Matt Dillon | |
---|---|
Born | Matthew Raymond Dillon February 18, 1964 New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1979–present |
Partner(s) | Cameron Diaz (1995–1998) Roberta Mastromichele (2014–2023) |
Relatives | Kevin Dillon (brother) [1] Jim Raymond (great uncle) Alex Raymond (great uncle) |
Awards | Full list |
Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and Grammy nomination.
Dillon made his feature film debut in Over the Edge (1979) and established himself as a teen idol by starring in the films My Bodyguard (1980), Little Darlings (1980), Liar's Moon (1982), The Flamingo Kid (1984) and three of five S. E. Hinton book adaptations: Tex (1982), Rumble Fish (1983) and The Outsiders (1983). From the late 1980s onward, Dillon achieved further success, starring in Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Singles (1992), The Saint of Fort Washington (1993), To Die For (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), In & Out (1997), There's Something About Mary (1998), and Wild Things (1998). In a 1991 article, movie critic Roger Ebert referred to him as the best actor within his age group, along with Sean Penn. [2]
In 2002, he made his directing debut with City of Ghosts and has since continued to act in films such as Factotum (2005), You, Me and Dupree (2006), The House That Jack Built (2018), and Asteroid City (2023). For Crash (2004), he won an Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He had earlier been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for narrating Jack Kerouac's On the Road . On television, he starred in the first season of the FOX television series Wayward Pines (2015), for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award.
Dillon was raised in Mamaroneck, New York by homemaker Mary Ellen and Paul Dillon, a portrait painter and sales manager for toy bear manufacturer Union Camp. Paul Dillon also was the long-time golf coach at Fordham University, having been enshrined in the school's Hall of Fame in 2019. [3] [4] [5] [6] His paternal grandmother was the sister of comic strip artist Alex Raymond, the creator of Flash Gordon . [7] Dillon is the second of six children with one sister and four brothers, one of whom is actor Kevin Dillon. Dillon was raised in a close-knit Roman Catholic family of Irish descent. [8] [9] [10] He grew up in Mamaroneck, New York. [11]
In 1978, Jane Bernstein and a friend were helping director Jonathan Kaplan cast the teen drama Over the Edge when they found Dillon cutting class at Hommocks Middle School in Larchmont. Dillon auditioned for a role and made his debut in the film. [12] The film received a regional, limited theatrical release in May 1979, and grossed only slightly over $200,000. [13] Dillon's performance was well-received, which led to his casting in two films released the following year: the teenage sex comedy Little Darlings , in which Kristy McNichol's character loses her virginity to a boy from the camp across the lake, played by Dillon, and the more serious teen dramedy My Bodyguard , where he played a high-school bully opposite Chris Makepeace. The films, released in March and July 1980, respectively, were box office successes [14] and raised Dillon's profile among teen audiences.
Another of Dillon's early roles was in the Jean Shepherd PBS special The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters. [15] [16] The only available copies of this film are stored at UCLA, where a legal dispute makes it unavailable to the public.
One of his next roles was in Liar's Moon , where he played Jack Duncan, a poor Texas boy madly in love with a rich banker's daughter. In the early 1980s, Dillon also had prominent roles in three adaptations of S. E. Hinton novels: Tex (1982), The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983). All three films were shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hinton's hometown. The Outsiders and Rumble Fish had Dillon working with Francis Ford Coppola and Diane Lane. He followed those up with The Flamingo Kid in 1984. He made his Broadway debut with the play The Boys of Winter [17] in 1985. Dillon did voiceover work in the 1987 documentary film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. In 1985, Dillon was namechecked in the lyrics of the Roger Daltrey song 'After The Fire' (written by Pete Townshend). In 1989, Dillon won critical acclaim for his performance as a drug addict in Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy .
Dillon continued to work in the early 1990s with roles in films like Singles (1992). He had a resurgence when he played Nicole Kidman's husband in To Die For (1995), as well as starring roles in Wild Things (1998) and There's Something About Mary (1998), for which he received an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
In 2002, he wrote and directed the film City of Ghosts , starring himself, James Caan and Gérard Depardieu. In 2005, he starred in Factotum , a film adaptation of an autobiographical work by Charles Bukowski. Two years later he received critical praise and earned Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for his role in Crash , a film co-written and directed by Paul Haggis. In 2005, Dillon co-starred in Disney's Herbie: Fully Loaded and on March 11, 2006, hosted Saturday Night Live , in which he impersonated Greg Anderson and Rod Serling in sketches.
Dillon starred in the comedy You, Me and Dupree , opposite Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. The film opened on July 14, 2006. On September 29, 2006, Dillon was honored with the Premio Donostia prize in the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Dillon contributed his voice as the narrator, Sal Paradise, in an audiobook version of Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road . In 2006, he narrated Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos .
