Actor Matthew Broderick stopped by St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown recently to talk about….physics.
The occasion was a screening of his 1996 indie film, Infinity, a love story about the late physicist Richard Feynman, who worked on the atomic bomb while his wife battled tuberculosis.
Matthew’s sister, the Rev. Janet Broderick, showed the movie as part of a Lenten series with special personal meaning for her. The Brodericks’ late mother, Patricia Brodrick, wrote the screenplay for Infinity. She did not want Matthew typecast by frothy comedies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Freshman.
Matthew isn’t big on religious messages–“I didn’t get into that stuff,” he quipped during the Q & A — but he professed a fascination with physics in general and Richard Feynman in particular. The Nobel Prize winner, who solved the space shuttle Challenger disaster, was revered as an eccentric character and brilliant lecturer.
“There’s lots of tapes of Feynman teaching, which you can watch. Which are great, where you feel like you understand everything. And then about 25 minutes later you realize you have absolutely no idea what he was talking about,” Matthew told the audience at St. Peter’s.
Patricia Broderick also wrote The Graduation, a short play performed later in the St. Peter’s series. It featured the acting debut of Janet’s daughter, Hannah Kraft. (Stay tuned!)
The series, called Removing Our Veils, concludes at the church on March 17 at 5 pm with a screening of Wonderful World, a comedic drama starring Matthew Broderick. Director Josh Goldin will field questions. The suggested donation is $10.
Our video excerpts of Matthew’s talk include humorous advice to a 10-year-old actress and funny anecdotes about growing up with Janet (who dragged him around in a pillow case); making Infinity with their mom; and about their dad, the late actor James Broderick, staying in character at home.
Matthew also describes the indie movie-making process; the role of cinematographers; directing and acting in the same picture (Matthew did both in Infinity, and served as producer, too); and the advantages of old-fashioned film over digital production.
Along those lines, the star of Broadway’s Nice Work If You Can Get It did make one confession at St. Peter’s. He was eligible to vote for the Oscars…but didn’t.
“It’s too complicated now,” he deadpanned. “You have to do it online.”
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: MATTHEW BRODERICK AT ST. PETER’S
- 2:33 Acting advice
- 4:17 What inspired “Infinity”?
- 5:06 On location…in a cave
- 6:16 Working with Mom
- 7:43 Was ‘Infinity’ love story in Feynman books?
- 9:00 Directing and acting at same time
- 11:32 Direct more films?
- 12:42 Choosing a cinematographer
- 14:13 The challenge of indie films
- 15:44 Digital: Pros and cons
- 18:13 Famous parents…and punctuality
- 19:47 Staying in character
- 20:57 Sibling stories
- 23:00 Stage or screen?
- 24:19 Oscar picks
- 25:54 Singing styles
I bet he would be great teaching a kids film course.
I like how he talks to the kids like they’re adults. It seemed a bit confronting at first, but it was very respectful. I’d love to see how he interacts with his kids.