Hollywood on the Hudson with Matthew Modine

When it comes to the wave of Hollywood icons now settling in the Hudson Valley, actor Matthew Modine was one of the true forerunners. For a decade, Modine and his family maintained a home in Millbrook, close to his best friend and fellow actor, Liam Neeson.  Although he has since moved away from the Valley, he’s still an active participant in local events like The Woodstock Film Festival.  At the fest’s 2023 edition, he participated in the sold-out panel “Actors Who Direct” where he presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to acclaimed filmmaker James Ivory. Modine also used the occasion to debut his wonderfully impressionistic short film, I Am What You Imagine.

With a powerful performance in the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, an award-winning turn in Netflix’s Stranger Things and a bevy of about-to-premiere projects, Modine’s career is as hot as ever. However, his role as an actor in high-profile dramas and comedies is just one of his many interests.  Over the years, Modine has produced or directed a host of thought-provoking documentaries, covering intriguing topics ranging from the continuing death toll from over 900 nuclear tests in the US (Downwind) to the use of propaganda, sensationalized graphics, music and misinformation to manipulate television and radio audiences consuming network news (The Brainwashing of My Dad).

INSIDE+OUT Upstate NY catches up with Matthew Modine as he shares his thoughts on his multifaceted career, his philosophy of work and life and some of his passions, such as cycling, which is the centerpiece of his newest film, Hard Miles.  Let’s begin…

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INSIDE+OUT: For many years, you lived in Millbrook in Dutchess County, where you and your family landed at the urging of your best friend and neighbor, Liam Neeson. What were the best parts of living in the Hudson Valley, and what do you now miss about it after your move?

Matthew Modine: Liam and the late Natasha Richardson are my besties, but my family and I actually moved to Millbrook a fair bit of time before they made their home there. My wife and I were happy that we were only a few short miles from their home. Natasha was a great hostess and had the best parties. She felt it was important to bring artists from every discipline together to share ideas, enjoy life and have a good laugh. I’d say that I miss her and all she shared the most about this gorgeous part of the world. May all the Gods bless her soul.

You’ve pursued a widely varied career, working in film, television and theater, in drama, comedy and also documentaries, as an actor and director/producer.  What is it that draws you to a project or makes you turn one down?

A career in the arts is a roller coaster ride. Lots of ups and downs, twists and turns. The thrill is in not knowing. Each project is kind of like jumping out the door of an airplane, something I’ve done five times. Everything in your body and mind is saying: “Why the f—-k are you doing this to us?” But you jump anyway. Trusting that you’ve packed your parachute correctly. Trusting that you know what to do if the chute doesn’t open or becomes entangled upon pulling the ripcord. I don’t want to jump out of an airplane ever again, but I still enjoy jumping into the void of a film or theatrical project. New people. New words. New ideas. You see, life is short, and we have so little time to learn and experience before the ride comes to its inevitable end.

How did you decide to become an actor?

I suspect my mother dropped me on my head or some past life trauma that this incarnation was still trying to work out.

Did your father’s work running drive-in theaters play a role?

I’m positive that growing up with the drive-in theaters and seeing literally hundreds of films played some role in my decision-making, but I can’t say for sure. It was really a documentary about the making of the movie Oliver that sparked my curiosity and got me thinking about it. Up until I saw that, I thought what happened in the movies was real. Now, I had better insight into the process of acting and filmmaking, that it was actually a profession that could be studied and learned. So, I started taking dance lessons, joined the glee club and did some school plays.

Who were your early acting role models?

The heroes, of course. Sean Connery as James Bond. Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Dustin Hoffman for all his many diverse roles. I liked the heroes because they were problem solvers. Of course, Butch and Sundance were criminals, but they were so damned cool.

With your roles in the Academy Award-winning Oppenheimer and Netflix’s award-winning Stranger Things, your career is hotter than ever.  Is your reaction to being in the red-hot spotlight with these projects somehow different from when you first achieved notoriety?

