Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles that include Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, Sullivan Groff on Weeds and Dr. Martin Brenner in the first, second, and fourth seasons of the Netflix original series, Stranger Things.
Modine has been acting since his graduation and he is also the nephew of stage actress Nola Fairbanks. After his graduation, Modine moved to New York City to pursue his dream of art and theater.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Modine was born in Loma Linda, California, and was the youngest of seven children. He was the son of Dolores, a bookkeeper, and Mark Alexander Modine, who managed a few Drive-In Theaters. He was also the nephew of a stage actress Nola Modine Fairbanks and the great-grandson of the prospector and pioneer Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks. Modine had lived in Utah for several years, moving every 1 or 2 years. The drive-in theaters his father had managed were being torn down because the land beneath them had exceeded the value of the theaters. The Modine Family had returned to Imperial Beach, California. There, Matthew had attended and graduated from Mar Vista High School in 1977.
Career[]
His first film role was in John Sayles' film, Baby It's You. Modine's performance in that film caught the eye of director Harold Becker, who cast him in the film, Vision Quest, which was based on Terry Davis' novel of the same name. Modine also appeared in the sex comedy, Private School, the film co-stared Phoebe Gates and Betsy Russell.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Baby It's You | Steve |
| Private School | Jim Green | |
| Streamers | Billy | |
| 1984 | The Hotel New Hampshire | Chip Dove / Ernst |
| Birdy | "Birdy" | |
| Mrs. Soffel | Jack Biddle | |
| 1985 | Vision Quest | Louden Swain |
| 1987 | Full Metal Jacket | Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis |
| Orphans | Treat | |
| 1988 | Married to the Mob | FBI Agent Mike Downey |
| The Gamble | Francesco Sacredo | |
| 1989 | Gross Anatomy | Joe Slovak |
| 1990 | Memphis Belle | Captain Dennis Dearborn |
| Pacific Heights | Drake Goodman | |
| 1992 | Equinox | Henry Petosa / Freddy 'Ace' |
| Wind | Will Parker | |
| 1993 | When I Was a Boy | Co-writer, co-director and co-producer |
| The Tree | Boy as Middle-Aged Man / Boy as Old Man | |
| Short Cuts | Dr. Ralph Wyman | |
| 1994 | The Browning Version | Frank Hunter |
| Smoking | Director and producer | |
| 1995 | Bye Bye Love | Dave Goldman |
| Fluke | Thomas P. Johnson / Voice of Fluke | |
| Cutthroat Island | William Shaw | |
| 1997 | Ecce Pirate | Writer, director and producer |
| The Blackout | Matty | |
| The Maker | Walter Schmeiss | |
| The Real Blonde | Joe | |
| 1999 | Notting Hill | Movie-Within-Movie Actor (uncredited) |
| If... Dog... Rabbit... | Johnnie Cooper | |
| Any Given Sunday | Dr. Ollie Powers | |
| 2000 | Very Mean Men | Bartender |
| Bamboozled | Himself | |
| 2001 | Nobody's Baby | "Sonny" |
| In the Shadows | Eric O'Byrne | |
| The Shipment | Mitch Garrett | |
| 2003 | Overnight | Himself |
| Le Divorce | Tellman | |
| Hollywood North | Bobby Myers | |
| 2004 | Funky Monkey | Alec McCall |
| 2005 | Transporter 2 | Senator Jeff Billings |
| Mary | Tony Childress / Jesus | |
| Opa! | Eric | |
| 2006 | Kettle of Fish | Mel |
| 2007 | Go Go Tales | Johnie Ruby |
| Have Dreams, Will Travel | Ben's Father | |
| The Neighbor | Jeff | |
| 2008 | I Think I Thought | Joe |
| To Kill an American | Movie writer, director and producer | |
| Cowboy | Cowboy | |
| Mia and the Migoo | Mr. Houston / Godfrey (voice, English dub) | |
| The Garden of Eden | David's Father | |
| Santa, the Fascist Years | Narrator | |
| 2009 | Little Fish, Strange Pond | Mr. Jack |
| 2010 | The Trial | Mac |
| A Cat in Paris | Lucas (voice, English dub) | |
| 2011 | Jesus Was a Commie | John Doe |
| Sunchasers | Movie producer | |
| Wrinkles | Juan (voice, English dub) | |
| The Flying House | "Bertie" | |
| 2012 | Somebody | Writer, director and producer |
| Plastic Jesus | ||
| Girl in Progress | Dr. Harford | |
| The Dark Knight Rises | Peter Foley | |
| 2013 | Jobs | John Sculley |
| Family Weekend | Duncan Dungy | |
| Cheatin' | Executive producer | |
| 2014 | Hyperion | Associate producer |
| Altar | Alec Hamilton | |
| Guests | Theodore Foster | |
| 2015 | The Brainwashing of My Dad | Narrator |
| The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards | Theodore Foster | |
| Last Days of Coney Island | Executive producer | |
| Merry Xmas | Abe | |
| Unity | Narrator | |
| 2016 | The Confirmation | Kyle |
| Alex & Co: How to Grow Up Despite Your Parents | Bob Riley | |
| Revengeance | Sid (uncredited, also executive producer) | |
