Matt Dillon

Matt Dillon

born on 18/2/1964 in New Rochelle, NY, United States

Matt Dillon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Matt Damon.
Matt Dillon
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Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.

Early life

Matthew Raymond Dillon was born in New Rochelle, New York, to second-generation Irish American Catholic parents Mary Ellen, a homemaker, and Paul Dillon, a portrait painter and sales manager for Union Camp, a packing material manufacturer.[1][2] Through his father, Dillon is related to comic strip artist Alex Raymond.[3] Dillon has one sister and four brothers, one of whom, Kevin Dillon,[4] is also an actor, and appears on the hit TV series Entourage. Dillon grew up in Mamaroneck, New York and before dropping out in junior year he attended Mamaroneck High School.

Career

In 1977, Jane Bernstein and a friend were helping director Jonathan Kaplan cast the violent teen drama Over the Edge when they found Dillon cutting class at Hommocks Middle School in Larchmont, NY. Dillon auditioned for a role and made his debut in the film.[5] The film received a regional, limited theatrical release in May 1979, and grossed only slightly over $200,000.[6] 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[7] and raised Dillon's profile among teenage audiences.

Another of Dillon's early roles was in the Jean Shepherd PBS special The Great American Fourth of July. The only available copies of this film are stored at UCLA, where a legal dispute makes it unavailable to the public.

His next role was in the 1982 film, Tex, followed two months later by Liar's Moon, where he played Jack Duncan, a poor Texas boy madly in love with a rich banker's daughter. In the mid-1980s, Dillon 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 it up with The Flamingo Kid in 1984. He made his Broadway debut with the play The Boys of Winter in 1985.

Dillon did voiceover work in the 1987 documentary film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. The same year, Dillon appeared briefly as a policeman in the music video for the song Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, a major hit in Ireland and the United Kingdom. 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 movies like Singles (1992). He had somewhat of a career resurgence when he played Nicole Kidman's husband in To Die For (1995), as well as large 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. That same year he starred in Factotum, a film adaptation of an autobiographical work by Charles Bukowski. Two years later he received critical praise and earned a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe along with Oscar 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 the actor 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 Sebastian International Film Festival.

Dillon contributed his voice as the narrator, Sal Paradise, in Jack Kerouac's famous 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 of "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. He guest stars in The Simpsons episode "Midnight Towboy" and also appears on an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Personal life

Dillon had a 3-year relationship with actress Cameron Diaz in the late 90s'.

On December 30, 2008, he was arrested by the Vermont State Police after he was clocked traveling at 106 miles per hour northbound on Interstate 91 near Newbury, Vermont.[8] He was charged with negligent operation of a vehicle. His attorney, Mark Kaplan, entered a plea of not guilty on Dillon's behalf in a January appearance in Orange County Court in Chelsea, and also appeared in court on February 25, 2009.[9] He faced a maximum of one year in jail, and a fine of $1,000. He pleaded guilty to speeding and paid a $828 fine on March 30, 2009; in return, the negligence charge was dismissed by prosecutors.[10]

Cultural influence

Dillon is mentioned on Jeff Buckley's Live at Sin-é: Legacy Edition CD. On the fifth track Buckley mentions that he cut his hair because people thought he looked like Matt Dillon. Dillon's name is dropped in the lyrics of "After the Fire", a song that Pete Townshend wrote for Roger Daltrey's solo album "Under A Raging Moon":

I saw Matt Dillon in black and white/There ain't no colour in memories/He rode his brother's Harley across the TV/ While I was laughing at Dom deLuise

Dillon is also mentioned in Pencey Prep's Don Quixote from the album Heartbreak in Stereo.

I dance the same dance every night;/ It's only you you're killing./ Super glue the queen of hearts and the information she's spilling,/ Matt Dillon.

