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Matthew Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor and former model. His first major role was 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 much greater fame for his current starring role as Jack Shephard on the hit ABC drama series Lost. This handsome, dependable actor has achieved that television rarity – starring on two very different and equally popular TV series – first as older brother and patriarch Charlie to the orphaned Salinger clan on Fox’s family drama “Party of Five” (1994-2000), and a decade later, as cool-under-pressure Dr. Jack Shephard, one of several marooned plane crash survivors on ABC’s adventure drama “Lost (2004 - ). On both shows, Fox exuded a natural calm and confidence whenever chaos loomed, bringing the former model-turned-actor a loyal fan base of women smitten with his scruffy looks and men impressed by his take-charge attitude. Fox was born in Crowheart, Wyoming, and was raised on his family's horse ranch there. His mother, Loretta B. (née Eagono), was a teacher, and his father, Francis G. Fox, raised longhorn cattle and horses and grew barley for Coors beer. He is a descendant of General George Meade. He has an older brother, Francis, Jr., and a younger brother, Bayard. 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 played wide receiver, participating in the game that led to the end of Columbia's notorious 44-game losing streak. He was also a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. After graduating in 1989, he began acting with the Atlantic Theater Company. He also attended the School for Film and Television in New York City. Fox was the middle of three brothers growing up on the family’s long-horn cattle ranch. Ever the cowboy, Fox was in the saddle by age six. He attended Wind River High School before attending Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts for a post-grad year. After receiving a football scholarship from Columbia University, he balanced playing football with earning a degree in economics, graduating in 1988 with dreams of Wall Street. His careers plans shifted dramatically when a girlfriend’s mother, who happened to be a modeling agent, suggested the 6’2” hunk try his hand at modeling instead of trading stocks. Fox landed a few commercials, but turned to acting as his new career-of-choice, studying for two years at The School for Film and Television in NYC. 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.'" 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 was cast in a co-starring role as the eldest of five siblings who lose both parents in a car accident on the 1990s teen drama, Party of Five, as Charlie Salinger. In 1996, People Magazine named Fox as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. After Party of Five was canceled after its sixth season, Fox starred in another TV series Haunted, in 2002. The young actor landed his first TV role on an episode of “Wings” (NBC, 1990-97) in 1992, but made his debut as a featured player that same year, playing Danny Foley on the short-lived "Freshman Dorm" (CBS, 1992) – a dramatic series focusing on the trials and tribulations of six students entering college in Southern California. For a relative newcomer, Fox continued to find steady work both on the big and small screen, starring in the CBS Schoolbreak Special "If I Die Before I Wake" (1993) before debuting in his first feature film, the teen comedy "My Boyfriend's Back" (1993). Then, he hit the big time. Fox landed the enviable role of oldest brother of five siblings orphaned by the sudden death of both parents in a car accident on "Party of Five" (Fox, 1994-2000). More grounded in reality than the network’s other teen dramas of the time – “Beverly Hills 90210” (1990-2000) and “Melrose Place” (1992-99) – the series struck a chord in viewers and joined the other two teen dramas to form the network’s appointment television trifecta. Fox brought warmth and empathy to his Charlie Salinger, a man torn between his need for freedom and his obligation to take care of his younger siblings. During the “Party” years, Fox and co-star Scott Wolfe set many hearts aflutter – appearing on teen magazines and posters in many a young girls’ room. People Magazine even named Fox (nickname: “Foxy”) as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” in 1996. The grateful actor was so devoted to his hit show, he eschewed feature film offers while working on the series, but did earn strong notices for his work playing a mentally handicapped man opposite Donald Sutherland in the 1999 CBS TV movie "Behind the Mask.” “Party” wrapped in 2000, leaving Fox to try for another series. He landed the role of Frank Taylor on the horror drama series “The Haunted” (UPN, 2002) but that proved short-lived. By the time ABC began casting their risky new adventure/supernatural/drama “Lost,” Fox was ready again for a quality part in a good series. The mandatory move to Hawaii didn’t sound bad either. He originally auditioned for the role of Sawyer, but co-creator J.J. Abrams was so impressed with Fox’s reading of the commanding lead hero, Dr. Jack Shepard, that he allowed the actor to read the entire top-secret script, but kept running in and out of the room every 20 minutes asking Fox what thought of it. Abram’s trust in this particular auditioning actor told him he probably had the part. After moving his family to the island of Oahu where the show was shot, Fox quickly bonded with the multi-cultural cast of actors who were all thrown together to shoot an $11 million-plus pilot that defied description. The first episode featured a violent plane crash, marooning the lucky survivors on a mysterious and seemingly deserted island. Despite their many personality clashes and personal frustrations, the group learned to bond together for survival, with Jack Shepard the glue that held them all together. “Lost” premiered Sept. 22, 2004 to stellar ratings, becoming, along with “Desperate Housewives,” welcome double-whammy hits for the heretofore ailing network. Fans got hooked