Matthew Fox (actor)
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| Matthew Fox | |
 Matthew Fox as Jack Shephard in Lost The image above is believed to be a replaceable fair use image. It will be deleted on 2006-12-14 if not determined to be irreplaceable. If you believe this image is not replaceable, follow the instructions on the image page to dispute this assertion. |
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| Born | July 14, 1966 (age 40) Crowheart, Wyoming |
| Notable roles | "Jack Shephard" in "Lost", "Charlie Salinger" in "Party of Five" |
Matthew Fox (born July 14, 1966) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor and former model. He got his big break playing the older brother and patriarch Charlie Salinger on Party of Five in the 1990s, co-starring with both Scott Wolf and Neve Campbell. He gained greater fame for his current starring role as the calm and collected survivor Dr. Jack Shephard on the hit ABC drama series Lost.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
The son of Loretta and Francis Fox, Matthew Fox was born the middle child of three brothers on his family's horse ranch in Crowheart, Wyoming. Following his graduation from Wind River High School in nearby Pavillion, Wyoming, Fox undertook a prep year at the private Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, from which he gained admission to Columbia University. At Columbia, he was a member of the Columbia Lions football team, and played in the game that broke Columbia's notorious 44-game losing streak. After graduating in 1988, he began acting with the Atlantic Theater Company. He also attended the School for Film and Television in New York City.
According to an interview in the March 2006 issue of GQ, Fox sought a career on Wall Street before turning a job offer down. He studied economics at Columbia and upon his graduation applied for a job to sell stocks at Prudential-Bache. "I didn't have a suit, so I had to borrow one from a friend. He was 5-10, and I'm 6-2, so the thing didn't fit. And I borrowed his penny loafers," he said. He described the staff as "all these mid-20s, Type A, go-getting wannabe Gordon Gekkos. There was just so much testosterone flying around, in all the wrong directions ... I'll never forget the moment as long as I live: We're saying goodbye, and they were like, 'Well, y'know, you're gonna come here and kick ass, and it's all gonna be great!' and then one of 'em says, 'But he's gonna have to do something about those shoes!' They all had exactly the same pair of Oxford shoes on. In that moment, I [said], 'There's no way I can do this.'"
He had a change in careers when a girlfriend's mother, who was also a modeling agent, suggested that he try modeling instead of trading stocks.
[edit] Career
At the age of 25, Fox made his debut on an episode of Wings. That same year, he also starred on a short-lived dramatic series, Freshman Dorm. Still not being a familiar face on the small screen, he continued receiving supporting roles, including the CBS Schoolbreak Special series, If I Die Before I Wake before he made his big screen debut in My Boyfriend's Back (1993).
In 1994, Fox hit the jackpot when he landed a co-starring role as the eldest of the five siblings who lost both parents in a car accident on the critically-acclaimed 1990s teen drama, Party of Five, as Charlie Salinger, FOX's attempt at repeating the success of such successful serials such as: Beverly Hills 90210 and its spin-off, Melrose Place. In that very first season, Party connected to audiences and teenagers to form the television media. The network needed to deliver the compassion and care to Fox's character, Salinger, a man who was ripped apart with his family and felt the need to take care of his other siblings. During his tenure on Party, both he and co-star Wolfe set many hearts aflutter, appearing on many teen magazines and posters.
In 1996, People Magazine named Fox as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World".
After Fox's Party came to an end after six long seasons he starred in another TV series Haunted, in 2002, but the show didn't match the popularity of Party of Five, eight years after.
Since September 2004, Fox has been playing the role of the calm and cool Dr. Jack Shephard on Lost. Reportedly, it was his idea to seek a role in the series as he was about to travel to Hawaii with several other cast members. He initially auditioned for the role of James "Sawyer" Ford. However, co-creator J.J. Abrams was so pleased with his reading of Dr. Shephard character that Fox was cast in the lead role. Reportedly, he was permitted to read the entire top-secret pilot script. As the star of the series, he is also the highest-paid actor on the show. For his work on Lost, Fox was nominated for a Golden Globe. He also won the 2005 Satellite Award and shared the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
On December 2, he hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guests Tenacious D. The following week, he appeared in a digital short that was cut from his episode.
Fox co-stars with Matthew McConaughey in the 2006 sports drama movie We Are Marshall, which will be released on December 22nd.
[edit] Personal life
Fox married Margherita Ronchi in 1992. They have two children, Kyle (*1998) (pronounced "Kyleigh") and Byron (*2001). Fox is a football fan and loves the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team. Lost costar Madison lives with him and his family. Every Sunday evening, Fox throws a viewing party and gifts his guests with pictures he took during filming of the pilot episode of the show.
[edit] Filmography
- 1992 Early TV appearance on Wings
- 1992 TV series debut in a regular role, Freshman Dorm
- 1993 Feature film debut, My Boyfriend's Back
- 1994 Had regular role of older sibling Charlie Salinger in the weekly drama series, Party of Five
- 1999 Received rave reviews for his portrayal of a disturbed young man in the CBS movie Behind the Mask, opposite Donald Sutherland
- 2002 Starred in the UPN series Haunted
- 2004-present Portrays Dr. Jack Shephard on the ABC drama Lost
- 2006 Co-starring in the Warner Bros film We Are Marshall, about the 1970 plane crash that took the lives of almost the entire Marshall University football team. He is playing the role of coach Red Dawson, opposite Matthew McConaughey. The release date is December 22, 2006.