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Other notes
1979 Over the Edge Richie White Film debut
1980 My Bodyguard Melvin Moody
Little Darlings Randy Adams
1981 Gunmen's Blues Lake short film
1982 Tex Tex McCormick
Liar's Moon Jack Duncan
1983 Rumble Fish Rusty James
Amazed Ewan Willson
The Outsiders Dallas 'Dally' Winston
1984 The Flamingo Kid Jeffrey Willis
1985 Target Chris Lloyd/Derek Potter
1986 Native Son Jan
Rebel Rebel
1987 The Big Town J. C. Cullen
1988 Kansas Doyle Kennedy
1989 Drugstore Cowboy Bob Independent Spirit Award Won Best Male Lead
Bloodhounds of Broadway Regret
1991 A Kiss Before Dying Jonathan Corliss
1992 Singles Cliff Poncier
1993 The Saint of Fort Washington Matthew
Mr. Wonderful Gus
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 and Out Cameron Drake
1998 There's Something About Mary Patrick (Pat) Healy MTV Award Won Best Villain
Wild Things Sam Lombardo
2001 One Night at McCool's Randy
2002 Deuces Wild Fritzy
City of Ghosts Jimmy also director and writer
2003 Abby Singer Himself
2004 Employee of the Month David Walsh
2005 Herbie: Fully Loaded Trip Murphy
Crash Sgt. John Ryan Academy Award nomination "Best Supporting Actor"

Independent Spirit Award - Won Best Supporting Male

2006 Factotum Henry Chinaski playing Charles Bukowski
You, Me and Dupree Carl Peterson
Loverboy Mark limited release
2008 Nothing But the Truth Patton Dubois
2009 Old Dogs Barry
Armored Mike Cochrane
2010 Takers Det. Jack Welles
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1982 The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters Ralph PBS TV-Movie
1991 Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules Eddie Megeffin HBO TV-Movie
1991 Fishing With John IFC
1999 Oz Director of Episode:
Napoleon's Boney Parts
2007 The Simpsons Louie Voice/Episode:
Midnight Towboy

Awards and nominations

Matt Dillon has won several awards in his career including Screen Actors Guild Award, MTV Movie Award and Independent Spirit Award. He also nominated for many awards which includes Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA with the film Crash. He was also honored in the San Sebastián International Film Festival where he received the "Donostia Lifetime Archievement Award." This list includes awards and nominations for his work. In the "Best Ensemble" category, he shared the award with the rest of the ensemble cast.

Year Ceremony/Award Nomination Film Result
1981 Young Artist Awards Best Young Motion Picture Actor My Bodyguard Nominated
1983 Best Young Actor Motion Picture Tex Nominated
1990 Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor Drugstore Cowboy Won
1999 MTV Movie Awards Best Villain (tied) There's Something About Mary Won
Best Kiss (shared) Wild Things Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Film Funniest Scene There's Something About Mary Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actor Comedy There's Something About Mary Won
2005 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Won
Gotham Awards Tribute Award - Won
Best Ensemble Cast Crash Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Crash Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival Ensemble of the Year Crash Won
Satellite Awards Best Ensemble Crash Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Cast Crash Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Cast Crash Won
2006 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Black Reel Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Critics' Choice Award Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Ensemble Won
Empire Awards Best Actor Nominated
Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
SAG Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Cast Won
San Sebastián International Film Festival Donostia Lifetime Archievement Award - Won
2007 Cairo International Film Festival Special Award - Won

References

  1. Cigar Aficionado | People Profile | Matt Dillon
  2. Matt Dillon Biography (1964-)
  3. Fordham golf coach has way with the brush, USA Today, October 9, 2001. URL accessed on May 12, 2010.
  4. Kevin Dillon Biography at FilmReference.com
  5. Over the Edge: An Oral History of the Greatest Teen Rebellion Movie of All Time September 2009, Vice Magazine. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  6. "50 Top-Grossing Films". (Week ending May 23, 1979). Variety, pp. 9.
  7. Matt Dillon box office tallies. Retrieved on March 10, 2006.
  8. [1]
  9. [2]
  10. Matt Dillon Pleads Guilty WPTZ news, March 30, 2009

External links

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This page was last modified 09.09.2010 17:34:55

This article uses material from the article Matt Dillon from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.