He’s easy on the eyes, but don’t let his good looks fool you—there is more to Matt Dillon than that sexy jaw line, intensely furrowed brow, towering stature, and trademark crooked smile. Over the past 27 years, Dillon has proved himself to be an actor of tremendous versatility and brilliant depth, and his latest roles in this summer’s hit flicks have solidified his reputation as a method actor with a broad range.
But Matt didn’t grow up with stars in his eyes and dreams of becoming a Hollywood heavyweight; acting just kind of fell into his lap. Growing up in New Rochelle, New York, Dillon was discovered by pure chance when a top talent scout went roaming the halls of Hommocks Junior High. He was picked from a pack of pretty-boys to attend a casting call, and nabbed his first film role right off the bat, in the 1979 cult classic Over the Edge, playing an angry teen rebelling against real estate developers, his parents, and the police.
He fit perfectly into “troubled teen” roles, and followed up the film with My Bodyguard (1980) and Little Darlings (1982). But both movies required Dillon to do little more than show up and smile. He soon yearned for roles that would earn him real actor cred. As he told Parade magazine, “When you’re a young actor, you’re an easy target. Early on, I got pigeonholed as just a heartthrob.”
But he began to break the typecast in his next three films, based on the best-selling novels of S.E. Hinton. After playing a cute country boy in Tex, Matt hit it big in 1983’s The Outsiders (joining an outstanding cast of fellow youngsters that included Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Patrick Swayze) and again that same year in Rumble Fish.
Dillon had become a hot commodity, and by the mid-eighties he was getting the roles that he wanted and branching out to play a broader range of characters, such as smooth-talking Jeffery Willis in The Flamingo Kid and as the son of Gene Hackman (whom he cites as one of his major acting influences) in the thriller Target.
"Early on, I got pigeonholed as just a heartthrob."
But it was Gus Van Sant’s drug-addict drama Drugstore Cowboy (1989) that drew the attention of critics to Dillon’s knack for method acting. He threw himself into the role of Bob Hughes, an oddly superstitious junkie leader of a drug burglary ring. The film teamed Dillon with co-star Kelly Lynch in a Bonnie and Clyde-esque home-movie-style ode to depravity that left audiences mesmerized with Matt. Dillon worked with Van Sant once again in the quirky 1995 thriller To Die For, opposite screen siren Nicole Kidman.
Soon after, Matt had a new leading lady in his life: the super-cute beachy blonde Cameron Diaz. The couple was a red carpet fave, and the shutter-bugs couldn’t get enough of them. Dillon gushed to Parade magazine: “It’s a very powerful thing when you feel that way about somebody…. Cameron was a muse for me.”
The couple remained hot and heavy through the filming of Wild Things, which put Matt in some very steamy scenes with co-stars Denise Richards and Neve Campbell (including a heart-stopping ménage a trois). Kevin Bacon (his Wild Things co-star and long-time friend) told mens.style.com’s Jeff Johnson about the respect he has gained for Matt over the years through their roles together: “[He] makes his choices based on things other than money and fame, and he’s always kept himself open.”
That same year, Matt took a role starring opposite his girlfriend as a sleazeball private eye smitten with Diaz in the hilarious box office hit There’s Something About Mary. The film was a success, but Diaz soon became jaded by the bright lights of fame and the couple split in 1998, after three years of romance. Dillon was no doubt affected by the breakup, and took some time off from acting to try his hand behind the camera for a change.
"It’s a very powerful thing when you feel that way about somebody. Cameron was a muse for me."
He began directing City of Ghosts, starring James Caan and Gerard Depardieu, in 2002. Dillon decided to shoot on location in Cambodia—a trip that would influence him for years to come. He fell in love with the rich culture and described the experience to director pal Gus Van Sant in Interview magazine as a “duality of life.” Dillon was taken by the beauty of this “fantastical fairy-tale kingdom,” and elaborated to Van Sant that he was “really interested in how the beauty and the brutality coexist.”
Matt moved on from the project with an artistic high, which was soon amplified when he nabbed his first Oscar nom in 2006 for Crash, with his portrayal of a racist LAPD cop. Even though Dillon didn’t take home the statuette, he’s said, “It’s a nice thing to get recognized. It doesn’t happen all the time.” The film did take home the top honors of the night, in a surprising win for Best Picture. Matt recalls the experience as having “reinvigorated” him. He elaborated: “I needed a kind of rebirth. Ultimately, I had to find my place in the world again, and I had to do it myself!”
Riding atop the film’s success, Matt now leads the summer movie mix with two new releases: You, Me, and Dupree and Factotum.
In Dupree, Matt tests his comedic chops against the hilarious duo of Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. He plays Carl, a slightly uptight yet accepting buddy of Dupree (Wilson), whose wife (Hudson) is anything but understanding about his decision to let their pal move into the couple’s home. The onscreen blend of Dillon and Wilson was a surprising combo with great results.
“I was pleasantly surprised to find that Owen liked to work spontaneously,” Dillon said. “We did a fair amount of ad-libbing, and I found that very refreshing, because I like to work that way…. When you’re spontaneous, it keeps you connected, and so I liked the way Owen works. It’s very natural!”
For his latest role, in Factotum (co-starring Lili Taylor and Marisa Tomei), Dillon takes a big departure from his generally polished persona, and dirties himself up to play the down-and-out Henry Chinasky, an alter-ego of the great alcoholic writer Charles Bukowski. In the flick, he goes unshaven (and unclothed) to play the part of a man with many vices—gambling, booze, and babes, to name a few.
In one memorable scene, Dillon drops his pants and goes bare-bottomed for the camera as his onscreen girlfriend, Jan (Taylor) kneels before him to swaddle his manhood in gauze after an unpleasant overmedication incident when his character is trying to clear up a nasty case of crabs.
"I needed a kind of rebirth. Ultimately, I had to find my place in the world again, and I had to do it myself!"
“I was wearing a jockstrap!” Dillon exclaimed, defending himself (and the scene). He went on to tell how he was oddly comfortable with his co-star during that shot: “We built trust with each other … and she taped it up.” Even in reflection, Matt still says, “The thing I love about that scene is that it works. It could have been ridiculous.”
Looking great and fit at the age of 42, Dillon has played roles ranging from a pretty-boy to a pervert, a racist to a druggie, and everything in between. In the beginning, his looks may have landed him in the limelight, but it is his talent and versatility that have given him staying power. With a flock of fans and countless accolades, Matt Dillon is one star whose light will shine bright for years to come.
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