Childhood & Early Life
Matthew Fox was born on July 14, 1966, in Abington, Pennsylvania. He is second of the three boys of his parents, Loretta B. and Francis G. Fox. His two brothers are Francis, Jr. and Bayard.
His mother, a teacher, has a mix of Italian, British and Irish ancestry while his father, a consultant for an oil company, was primarily of English descent.
The family moved to Crowheart, Wyoming when he was just a year old. He grew up in a ranch where they reared longhorn cattle and horses and cultivated barley for Coors beer.
He initially went to Wind River high school and later studied for a year at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.
In 1989, he completed his graduation in Economics from Columbia University with an intent to work as a stockbroker at the Wall Street.
He later studied acting at the famous Atlantic Theater Company, New York and The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.
He started learning horse riding from the early age of six.
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Career
Matthew Fox was studying to make a career at the Wall Street; however, his life took a turn when his girlfriend’s mother who was a modelling agent herself, persuaded him to try his luck in modelling. This led to few modelling assignments and eventually acting.
In 1992, he acted in an episode of NBC television series ‘Wings’ and the 5 episodes CBS series ‘Freshman Dorm’.
In 1993, he appeared as a supporting cast in the American anthology series ‘CBS Schoolbreak Special’. The same year he made his film debut with Bob Balaban directed romantic zombie comedy film ‘My Boyfriend's Back’.
In 1994, he was cast as ‘Charlie Salinger’ in Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman created teen drama, ‘Party of Five’. The television series which had six seasons (1994-2000) is considered one of his best works.
Notwithstanding good reviews the show garnered, the ratings remained low in the first two seasons, but after winning the ‘Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama’, it became immensely popular.
In 1995, Matthew Fox appeared as ‘Charlie Salinger’ in a sketch comedy TV series ‘MADtv’.
In 1996, he appeared as the host and narrator of a nature documentary called ‘Survival of the Yellowstone Wolves.’
In 1999, he featured in a television movie ‘Behind the Mask’ directed by Tom McLoughlin.
In 2002, he played the role of ‘Frank Taylor’ in Andrew Cosby and Rich Ramage created horror drama ‘Haunted’.
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In 2004, he landed another television role that became a landmark in his career. He essayed the role of ‘Jack Shephard’ in ‘Lost’, a drama series created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. The series lasted for six seasons from 2004 to 2010.
The show, which has consistently been viewed as one of the greatest television series of all time, follows the life of the survivors in the aftermath of a plane crash on a mysterious island. Fox plays the role of a spinal surgeon who becomes their leader.
The show won numerous awards at various award functions including the Emmy Awards, the British Academy Television Awards, the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award.
In 2006, he hosted an episode of television sketch comedy and variety show ‘Saturday Night Live’ along with Tenacious D.
The year 2006, saw him appearing in couple of movies too. The first of these ‘We Are Marshall’ was a sports historical biopic drama directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol. He essayed the character of assistant coach William "Red" Dawson.
The second movie was Joe Carnahan directed dark comedy action thriller film ‘Smokin' Aces’ in which he played a small role of a security head ‘Bill’.
In 2008, he appeared in two more films, ‘Vantage Point’ and ‘Speed Racer’. The former, a political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis, had him in the role of Agent Kent Taylor. The latter, as the name suggests, was a sports action comedy movie with Matthew Fox playing ‘Racer X’.
In 2008, he also lent his voice to the character of ‘Racer X’ in the video game ‘Speed Racer’.
In 2011, alongside the British actress, Olivia Haigh Williams, he acted in a stage play ‘In a Forest, Dark and Deep’.
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In 2012, Matthew Fox took up the villainous role of ‘Picasso’ in the third installment of ‘Alex Cross’ film series. The same year, he appeared as ‘Brigadier General Bonner Fellers’ in the Peter Webber directed American-Japanese historical drama ‘Emperor’.
After playing a small role in 2013 ‘World War Z’, he starred in two more films in 2015. The first of the two ‘Extinction’ was post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Miguel Ángel while the second one ‘Bone Tomahawk’, was a horror film directed by S. Craig Zahler.
Over the period of time, Matthew Fox has appeared in numerous talk shows including ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, ‘Late Night with Conan O'Brien’, ‘Late Show with David Letterman’, ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross’ and ‘The Graham Norton Show’.
Major Works
Matthew Fox gave a winning performance as ‘Charlie Salinger’ in ‘Party of Five’. The series follows the life of five siblings and their struggles after they lose their parents in a car accident. Matthew Fox played the immature and insecure eldest sibling who unwillingly takes up the responsibility of his younger brothers and sisters.
The TVs series ‘Lost’ further catapulted his popularity as an actor. He won numerous awards for his acting in the series including the ‘Satellite Awards’, ‘Saturn Awards’ and ‘Scream Awards’. He was also nominated for ‘Golden Globe’ Awards for his work in the series.
Family & Personal Life
Matthew Fox wedded Margherita Ronchi, a native of Italy, in August 1992. The couple have a son, Byron, and a daughter, Kyle Allison. Along with his family, he first settled in Oahu, Hawaii and then in the small mountain town of Bend in Orgeon.
He is a private pilot and an owner of Beechcraft Bonanza G36 aircraft. He also possesses an Aviat Husky A-1C airplane.
He loves photography and the photographs that he took of cast/crew of ‘Lost’ on sets, made up a disc ‘The Art of Matthew Fox’. The disc was released with the entire first series of ‘Lost’.
In 2012, he was arrested for driving under influence (DUI) and was sentenced to alcohol treatment program.