and hooked hard. Theories abounded , a la “Twin Peaks”/”X-Files” and all were water cooler fodder the next day – Were the survivors really dead? In purgatory? Trapped in another dimension? And what was up with the little kid talking backwards? Half the appeal of the monster hit show was figuring out exactly what was going on down on Danger Island. As the group leader and one of the best known cast members, Fox reaped a lot of press – the most he had received since his “Party” days – appearing on the covers of Entertainment Weekly and GQ. He received industry recognition for his role, including 2005 Saturn and 2006 Golden Globe Award nominations for “Best Actor in a Drama.” Fox won a Golden Satellite Award in 2005 and shared the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.” When not shooting the demanding hit, good guy Fox showed his good will toward “Lost” cast and crew by throwing viewer parties at his home every Sunday night and gifting these same folks with a special memento photo album of pictures he took during the shooting of the pilot. These same pictures were deemed good enough for inclusion on the first season DVD – not surprisingly, a blockbuster bestseller as well. Since September 2004, Fox has played the role of the troubled and dedicated surgeon, Dr. Jack Shephard, on Lost. He initially auditioned for the role of James "Sawyer" Ford. However, co-creator J.J. Abrams was so pleased with his reading of the Shephard character that Fox was cast in the lead role. As the star of the series, he is also the highest-paid actor on the show. Fox was nominated for a Golden Globe, won the 2005 Satellite Award, and shared the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, for his role in Lost. On December 2, 2006, he hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guests Tenacious D. In 2006, Fox co-starred with Matthew McConaughey in the sports drama, We Are Marshall. He also played a bit part in the action film Smokin' Aces and starred in the 2008 thriller, Vantage Point. He said of this film that as well as being a straightforward thriller, he thinks it has the potential to make people stop and think that "there are very different ways of looking at the world". During the summer movie season of 2008, Fox will be appearing as Racer X, the rival of the title character in Speed Racer. Fox also appears in advertisements for L'Oreal. Fox grew up in the town Crowheart, Wyoming, where his father, Francis, raised longhorn cattle and horses and grew barley for Coors beer. Francis Fox had previously worked for Getty Oil in Philadelphia, and had given up his job as a consulting geologist to work on his own ranch in the middle of Wind River Indian Reservation. Fox described his father as a tough man who brought up his three sons (of whom Matthew was the middle) with a firm and distinct sense of discipline. An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Francis Fox demanded that his sons practice their dry casting in front of the house for days and days at a time before he would allow them to go fishing in an actual river. According to Fox, his father hated TV, and the family did not own one until he was 15. In their ranch in Wyoming, Fox led somewhat of a wild life, consuming his first alcoholic beverage at the age 12, taking up chewing tobacco a year or two later, and losing his virginity during this same time period, attributing this early experimentation to the fact that Wyoming was a place that, "...has a pretty intense undercurrent to it. And from a very early age the kids there feel like they're living in an adult world and challenge each other to walk the edge. It really is kind of the last frontier." While growing up near an Indian reservation where he played varsity basketball. After graduation, Fox attended a post graduate year at Deerfield Academy, a prestigious Massachusetts boarding school. Fox has stated that he continued his wild partying ways there, including wearing cowboy boots and chewing tobacco. In other more academic and athletic pursuits, Fox played football for the Deerfield team, which earned him an invitation to Columbia University. There he met his future wife, a former Italian runway model named Margherita Ronchi. In 1991, Fox married Margherita Ronchi, and had two children with her: Kyle (1998) and Byron (2001). Fox is a football fan and loves the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team. Every Sunday evening, Fox throws a viewing party and once gave his guests gifts of pictures he took during filming of the pilot episode of the show. Regarding his use of alcohol, Fox said, I really enjoy social boozing, and what I enjoy about it is when people I know and care about say and do things they normally wouldn't say and do. To make that happen, I'll instigate anything. I'm absolutely an instigator. And I definitely know a lot of people who have woken up the next day and gone, 'I can't believe that happened. And it's Fox's fault.' Well, it's probably the most honest you've been in a while, man.. He has allegedly stopped smoking as his 2007 New Year's resolution. Regarding his sex symbol status and how that might affect his marriage, Fox stated, The reality of the situation is you understand why that girl at the bar is coming at you that way and not somebody else. She has this built-up romanticized image of who I am and what it'd mean to her if she could sleep with me. That sort of takes the fun out of it. It has nothing to do with me. Regarding his relationship with his wife and the longevity of their marriage, Fox said that his wife understood that there existed within him forces that were "brutal", "base", and "violent". He also stated, "Margherita knows it exists within me...And she's very attracted to it." Fox indicated that both he and his wife had a "hot" temper, and that they did their share of yelling and screaming. "Our fights are very intense, and we lay it all out." According to Fox, this type of open communication was essential to the success of their 15 year-old marriage. |
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