| Super Sex | Short film writer, director and producer | |
| Army of One | Dr. Ross | |
| Stars in Shorts: No Ordinary Love | Abe | |
| 2017 | The Hippopotamus | Michael Logan |
| 47 Meters Down | Captain Taylor | |
| 2018 | Sicario: Day of the Soldado | James Riley |
| Speed Kills | George H. W. Bush | |
| An Actor Prepares | Charlie | |
| Backtrace | MacDonald | |
| 2019 | Keepers of the Wild | |
| Foster Boy | Michael Trainer | |
| Miss Virginia | Congressman Cliff Williams | |
| 2020 | Guardians of Life | Senior Physician |
| Chance | Mike | |
| 2021 | The Martini Shot | Steve |
| Breaking News in Yuba County | Carl Buttons | |
| Wrong Turn | Scott Shaw | |
| Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal | Rick Singer | |
| 2022 | My Love Affair with Marriage | Bo (voice) |
| 2023 | Oppenheimer | Vannevar Bush |
| Retribution | Anders Muller | |
| Hard Miles | Greg Townsend |
Television (TV films included)[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | ABC Afterschool Special | Randy |
| 1988 | American Playhouse | Eugene O'Neill |
| Saturday Night Live | Host of the episode: "Matthew Modine/Edie Brickell & New Bohemians" | |
| 1993 | And the Band Played On | Dr. Don Francis |
| 1994 | Jacob | Jacob |
| 1993 | And the Band Played On | Dr. Don Francis |
| 1995–1998 | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes (voice) |
| 1996 | What the Deaf Man Heard | Sammy Ayers |
| 1997 | What the Deaf Man Heard | Sammy Ayers |
| 1998 | American Experience | Lawrence Svobida |
| The American | Christopher Newman | |
| 2000 | Flowers for Algernon | Charlie Gordon |
| 2001 | Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story | Jack Robinson (Johnathan William Duncan Robinson) |
| 2002 | Redeemer | Paul Freeman |
| 2003 | The West Wing | Marco Arlens |
| Hitler: The Rise of Evil | Fritz Gerlich | |
| Expert Witness | ||
| 2004 | The Winning Season | Honus Wagner |
| 2005 | Into the West | Samson Wheeler |
| Law and Order: Special Victims Unit | Gordon Rickett | |
| 2006 | The Bedford Diaries | Professor Jake Macklin |
| 2007 | Weeds | Sullivan Groff |
| Good Morning Agrestic | ||
| 2008 | Sex and Lies in Sin City | Ted Binion |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | John Thain |
| 2013 | CAT. 8 | Dr. Michael Ranger |
| Anatomy of Violence | Convict #3 | |
| 2015 | Proof | Ivan Turing |
| 2016-2017; 2022 | Stranger Things | Dr. Martin Brenner |
| 2017 | Idiotsitter | Dr. J. Lowe |
| 2019 | Surveillance | The Man in the Red Tie |
| Sanctuary | Dr. Fisher |
Stage[]
| Year | Title | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Finishing the Picture | Paul | Goodman Theatre, Chicago |
| 2006 | Resurrection Blues | Skip | The Old Vic, London |
| 2009 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Atticus Finch | Hartford Stage, Hartford |
| 2010 | The Miracle Worker | Captain Keller | Broadway, New York |
| 2013 | Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas | Himself | Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles |
| 2022 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Atticus Finch | Gielgud Theatre, London |
Music Videos[]
| Year | Artist | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Madonna | “Crazy for You” |
| “Gambler” | ||
| 2017 | Logic | “1-800-273-8255” |
| 2020 | Jonas Brothers | “What a Man Gotta Do” |
Trivia[]
- Matthew Modine revealed in an interview that the Duffers had always intended for Brenner to reveal Brenner's survival following the events of Season One, but it was something he himself had begun to doubt until they informed him of the character's role in Season Four.[1]
- He is dyslexic.
- In 1980, Matthew Modine married to wardrobe stylist Caridad Rivera.[2]
- He's good friends with Eric Stoltz and Edward Asner.
- He is a staunch liberal Democrat.
- He's a horticulturist and a carpenter.
- He is the neighbor of Liam Neeson.
- He loves the New York Knicks and loves to paint.
- He has a son Boman Modine (b. 8 November 1985) and a daughter Ruby Modine (b. 31 July 1990).
- He was originally offered Tom Cruise's role in Top Gun (1986) but turned down the part because he disagreed with the film's cold-war politics.
- Matthew became friends with Millie Bobby Brown's family during filming, and accepted an invitation to stay in their guest house for three months while filming the fourth season.
- He is married to actress Caridad Rivera and they have two children together; Boman Mark Rivera Modine (born November 8, 1985) and Ruby Wylder Rivera Modine (born July 31, 1990).
References
- ↑ "Matthew Modine Was Losing Faith That His Character Would Return in Stranger Things" YouTube. June 28, 2022.
- ↑ "Matthew Modine married to Caridad Rivera." Celebsbiodate. January 16, 2022.