Matthew Modine

Matthew Modine (birthname: Matthew Avery Modine) is the rare American actor who can make the uncommon claim of having worked with an enormous range of world-class filmmakers across multiple generations, including Stanley Kubrick, Christopher Nolan, Robert Altman, Peter Hall, Gillian Armstrong, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, James Ivory, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, Tom DiCillo, Mike Figgis, Tony Richardson, Alan J. Pakula, Carroll Ballard, Abel Ferrara, John Schlesinger, and Alan Parker.

Modine debuted in director/writer Sayles’ comedy-drama, Baby It’s You (1983), co-starring Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano, and then had his first starring role in Altman’s film version of David Rabe’s play, Streamers (1983), and then landed a supporting role in Richardson’s adaptation of John Irving’s novel, The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), starring Jodie Foster, Beau Bridges, Rob Lowe, Nastassja Kinski, Wallace Shawn, and Amanda Plummer.

Matthew Modine had his second starring role in Alan Parker’s version of William Wharton’s novel, Birdy (1984), co-starring Nicolas Cage, followed by a major supporting role in director Gillian Armstrong’s drama, Mrs. Soffel (1984), with Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton. Modine then starred opposite Linda Fiorentino in the Harold Becker-directed romantic drama, Vision Quest (1985), earning $13 million for Warner Bros.

Modine had his breakthrough role as Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick’s long-awaited Vietnam film, Full Metal Jacket (1987), based on Gustav Hasford’s novel, The Short-Timers, and co-starring Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood, Arliss Howard, Kevyn Major Howard, and Ed O’Ross, earning an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay, and becoming a cult Vietnam War movie after grossing $120 million (on a $16 million budget) for Warner Bros.

Modine starred opposite Albert Finney and Kevin Anderson in director Alan J. Pakula’s and writer Lyle Kessler’s screen version of Kessler’s play, Orphans (1987), followed by Modine co-starring with Michelle Pfeiffer in the successful Jonathan Demme-directed crime comedy, Married to the Mob (1988), with Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin; and Modine co-starring with Faye Dunaway, Jennifer Beals, and Ian Bannen in the Italian comedy, The Gamble (1988), and then Modine starred opposite Daphne Zuniga and Christine Lahti in the Thom Eberhardt-directed drama Gross Anatomy (1989).

Matthew Modine led the sprawling cast of the Michael Caton-Jones-directed war drama, Memphis Belle (1990), with Eric Stoltz, Sean Astin, Harry Connick Jr., and John Lithgow, and produced by David Puttnam. Modine joined director John Schlessinger for the commercially successful ($55 million globally) psychological thriller, Pacific Heights (1990), co-starring Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, Mako, Nobu McCarthy, Laurie Metcalf, Carl Lumbly, Dorian Harewood, Tippi Hedrin, and Miriam Margolyes.

Modine starred with Lara Flynn Boyle, Marisa Tomei, Lori Singer, and Fred Ward in writer-director Alan Rudolph’s drama, Equinox (1992), which earned four Independent Spirit awards. Then Modine continued working with American independent filmmakers with Carroll Ballard in yacht race drama, Wind (1992), co-starring Jennifer Grey, Stellan Skarsgård, Rebecca Miller, Cliff Robertson, and Jack Thompson, and which was produced by American Zoetrope for a TriStar Pictures release.

Modine made a big impression in the large ensemble of Robert Altman’s acclaimed Los Angeles saga, Short Cuts (1993), based on Raymond Carver’s stories and co-starring Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, Tom Waits, Frances McDormand, Julianne Moore, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey Jr., and Madeleine Stowe.

Matthew Modine reunited with Albert Finney in the Mike Figgis/Ronald Harwood version of Terence Rattigan’s play, The Browning Version (1994), with Greta Scacchi, Julian Sands, and Michael Gambon, and released by Paramount Pictures. Modine led another ensemble in 20^th Century Fox’s $12-million-grossing rom-com, Bye Bye Love (1995), with Randy Quaid, Paul Reiser, Janeane Garofalo, and Rob Reiner, and then Modine starred in his first voice role in writer-director Carlo Carlei’s fantasy drama, Fluke (1995), with Nancy Travis, Eric Stoltz, and Jon Polito.

Modine starred in director Renny Harlin’s lambasted commercial bomb, the $100 million (but $10 million-grossing) pirate movie Cutthroat Island (1995), co-starring Geena Davis and Frank Langella, and lost so much money that it caused producing company Carolco Pictures to shutter. Modine shifted to the dark side of American indie cinema with writer-director Abel Ferrara for The Blackout (1997), with Claudia Schiffer, Beatrice Dalle, and Dennis Hopper, which premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Matthew Modine joined another important American indie filmmaker, Tom DiCillo, for the New York fashion satire, The Real Blonde (1997), co-starring Catherine Keener, Daryl Hannah, Maxwell Caulfield, Elizabeth Berkley, Marlo Thomas, Buck Henry, Christopher Lloyd, and Kathleen Turner, and then Modine starred in his debut film as writer-director, the crime drama If…Dog…Rabbit… (1999), co-starring John Hurt, Bruce Dern, and Kevin J. O’Connor.