Dillon appeared in several music videos during his career. He made a cameo appearance as a detective in Madonna's Bad Girl music video which also stars Christopher Walken. Dillon appeared in 1987 in the music video for "Fairytale of New York" by the Irish folk-punk band The Pogues, playing a cop who escorts lead singer Shane MacGowan into the "drunk tank". In 2007, the band Dinosaur Jr. hired Dillon to direct the video for their single "Been There All The Time" from the album Beyond. That year, he guest-starred on The Simpsons episode "Midnight Towboy". Early in 2015, he played the role of a Secret Service agent in the FOX 10-episode series Wayward Pines .
In 2018, Dillon played the lead role in the Lars von Trier thriller The House That Jack Built . [18]
He portrayed Marlon Brando in the biopic about Maria Schneider Being Maria , [19] which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Matt was in a relationship with Cameron Diaz from 1995 to 1998. [20]
Dillon is an aficionado and collector of Latin music, with a large collection of vinyl, including a notable library of Cuban 78s. [21]
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | Over the Edge | Ritchie White | |
1980 | My Bodyguard | Melvin Moody | |
Little Darlings | Randy Adams | ||
1982 | Tex | Tex McCormick | |
Liar's Moon | Jack Duncan | ||
1983 | The Outsiders | Dallas "Dally" Winston | |
Rumble Fish | Rusty James | ||
1984 | The Flamingo Kid | Jeffrey Willis | |
1985 | Target | Chris Lloyd / Derek Potter | |
Rebel | Sergeant Harry Rebel | ||
1986 | Native Son | Jan Erlone | |
1987 | The Big Town | J. C. Cullen | |
1988 | Kansas | Doyle Kennedy | |
1989 | Drugstore Cowboy | Bob Hughes | |
Bloodhounds of Broadway | Regret | ||
1990 | Bad Influence | ||
1991 | A Kiss Before Dying | Jonathan Corliss | |
1992 | Singles | Cliff Poncier | |
1993 | The Saint of Fort Washington | Matthew | |
Mr. Wonderful | Gus DeMarco | ||
1994 | Golden Gate | Kevin Walker | |
1995 | To Die For | Larry Maretto | |
Frankie Starlight | Terry Klout | ||
1996 | Grace of My Heart | Jay Phillips | |
Albino Alligator | Dova | ||
Beautiful Girls | Tommy "Birdman" Rowland | ||
1997 | In & Out | Cameron Drake | |
1998 | There's Something About Mary | Patrick "Pat" Healy | |
Wild Things | Sam Lombardo | ||
2001 | One Night at McCool's | Randy | |
2002 | Deuces Wild | Fritzy Zennetti | |
City of Ghosts | Jimmy Cremming | Also writer/director | |
2003 | Abby Singer | Himself | |
2004 | Employee of the Month | David Walsh | |
Crash | Officer John Ryan | ||
2005 | Loverboy | Mark | |
Factotum | Henry Chinaski | ||
Herbie: Fully Loaded | Trip Murphy | ||
2006 | You, Me and Dupree | Carl Peterson | |
2008 | Nothing but the Truth | Patton Dubois | |
2009 | Old Dogs | Barry | |
Armored | Mike Cochrane | ||
2010 | Takers | Det. Jack Welles | |
2012 | Girl Most Likely | George / The Bousche | |
2013 | Pawn Shop Chronicles | Richard | |
The Art of the Steal | Nicky Calhoun | ||
Sunlight Jr. | Richie Barnes | ||
2014 | Bad Country | Jesse Weiland | |
2017 | Rock Dog | Trey | Voice only |
Going in Style | Hamer | ||
2018 | The House That Jack Built | Jack | |
Running for Grace | Doc | ||
Head Full of Honey | Nick | ||
2019 | Nimic | Father | Short film |
Proxima | Mike Shannon | ||
2020 | Capone | Johnny | |
The Great Fellove | — | Documentary; Executive producer/director | |
2021 | Land of Dreams | Alan | |
2022 | American Dreamer | Dell | [22] |
2023 | Asteroid City | Walter Geronimo | |
2024 | Being Maria | Marlon Brando | |
Haunted Heart | Max | [23] |
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters | Ralph Parker | Television film |
1991 | Fishing with John | Himself | TV miniseries (episode 3) |
Women & Men 2 | Eddie Megeffin | Television film | |
1999 | Oz | — | TV series (1 episode; Napoleon's Boney Parts); Director |
2007 | The Simpsons | Louie | TV series (1 episode: "Midnight Towboy"); Voice only |
2011 | Modern Family | Robbie Sullivan | TV series (1 episode: "Princess Party") |
2015 | Wayward Pines | Ethan Burke | TV series (10 episodes) |
2023 | High Desert | Denny | Main role |
Paul Bettany is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021), for which he garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician who has earned acclaim as an independent filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures.
Christopher Thomas Howell, also known professionally as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and director. He has starred in the films Soul Man, The Hitcher, Grandview U.S.A., Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, and The Outsiders. He has also appeared in Gettysburg and Gods and Generals as Thomas Chamberlain; E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; The Amazing Spider-Man; Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox; and Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.