The difference between when I started and today is that now, I am a student of Stoicism. The joy of life is not the attainment of happiness but the pursuit of happiness. Human materialism is the most destructive characteristic of human beings. Our behavior is destroying our planet. Yes, I absolutely enjoy the accolades, but I won’t attach my self-worth to an award. The best reward is knowing that the work you do brings joy to someone you may never meet. Even better is when the work you do enlightens and reduces suffering, offering an achievable solution to a multitude of problems.

As you were making Oppenheimer, you were also executive producing Downwind, a documentary that deals with the human cost of over 900 atomic tests on US soil, including the cast and crew of The Seekers, a John Wayne Western. Was it a pre-meditated move to draft on the attention for Oppenheimer to tell this somewhat under-reported story?

This is the magic of the collective consciousness. Synergy. I grew up with the Cold War. I crawled under my school desk in kindergarten when the air raid sirens howled. My family’s homestead near Tecopa, California, is probably less than 100 miles from the Nevada Testing Site. My grandfather, uncle and father all died of cancer. Coincidence? Everyone in the United States has been subjected to the fallout from the 928 bombs tested here in the US. Say it slowly… One hundred bombs were tested. Two hundred bombs were tested. Three hundred bombs were tested. Four hundred bombs were tested. (Take a breath). Five hundred bombs were tested. Six hundred, seven hundred, eight hundred, nine hundred. 928 bombs were tested in the continental United States. What didn’t they know, the criminals testing these weapons of mass destruction after the US dropped them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Human beings can be the most dangerous animals on the planet. That’s what I learned and why I wanted to help make Downwind.

One of your newest films, Hard Miles, is the true-life story of a man working with troubled youth who takes them on a grueling trip from Denver to the Grand Canyon on bicycles.

Yes, I played a man named Greg Townsend. He took a ragtag group of young adults on an arduous ride from Denver, Colorado to the Grand Canyon. After accomplishing that ride and goal, he has subsequently taken hundreds of troubled youth on rides across the country. Through these difficult journeys, he has helped rehabilitate thousands of young people and help them live more productive lives.

Your interest in cycling goes back to the 1980s and your work with the pro-bike organization Bicycle for A Day. When and why did you develop the interest, and how has it grown?

Yes, I’ve been riding a bicycle ever since I moved to NYC. At first, it was out of necessity. I was so broke I couldn’t even afford a subway token! So, the bicycle became my transportation. My gymnasium. A tool for independence and freedom. I started Bicycle for a Day because I was asked: “If there was one thing you could do to reduce your carbon footprint, what would you do?” And I answered: “Ride a bike. Riding a bike, rather than using an electric or gas-powered vehicle, has an immediate, positive impact on the climate. Plus, it’s fun.” That evolved into helping New York City establish bicycle lanes. It also ushered in Citi Bike, the bike share program and safe routes to schools. I received a citation from Mayor Bloomberg for my work, which was pretty cool.  Problem-solving – that’s the best feeling ever.

You’ve worked with many of the film’s greatest directors, from – Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone and Spike Lee to Christopher Nolan, Alan Parker, Robert Altman and John Schlesinger.  What are the commonalities and differences between them and any particular favorites?

I think the only way to say or describe this is to say that they all know how to make love.  They just each do it very differently.

Although you may be primarily known as a dramatic actor, your work in comedies like Married to the Mob is also first-rate.  Are these kinds of roles easier to tackle than the dramatic ones?

I’m not the first person to say, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Whomever it was that authored the phrase knew. Comedy is hard. Avoiding “comedy cliche” is the challenge for those attempting the genre. Most comedies in film, especially on television, are cliche. Not a criticism, just an observation. It’s mostly the set-up, the punchline, the mugging, and a predictably goofy reaction. That’s why there’s so much celebration when a fresh approach and/or when a comedic actor comes along and breaks open the genre. But the same can be said about dramatic roles and stories. Finding a fresh approach for too often-told stories is the actor, the writer and the director’s challenge.

When planning out your film work, do you seek to mix it up – to go from genre to genre to keep things fresh?

