Godzilla Actor of the Day (Matthew Broderick)

Since today is Matthew Broderick's birthday, what better way to celebrate than to honor him with an "Actor of the Day" column.

Matthew is of course no stranger to American audiences.

Having acted since his younger years, he's made a staple for himself through many memorable films.

Whether it's high drama like the revered Civil War film "Glory", to the still frightfully real "War Games", to his star-making role in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", and many others, there's virtually no corner in filmmaking that his career hasn't touched.

Even the much maligned "The Cable Guy" still held praises for Matthew's acting.

In the sci-fi world he is most remembered for his role within the 1998 blockbuster "Godzilla", which had originally been seen as a trilogy for his "Dr. Niko Tatopoulos" character.

I remember reading that he came across this role because both Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had actively pursued him several times before.

He was originally wanted for the main role that James Spader played within "Stargate", as well as the role that Jeff Goldblum played role within "Independence Day".

It seems like the third time was the charm as the main scientist role within "Godzilla" was specifically written just for Matthew, and he accepted.

I don't recall him ever stating if he was a true fan of Godzilla, or if he was even bummed out that the sequels never came to be.

More than likely this was just another "movie role" for him...i.e. another paycheck.

Still I felt he played his character in a memorable manner. You could instantly root for this poor guy as he found himself in these fish-out-of-water scenarios.