# Matt Dillon

Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.
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 the four 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.
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.

## Early life

Dillon was raised in a close-knit Roman Catholic family of Irish descent 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. Dillon is the second of six children with one sister and four brothers, one of whom is actor Kevin Dillon. His paternal grandmother was the sister of comic strip artist Alex Raymond, the creator of Flash Gordon.

## Career

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. The film received a regional, limited theatrical release in May 1979, and grossed only slightly over $200,000. 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 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. 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 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. The same year 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.
He portrayed Marlon Brando in the biopic about Maria Schneider Being Maria, which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

## Personal life

Matt was in a relationship with Cameron Diaz from 1995 to 1998.
Dillon is an aficionado and collector of Latin music, with a large collection of vinyl, including a notable library of Cuban 78s.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Over the Edge | Ritchie White | |
| 1980 | My Bodyguard | Melvin Moody | |
| 1980 | Little Darlings | Randy Adams | |
| 1982 | Tex | Tex McCormick | |
| 1982 | Liar's Moon | Jack Duncan | |
| 1983 | The Outsiders | Dallas "Dally" Winston | |
| 1983 | Rumble Fish | Rusty James | |
| 1984 | The Flamingo Kid | Jeffrey Willis | |
| 1985 | Target | Chris Lloyd / Derek Potter | |
| 1985 | 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 | |
| 1989 | Bloodhounds of Broadway | Regret | |
| 1991 | A Kiss Before Dying | Jonathan Corliss | |
| 1992 | Singles | Cliff Poncier | |
| 1993 | The Saint of Fort Washington | Matthew | |
| 1993 | Mr. Wonderful | Gus DeMarco | |
| 1994 | Golden Gate | Kevin Walker | |
| 1995 | To Die For | Larry Maretto | |
| 1995 | Frankie Starlight | Terry Klout | |
| 1996 | Grace of My Heart | Jay Phillips | |
| 1996 | Albino Alligator | Dova | |
| 1996 | Beautiful Girls | Tommy "Birdman" Rowland | |
| 1997 | In & Out | Cameron Drake | |
| 1998 | There's Something About Mary | Patrick "Pat" Healy | |
| 1998 | Wild Things | Sam Lombardo | |
| 2001 | One Night at McCool's | Randy | |
| 2002 | Deuces Wild | Fritzy Zennetti | |
| 2002 | City of Ghosts | Jimmy Cremming | Also writer and director |
| 2003 | Abby Singer | Himself | |
| 2004 | Employee of the Month | David Walsh | |
| 2004 | Crash | Officer John Ryan | |
| 2005 | Loverboy | Mark | |
| 2005 | Factotum | Henry Chinaski | |
| 2005 | Herbie: Fully Loaded | Trip Murphy | |
| 2006 | You, Me and Dupree | Carl Peterson | |
| 2008 | Nothing but the Truth | Patton Dubois | |
| 2009 | Old Dogs | Barry | |
| 2009 | Armored | Mike Cochrane | |
| 2010 | Takers | Det. Jack Welles | |
| 2012 | Girl Most Likely | George / The Bousche | |
| 2013 | Pawn Shop Chronicles | Richard | |
| 2013 | The Art of the Steal | Nicky Calhoun | |
| 2013 | Sunlight Jr. | Richie Barnes | |
| 2014 | Bad Country | Jesse Weiland | |
| 2017 | Rock Dog | Trey | Voice |
| 2017 | Going in Style | Hamer | |
| 2018 | The House That Jack Built | Jack | |
| 2018 | Running for Grace | Doc | |
| 2018 | Head Full of Honey | Nick | |
| 2019 | Nimic | Father | Short film |
| 2019 | Proxima | Mike Shannon | |
| 2020 | Capone | Johnny | |
| 2020 | The Great Fellove | — | Documentary; Director and executive producer |
| 2021 | Land of Dreams | Alan | |
| 2022 | American Dreamer | Dell | |
| 2023 | Asteroid City | Walter Geronimo | |
| 2024 | Being Maria | Marlon Brando | |
| 2024 | Haunted Heart | Max | |
| TBA | The Cry of the Guards | | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters | Ralph Parker | Television film |
| 1991 | Fishing with John | Himself | Miniseries; Episode 3 |
| 1991 | Women & Men 2 | Eddie Megeffin | Television film |
| 1999 | Oz | — | Director; Episode: "Napoleon's Boney Parts" |
| 2006 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Matt Dillon/Arctic Monkeys" |
| 2007 | The Simpsons | Louie | Voice; Episode: "Midnight Towboy" |
| 2011 | Modern Family | Robbie Sullivan | Episode: "Princess Party" |
| 2015 | Wayward Pines | Ethan Burke | Main role (season 1) |
| 2023 | High Desert | Denny | Main role |

## Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
| 1987 | "Fairytale of New York" | The Pogues | |
| 1989 | "Shirlee" | Unity 2 | Director |
| 1993 | "Bad Girl" | Madonna | |
| 2007 | "Been There All the Time" | Dinosaur Jr. | Director |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
| 1981 | Young Artist Award Best Young Actor in a Major Motion Picture | My Bodyguard | Nominated |
| 1983 | Young Artist Award Best Young Motion Picture Actor | Tex | Nominated |
| 1990 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead | Drugstore Cowboy | Won |
| 1999 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actor – Comedy | There's Something About Mary | Won |
| 1999 | MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (tied with Stephen Dorff) | There's Something About Mary | Won |
| 1999 | Teen Choice Award Funniest Scene | There's Something About Mary | Won |
| 1999 | MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Denise Richards & Neve Campbell) | Wild Things | Nominated |
| 2001 | Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album | On the Road by Jack Kerouac, audiobook | Nominated |
| 2005 | Gotham Tribute Award | | Won |
| 2005 | Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Won |
| 2005 | Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast | Crash | Nominated |
| 2005 | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Won |
| 2005 | Hollywood Film Festival Ensemble of the Year | Crash | Won |
| 2005 | Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture | Crash | Won |
| 2005 | Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Best Cast | Crash | Won |
| 2005 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Cast | Crash | Won |
| 2005 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble | Crash | Won |
| 2006 | Chicago Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Empire Award for Best Actor | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male | Crash | Won |
| 2006 | Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Crash | Nominated |
| 2006 | SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Crash | Won |
| 2006 | San Sebastián International Film Festival Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won |
| 2007 | Cairo International Film Festival Special Award | — | Won |
| 2011 | Special Tomislav Pinter Award | — | Won |
| 2016 | Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television | Wayward Pines | Nominated |
| 2019 | Robert Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role | The House That Jack Built | Nominated |
| 2019 | Bodil Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role | The House That Jack Built | Nominated |
| 2022 | 75th Locarno Film Festival: Leopard of Honour | Matt Dillon | Honored |