The Brat Pack is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. The term "Brat Pack", a play on the Rat Pack from the 1950s and 1960s, was first popularized in a 1985 New York magazine cover story, which described a group of highly successful film stars in their early twenties. David Blum wrote the article after witnessing several young actors being mobbed by groupies at Los Angeles' Hard Rock Cafe. The group has been characterized by the partying of members such as Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson.
Diane Lane is an American actress. She made her motion picture debut in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance. Later she acted in the movie Streets of Fire (1984). Lane returned to acting to appear in The Big Town, Lady Beware and western miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Lane earned further recognition for her role in A Walk on the Moon (1999), for which she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. This was followed by several film roles of varying degrees of success such as My Dog Skip, The Perfect Storm, The Glass House, and Hardball.
Emilio Estevez is an American actor and filmmaker.
Susan Eloise Hinton is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels (YA) set in Oklahoma, especially The Outsiders (1967), which she wrote during high school. Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre.
Adam Jared Brody is an American actor. His breakout role was as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series The O.C. (2003–2007). Brody appeared in films including Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Thank You for Smoking (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), and Jennifer's Body (2009). In the 2010s, Brody had supporting roles in comedies including Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) and Sleeping with Other People (2015), and dramatic films such as Lovelace (2013). He appeared in a number of television series during this time, and starred in and produced the television series StartUp (2016–2018).
Rumble Fish is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1975 novel Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. The film stars Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vincent Spano, Diane Lane, Diana Scarwid, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn, and Dennis Hopper.
The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel by S.E. Hinton published in 1967 by Viking Press. The book details the conflict between two rival gangs of White Americans divided by their socioeconomic status: the working-class "Greasers" and the upper-middle-class "Socs". The story is told in first-person perspective by teenage protagonist Ponyboy Curtis, and takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1965, although this is never explicitly stated in the book.
James Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the series Gunsmoke. He has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) and four more made-for-television Gunsmoke films in the 1990s. In Europe, Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the Western series How the West Was Won. He was the older brother of actor Peter Graves.
James Paul Marsden is an American television and film actor. He began his acting career guest starring in the television shows Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993), Touched by an Angel (1995), and Party of Five (1995). Marsden gained fame for his portrayal of Cyclops in the X-Men film series (2000–2014) and for his roles in the films The Notebook (2004), Superman Returns (2006), Hairspray (2007), Enchanted (2007), 27 Dresses (2008) and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). He portrayed John F. Kennedy in the drama film The Butler (2013) and Tom Wachowski in Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) and is reprising the role in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024).
Logan Wade Lerman is an American actor. He appeared in commercials in the mid-1990s, before starring in the series Jack & Bobby (2004–2005) and the movies The Butterfly Effect (2004) and Hoot (2006). Lerman gained further recognition for playing the title character in the Percy Jackson film series, d'Artagnan in 2011's The Three Musketeers, starred in the coming-of-age dramas The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Indignation (2016) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017), and had major roles in the 2014 films Noah and Fury. In 2020, he returned to television with the series Hunters.
Factotum is a 2005 French-Norwegian dark comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Bent Hamer, adapted from the 1975 novel of the same name by Charles Bukowski. It stars Matt Dillon as Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski. Although events in the book take place in Los Angeles in the 1940s, the film has a contemporary setting.
Kevin Brady Dillon is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Johnny "Drama" Chase on the HBO comedy series Entourage, Bunny in the war film Platoon, and John Densmore in the musical biopic The Doors. He was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for his performance on Entourage.
The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film.
Tex is a novel by S. E. Hinton, published in 1979. The book takes place in the same universe as Hinton's first book The Outsiders, but in a rural town called Garyville, Oklahoma, a fictional suburb of Tulsa.
Tex is a 1982 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Tim Hunter in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Charles S. Haas and Hunter, based on S. E. Hinton's best-selling 1979 novel of the same name. It follows two teenage brothers in rural Oklahoma and their struggle to grow up after their mother's death and their father's departure. The film stars Matt Dillon in the title role, with Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly, Emilio Estevez, in his film debut, Bill McKinney, Frances Lee McCain and Ben Johnson in supporting roles. Metzler was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
The Outsiders House Museum is a museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, about Francis Ford Coppola's coming-of-age movie,The Outsiders (1983), and the 1967 novel by the same name it adapts by S. E. Hinton. It aims to preserve the house which served as the primary film set for the Curtis Brothers. The museum was created by hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor, who is a long-time fan of The Outsiders.
Ponyboy Michael "Pony" Curtis is a fictional character and the main protagonist of S. E. Hinton's 1967 novel The Outsiders. On screen, he is played by C. Thomas Howell in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film adaptation and by Jay R. Ferguson in the 1990 sequel TV series. Brody Grant originated the role on stage in the 2023 stage musical adaptation.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)