Cast & creator
Matthew Modine
Best known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Simpsons, Late Night with Seth Meyers
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He shared the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor as part of the ensemble cast of Robert Altman's film Streamers (1983). He went on to play lead roles in several high-profile films throughout the 1980s, including Birdy (1984), Vision Quest (1985), and Married to the Mob (1988). He gained further prominence for playing U.S. Marine James T. "Joker" Davis in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Other notable films include Pacific Heights (1990), Short Cuts (1993), Cutthroat Island (1995), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Oppenheimer (2023). On television, he portrayed Dr. Don Francis in the HBO film And the Band Played On (1993), Sullivan Groff on Weeds (2007), Ivan Turing in Proof (2015), and Dr. Martin Brenner on Netflix's Stranger Things (2016–2022). Modine has been nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for his work in And the Band Played On and What the Deaf Man Heard and received a special Golden Globe for him and the rest of the ensemble in Short Cuts. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for And the Band Played On.
Also known as: Matthew Avery Modine
171
film credits
24
television credits
142
1951–2027 · acting roles
6.5
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (195)
Showing 195 of 195 credits
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Gordon Rickett
1999
The Simpsons
Dr. Stern (voice)
1989
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self
2014
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Stranger Things
Dr. Martin Brenner
2016Stranger Things
Dr. Martin Brenner (archive footage)
2016
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest
1988
The West Wing
Marco Arlens
1999
American Playhouse
Eugene O'Neill
1982
Weeds
Sullivan Groff
2005
Oppenheimer
Vannevar Bush
2023The Tony Danza Show
Self - Guest
2004
The Dark Knight Rises
Foley
2012
Full Metal Jacket
Pvt. Joker
1987
Lo + plus
Self - Guest
1995
So Graham Norton
Self - Guest
1998
Zero Day
Richard Dreyer
2025
The Better Sister
Bill Braddock
2025
Transporter 2
Jefferson Billings
2005
Protector
Colonel Joseph Lavelle
2026Protector
Producer
2026
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Secretary of Defense James Riley
2018
Notting Hill
Actor (uncredited)
1999
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Self
2023
Wrong Turn
Scott Shaw
2021
Into the West
Samson Wheeler
2005
47 Meters Down
Taylor
2017
Hitler: The Rise of Evil
Fritz Gerlich
2003
Any Given Sunday
Dr. Ollie Powers
1999
Married to the Mob
Mike Downey
1988
Cutthroat Island
William Shaw
1995
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
Jack Robinson
2001
Retribution
Anders Muller
2023
Pacific Heights
Drake Goodman
1990
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Sammy Ayers
1951
The Bedford Diaries
Jake Macklin
2006
Jobs
John Sculley
2013
Kubrick's War: The Making of Full Metal Jacket
Self - Pvt. Joker, Full Metal Jacket
Kubrick's War: The Making of Full Metal Jacket
Producer
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova
2027
Proof
Ivan Turing
2015
Speed Kills
George Bush
2018
Vision Quest
Louden Swain
1985
Memphis Belle
Dennis Dearborn
1990
Stanley Kubrick - Ein Leben für den Film
Self
2001
Private School
Jim Green
1983
And the Band Played On
Dr. Don Francis
1993
Breaking News in Yuba County
Karl Buttons
2021
Fluke
Thomas P. Johnson / Voice of Fluke
1995
Short Cuts
Dr. Ralph Wyman
1993
Family Weekend
Duncan Dungy
2013
Too Big to Fail
John Thain
2011
Birdy
Birdy
1984
American Cinema
Self
1994
Le Divorce
Tellman
2003
What the Deaf Man Heard
Sammy Ayers
1997
Army of One
Dr. Ross
2016
CAT. 8
Dr. Michael Ranger
2013
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman
Self
1998
The Hotel New Hampshire
Chip Dove / Ernst
1984
Bamboozled
Himself
2000
The Confirmation
Kyle
2016
Mary
Tony Childress / Jesus
2005
Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Self - 'Stranger Things' Dr Brenner
2025
Baby It's You
Steve
1983
The Real Blonde
Joe
1998
Hard Miles
Greg Townsend
2024
Backtrace
MacDonald
2018
Girl in Progress
Dr. Harford
2012
Mrs. Soffel
Jack Biddle
1984
Unity
Narrator (voice)
2015
Jacob
Jakob
1994
Foster Boy
Michael Trainer
2019
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
Rick Singer
2021
The Browning Version
Frank Hunter
1994
In the Shadows
Eric
2001
Have Dreams, Will Travel
Ben's Father
2007
Sex and Lies in Sin City
Ted Binion
2009
Go Go Tales
Johnie Ruby
2008
Revengeance
Sid
2016Revengeance
Executive Producer
2016
Little Fish, Strange Pond
Mr. Jack
2009Little Fish, Strange Pond
Executive Producer
2009
Accidental Truth: Next - Beyond UFO Disclosure
Self - Narrator
2026
Wind
Will Parker
1992
Overnight
Self
2003
Alan Pakula: Going for Truth
Self
2019
My Love Affair with Marriage
Bo (voice)
2023My Love Affair with Marriage
Executive Producer
2023
The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards
Theodore Foster
2015
Funky Monkey
Alec McCall
2004
Bye Bye Love
Dave Goldman
1995
Super Sex
Director
2016Super Sex
Producer
2016Super Sex
Writer
2016
PoliWood
Self
2009
The Hippopotamus
Michael Logan
2017
The Blackout
Matty
1997
The Trial
Mac
2010The Trial
Producer
2010
The Neighbor
Jeff
2007
The Martini Shot
Steve
2023
Amy and the Angel
Randy
1982
Streamers
Billy
1983
Orphans
Treat
1987
Redeemer
Paul Freeman
2002
Hollywood North
Bobby Myers
2004
Gross Anatomy
Joe Slovak
1989
The Fuse
Executive Producer
2022
Last Days of Coney Island
Executive Producer
2015
Miss Virginia
Congressman Cliff Williams
2019
Nobody's Baby
Sonny
2001
Kettle of Fish
Mel
2006Kettle of Fish
Executive Producer
2006
Surviving the Dust Bowl
Lawrence Svobida (voice)
1998
Opa!
