December 30, 2005

A happy couple

By icWales

Matthew Broderick is currently in the form of his life with a string of Broadway successes under his belt, and now a celluloid version of stage hit The Producers doing great business. He tells Mike Jones of his happy relationships with wife Sarah Jessica Parker and acting partner Nathan Lane

HE MAY be one half of a Hollywood golden couple but actor Matthew Broderick isn't making sweet music with his wife actress Sarah Jessica Parker right now.

Instead, the song-and-dance man is setting the showbiz world alight with his portly sidekick Nathan Lane, who couldn't be more different from Parker, star of the hit TV show Sex And The City.

Lane and Broderick have become one of the hottest double acts in the world after garnering a clutch of awards in the hit Broadway show The Producers.

They've just opened in a new stage revival of The Odd Couple and have teamed up again for a big-screen version of The Producers. Clearly familiarity doesn't breed contempt for this real-life odd couple.

"We've worked together a long time together now," says Matthew of the unlikely partnership. "We don't have many disagreements and if we do we don't let them fester. I love working with Nathan. I really hope we keep on doing it."

In fact, theirs is such a successful duo there were rumours SJP herself was a tad jealous.

"Not true," laughs Matthew, shaking his head. "She actually likes me to have my other life - my dark gay showbiz life. She's not jealous of Nathan. At least I don't think she is."

The 40-year-old star can afford to make the odd quip about his showbiz other-half, because his real-life eight-year marriage appears to be rock solid.

Not only that but he and SJP are one of the busiest couples in Hollywood at the moment. Both have high-profile Christmas films out - Matthew stars in The Producers, while his 40-year old wife makes her first foray onto the big screen, following the end of Sex And The City, in the quirky drama The Family Stone.

However, it's clear the couple's proudest achievement is their three-year-old son James. Although Matthew juggles a hectic film and theatre workload, he says he's a family man first and foremost.

"I feel truly blessed as a father and a husband and feel incredibly happy to have my son," he says with a smile. "I hope we have more children."

Yet you do wonder how he'd find the time to add to the Broderick brood, since he's more or less been a constant fixture on Broadway for the past decade. He's won two Tony awards for the hit shows, Brighton Beach Memoirs and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. He's also helped make The Producers one of the most successful musicals in recent years, winning 12 Tony Awards and spawning a hugely popular version in London's West End.

And although he finished his own long run in the show this year, Matthew leapt at the chance to revive his role for the movie.

"I was just incredibly grateful and thrilled because it's unusual for the person who originated the part on stage to do it in the film," he says. "The major difference is that there's no live audience and you have to let go of that."

It's the second time that the film has hit the big screen. The 1968 original, starring Gene Wilder, and directed by Mel Brooks, became a cult comic hit. And although Matthew admits he had reservations about stepping into Wilder's shoes, he couldn't resist the call from Brooks, who once again takes the director's chair.

"I was always worried because I love Gene Wilder so much," says Matthew about deliberating over the film role. "I like him in everything and when I started the film I wondered how I was going to do it because I could basically close my eyes and watch the whole of the original movie.

"But Mel gave me so much advice about playing the role. He was very specific about jokes and I always want to hear what he has to say. That was the great thing about this job, just getting to know and work with him. I loved having him on set. He's just great to be around. He's very good at making you feel good."

The movie, which also stars Uma Thurman and Will Farrell, tells the story of crooked theatre producer (Lane) and his hapless sidekick accountant (Broderick) who become embroiled in a scam to stage a surefire theatre flop and then run off with the cash from investors. There's just one problem, the surefire flop turns out to be a massive hit.

Packed full of song and dance numbers, it features Matthew warbling his way through such classics as I Wanna Be A Producer and the hilarious Springtime For Hitler.

And although he's now widely regarded as one of the most talented hoofers in the business, the star says musicals were never part of his game plan.

"I really don't know how it happened," he says with a laugh. "It actually doesn't come easy to me, and I didn't grow up with it. I just worked very hard. I tired out the people teaching me because I'm very slow to get steps, but I am relentless, so I keep at it. I've always loved watching dancers and being around them."

It's all a far cry from Ferris Bueller's Day Off - the 1986 teen comedy which catapulted him to stardom. So while he's tackling a whole different genre now, Matthew has maintained those boyish good looks that totally belie his 43 years.

"I try not to think about getting older because it's such a hopeless thing," he says with a laugh. "It's interesting to watch people I started out with and think 'He's got a lot of grey hair' and then think 'Wait a minute. We're the same age. I've got a lot of grey hair, too."

The Producers is out now