|
Matt Dillon
Scroll down for movie list.
Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
As the junkie-thief in Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Gus Van Sant's slice of contemporary (low) life, this square-jawed, fair-skinned, dark-browed young actor finally impressed critics. His nuanced performance came as a shock to those who had written him off from the beginning for his glowering, simian-like performances as tough teens in Over the Edge (1979, his debut), Little Darlings and My Bodyguard (both 1980). As a teen heartthrob, Dillon perfectly portrayed alienated young men in Tim Hunter's Tex (1982) and two adaptations of S.E. Hinton novels for Francis Ford Coppola, Rumble Fish and The Outsiders (both 1983).
A light, witty role as the cabana boy with stars in his eyes in Garry Marshall's nostalgic The Flamingo Kid (1984) proved to be the turning point in Dillon's career, though his films since then have not always lived up to expectations, as witness Target (1985) and Native Son (1986). He was excellent in the otherwise lackluster gambling drama The Big Town (1987) and in Kansas (1988); both films cast him in unsympathetic but well-rounded roles. The possibility of playing a bad guy was further exploited in A Kiss Before Dying (1991), in which he was an ambitious psychopath. Recent credits include Singles (1992), Mr. Wonderful, The Saint of Fort Washington (both 1993), and Golden Gate (1994). |  |