Eric
2005
Chance
Coach Mike
2020
The Lemon Sisters
Wild Bill Hamer
1989
How to Grow Up Despite Your Parents
Bob Riley
2016
When I Was a Boy
Editor
1993When I Was a Boy
Casting
1993When I Was a Boy
Art Direction
1993When I Was a Boy
Music Supervisor
1993When I Was a Boy
Writer
1993When I Was a Boy
Director
1993When I Was a Boy
Producer
1993
Guardians of Life
2020
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country
Self
1993
Equinox
Henry Petosa / Freddy Ace
1992
Red Ink
Thanks
2019
Very Mean Men
Bartender
2000
Downwind
Producer
2023
The Brainwashing of My Dad
Himself - Narrator
2015The Brainwashing of My Dad
Producer
2015The Splendid Thing
Declan King
The Splendid Thing
Director
The Splendid Thing
Screenplay
If... Dog... Rabbit
Johnnie Cooper
1999If... Dog... Rabbit
Director
1999If... Dog... Rabbit
Writer
1999
Filmworker
Self
2018
Michael Caton-Jones: This Broxburn Boy's Life
Self
The Gamble
Francesco Sacredo
1988
Garden of Eden
David's Father
2008
Odyssey in Rome
2005
Flowers for Algernon
Charlie Gordon
2000
Ecce Pirate
Narrator
1997Ecce Pirate
Director
1997Ecce Pirate
Set Decoration
1997Ecce Pirate
Writer
1997Ecce Pirate
Post Production Coordinator
1997Ecce Pirate
Costume Supervisor
1997Ecce Pirate
Producer
1997Ecce Pirate
Casting
1997Ecce Pirate
Camera Operator
1997Ecce Pirate
Cinematography
1997Ecce Pirate
Music Supervisor
1997Ecce Pirate
Supervising Sound Editor
1997
Merry Xmas
Abe
2015Merry Xmas
Writer
2015
Altar
Alec
2014
Jesus Was a Commie
Himself
2011Jesus Was a Commie
Executive Producer
2011Jesus Was a Commie
Director
2011Jesus Was a Commie
Writer
2011
Accidental Truth: UFO Revelations
Narrator (voice)
2023
I Am What You Imagine
Director
2023I Am What You Imagine
Writer
2023
I Hope This Helps!
Executive Producer
2024
The Winning Season
Honus Wagner
2004
The Green Fog
2018How Bizarre: The Story of an Otara Millionaire
Self
2014
The American
Christopher Newman
1998
Kubrick Remembered
Self
2014
Adventures in Plymptoons!
Self
2011
Mulberry St.
Self
2010
Santa: The Fascist Years
Narrator (voice)
2008
The Tree
Boy as Middle-Aged Man / Boy as Old Man
1993
The Maker
Walter Schmeiss
1997
I Think I Thought
Joe
2008I Think I Thought
Writer
2008I Think I Thought
Director
2008I Think I Thought
Producer
2008
The Shipment
Mitch Garrett
2001World Birth Day
Self - Narrator(voice)
2002The Winsor McCay Resurrection Project
Writer
2011The Winsor McCay Resurrection Project
Director
2011Keepers of the Wild
Executive Producer
Against the Current
Narrator
2021Against the Current
Writer
2021
Cowboy
Cowboy
2008Cowboy
Writer
2008Cowboy
Director
2008
Guests
Theodore Foster
2014
CAT. 8
Dr. Michael Ranger
2013