Modine took on a supporting role in co-writer/director Oliver Stone’s NFL drama, Any Given Sunday (1999), based on Pat Toomey’s book, and starring Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Charlton Heston, Ann-Margret, and Aaron Eckhart. Grossing a solid $100 million global take on a $55 million budget for Warner Bros.

After a starring role in the indie movie, Very Mean Men (2000), with Ben Gazzara, Martin Landau, Scott Baio, Burt Young, Charles Durning, and Louise Fletcher, Modine joined filmmaker Spike Lee for the satire, Bamboozled (2000), starring Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport, Mos Def, and Al Sharpton, and released by New Line Cinema.

Matthew Modine joined another starry cast with another major filmmaker, James Ivory, for the Merchant-Ivory comedy-drama written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Ivory, Le Divorce (2003), based on Diane Johnson’s novel, and co-starring Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Leslie Caron, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Stephen Fry, Thierry Lhermitte, Bebe Neuwirth, and Sam Waterston, and which earned $13 million for Fox Searchlight Pictures. Modine reunited with filmmaker Abel Ferrara to portray Jesus for the film-inside-a-film, Mary (2005), with Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Heather Graham, and Marion Cotillard, and which premiered at the Venice Film Festival (where it won multiple prizes, including the Special Jury Prize) before a U.S. release by IFC Films.

Modine joined director/writer Abel Ferrara again for the terrific Go Go Tales (2007), starring Willem Dafoe, Bob Hoskins, Asia Argento, and Sylvia Miles, and based on John Cassavetes’ masterpiece, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976). After making a string of short films and playing in several little-seen features, Modine was cast in a co-starring role opposite Eva Mendes, Patricia Arquette, and Eugenio Derbez in the Patricia Riggen-directed drama, Girl in Progress (2012).

Matthew Modine played a small supporting role under filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s direction in his Batman epic, The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Then he took on another supporting role in the Steve Jobs biopic, Jobs (2013), while serving as executive producer or producer on various features including Cheatin’ (2013), the documentary The Brainwashing of My Dad (2015), and Revengeance (2016). Modine was cast opposite Claire Holt and Mandy Moore in writer-director Johannes Roberts’ horror movie, 47 Meters Down (2017), grossing a strong $47.6 million globally, spawning a sequel.

Modine played the Secretary of Defense in the successful sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018), directed by Stefano Solima and written by Taylor Sheridan, with Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Catherine Keener, grossing a solid $76 million worldwide for Sony Releasing and Lionsgate. Modine co-starred in several little-seen movies with such co-stars as Nicolas Cage, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Jeremy Irons, and Louis Gossett Jr., and then played another Washington D.C. figure in the true story drama directed by R.J. Daniel Hanna, Miss Virginia (2019), starring Uzo Aduba.

Matthew Modine joined the colorful ensemble of director/producer Tate Taylor’s black comedy, Breaking News in Yuba County (2021), starring Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Lewis, Clifton Collins Jr., and Ellen Barkin, and released to poor box office by United Artists Releasing. Modine then appeared in the intense horror movie directed by Mike P. Nelson, the reboot Wrong Turn (2021), with a cast including Charlotte Vega, Bill Sage, and Daisy Head, earning nearly $5 million for distributor Saban Films.

Modine delivered another voice performance for an animated feature with his appearance in Latvian writer-director Signe Baumane’s musical comedy-drama, My Love Affair with Marriage (2022), with the voices of Dagmara Dominczyk, Cameron Monaghan, and Stephen Lang, and premiered at the Tribeca film festival and then was nominated for best animated film from the European Film Awards. Modine reunited with filmmaker Christopher Nolan to portray engineer Vannevar Bush in his Oscar-winning (seven, including best picture) epic, Oppenheimer (2023), starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Josh Hartnett, and grossing a phenomenal $965 million worldwide take for Universal Pictures.

Matthew Modine joined star Liam Neeson for the action thriller directed by Nimrod Antal, Retribution (2023), with Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, and Embeth Davidtz, earning a poor $18.7 million for the French/German/Spanish/American co-production and U.S. distributors Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions. Modine starred in co-writer/director R.J. Daniel Hanna’s biking race drama, Hard Miles (2024), co-starring Cynthia McWilliams, Jahking Guillory, and Sean Astin, and released by Blue Fox Entertainment.