I don’t have a map or a master plan. I think we have to get lost to find ourselves. That’s our purpose. Aldous Huxley wrote a book titled The Doors of Perception. I interpreted his book to mean that life is like a long, long hallway. Within that hallway, there are many, many doors. Each door leads to different types of rooms. And inside each room, you – the traveler – are exposed to very different experiences. Our lives are a metaphor for the long hallway. As we travel through life, we get to sometimes choose to enter one of the doors in the hallway of life. Sometimes, we only have to peek in to know that it is not a room we want to enter. Other times, we enter, hang out, exit back into the hallway and continue on our journey. Other times, a person may choose to close the door and remain in the room for their entire life. This is a choice. This is free will. Personally, I’m still enjoying the walk of life. Still experimenting and poking my head in as many rooms as I can. It’s glorious. It’s kind of like being the protagonist in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. Hopefully, I will find enlightenment one day! If not, what an amazing walk it is.

People may not know the depth of your work as a documentary maker. One that seems particularly timely is a 2015 film you produced and narrated called The Brainwashing of My Dad, which is about the impact of Fox News and other Right-Wing media.  How did you get involved in this project and what did you seek to accomplish with it?

Here, credit goes to my amazing producing partner, Adam Rackoff. He found the story and presented it to me. We met and talked with the director, Jen Senko, to learn more about her and the predicament that she was in with her father, a man she loved so deeply. Adam and I knew we had to become involved when we discovered Jen’s story about brainwashing wasn’t isolated to her father. This wasn’t only her father who had been mentally abducted. This kidnapping of the mind was happening to people all across the United States. To be fair, all of the news channels employ the eye-catching graphic and dramatic music cues that Fox News developed. Most media today is like a Roman Circus or an ancient Greek Hippodrome.

I never realized until I read your bio that you have something in common with actors like Christopher Walken, Ryan Gosling and James Cagney – that you studied tap dancing as a kid!  Has this had any impact on how you manage your busy career and life?

I’m sure it has. How? Probably a good sense of balance and the knowledge that to learn the steps demands that you practice, practice and practice some more. This applies to everything.

Another intriguing credit I would love to hear more about was the 2013 theater production Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas.  Tell us a little about this.

This was because my friend, Blair Singer, said: “I want to write a play for you!” How flattering, right? So, while the play’s title had my name in it, it wasn’t me playing me. It was me playing a character that had the same name as me! Very meta. We had a blast doing the production. Kirk Douglas wrote me a letter that was so kind and generous. Kirk Douglas! That was one of the highlights of my professional career.

Like the music business, film and television is going through many changes.  What are the biggest challenges, and maybe opportunities, facing young people wanting to become actors or filmmakers?

Artificial Intelligence will change everything. How? I can’t say. Good? Bad? Probably both. It’s a monster that cannot be put back into the box. Live performances will — I believe — become more and more valuable and sought after. That means musicians and actors will require more and more training and have stronger skills. And that is a good thing.

You also share something in common with other acting legends like Bette Davis, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, as you were the subject of a song – in your case, by an all-girl punk band, Pony Up.  What was your reaction to this salacious little number?

I love the Pony Up song! My kids were horrified by it, but my wife and I laughed and laughed when it came out. It’s funny, smart and salacious—perfect!

I also understand you officiated at the wedding of your co-star, Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi.  Was this a first for you?

It is not my first, no. Millie and Jake asked if I would officiate. Why? Goodness knows! My wife and I are her adopted godparents, and she knows how much we care for and love her. I think it’s really lovely that she and her fiancé chose to be married by someone who loves them rather than some random dude or dudette who’s just saying vows. We all shared a very special moment.

With so much on your resume, is there anything left in the film world that you still seek to accomplish?

Absolutely. But if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. So, stay tuned.

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Follow Matthew Modine via Website | Facebook | Instagram
Check out His new movie, Hard Miles @hardmiles_movie, out in theaters

Photos Courtesy of Matthew Modine +  Work House PR
Contributing writer Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former publicist living in Saugerties NY.

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