach Memoirs' in 1983.

Importantly, he also starred in the Broadway musical comedy 'The Producers,' earning him a Tony Award for 'Best Leading Actor in a Musical.' From its premiere in 2001, Matthew Broderick and co-star Nathan Lane played the musical no fewer than 2,502 times. It won a record of 12 Tony Awards.

Matthew Broderick has always been careful to stay relatively scandal-free in Hollywood. In his heydays in the 80s and early 90s, he dated actresses Jennifer Grey, Helen Hunt (photo), Daisy Foote, and Kyra Sedgwick.

In 1987, tragedy struck the young actor though. He was driving through Northern Ireland with his then-girlfriend Jennifer Grey when they got into a terrible car accident. The famous couple collided head-on with another car, and the driver and passenger of that car died instantly.

Matthew Broderick was considered the guilty party of the accident. He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but eventually got away with a fine for careless driving. The victims' family called it "a travesty of justice" according to Entertainment Weekly.

In the accident, he also suffered a fractured leg, a collapsed lung, and other injuries. Meanwhile, the media, which hadn't known about his relationship with Jennifer Grey before, would be all over the incident and its aftermath.

After things went south with Jennifer Grey and a few other relationships, Broderick started dating Sarah Jessica Parker in 1992. She would become the love of his life.

They met in the early 1990s through one of Sarah Jessica Parker's brothers. Matthew Broderick was directing a play for the company founded by Parker's older brothers Pippin and Toby when he got to know the actress in person.

"I still remember very clearly seeing her walk down the street toward the movie theater," he told Yes Network. "It’s very unique because I wouldn’t remember most people the first time I saw them come down the street. [But] I remember [her] as clear as day."

Sarah Jessica Parker told the New York Times that Broderick called her one day to ask her out. "He left a very charming, very self-effacing message on the machine. You know, 'Hi, it's Matthew Broderick.' You had to use your last name," she said about that sweet memory.

The couple got married in 1997 and has three children together. On October 28, 2002, Sarah Jessica Parker gave birth to their son James Wilke Broderick. Then, in June 2009, they welcomed their twin daughters Matilda Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge Broderick via surrogate.

Broderick and Parker have been protective of their personal lives and their children's privacy. They have spoken out about the challenges of maintaining a sense of normalcy for their children while being in the public eye.

In an interview with The Guardian, the actor said, "Once you start talking about your relationship and your feelings in public you’re in trouble. Also, we have children. I don’t want to have my kids reading about our relationship. We try to keep some privacy, a circle around the family, so we can all have as normal a life as possible."

Maybe it's because of his very private life, or because of his focus on Broadway, that we haven't seen Broderick as much on TV as his wife, 'Sex and the City' star Sarah Jessica Parker. But that doesn't mean he isn't very busy. Matthew Broderick is known to love music, particularly playing the piano, and the couple has also been involved in charitable activities and causes. 

In more recent years, Broderick has taken on roles in both film and television. He appeared in the series ‘The Conners’ and ‘Daybreak’ (2019), and he had roles in films such as ‘To Dust (2018) and ‘No Hard Feelings’ (2023).

In the 2023 Netflix series 'Painkiller,' Broderick plays a complex and eccentric bad guy: Richard Sackler. This businessman was the head of Purdue, a controversial pharmaceutical company that boosted the American opioid crisis in the late 90s and early 2000s.

As Entertainment Weekly says about the series, "Broderick plays Richard Sackler like an alien in a human suit who's not trying all that hard to fit in. It is a choice, and one that jibes well with 'Painkiller's off-kilter approach to the subject matter." Broderick's portrayal of the ice-cold businessman is one of the most memorable things of the shocking series.

All in all, Matthew Broderick's contributions to the entertainment industry have left an indelible mark. Even though he's in his sixties, we surely haven't seen the last of this iconic actor yet.