Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American film actor. His best-known film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, and oversexed Sullivan Groff on Weeds.
Modine, the youngest of seven children, was born in Loma Linda, California, the son of Dolores (née Warner), a bookkeeper, and Mark Alexander Modine, who managed drive-in theaters. He is a nephew of a stage actress Nola Modine Fairbanks, and his great-grandfather was prospector and pioneer Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks. He lived in Utah for several years, moving every year or two. The drive-in theaters his father managed were being torn down because the land beneath them exceeded the value of the theaters. The Modines moved to Imperial Beach, California where Matthew attended secondary school. After graduation Matthew moved to New York City to pursue art and theatre.
Modine's first film role was in John Sayles' Baby It's You. His performance caught the eye of director Harold Becker, who cast him in Vision Quest based on the novel by Terry Davis. He appeared in the sex comedy Private School, co-starring Phoebe Cates and Betsy Russell. The director Robert Altman propelled Modine to international stardom with his film adaptation of David Rabe's play Streamers. Modine and his fellow castmates won an unprecedented Best Actor prize from the Venice Film Festival for the tragic story of young American soldiers about to be shipped to Vietnam. Modine played Mel Gibson's brother in Mrs. Soffel and starred with Nicolas Cage in Alan Parker's Birdy. The film was awarded Gran Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. The actor also famously turned down the role of LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (the role that Tom Cruise made famous) because he felt the film's pro-military stance went against his politics.
I'm walking in the darkness, I'm trying to unwind
just the kind of peace, I need to soothe my mind
I'm tired of all the noise, tired of all the pain
escape in the night, just to face another day
I'm talking to the wind
I can feel the calm, the pressure starts to go
and I can feel the life, it now begins to flow
there's something round the corner, there's something in the air
a cool, cool chill but I really don't care
I'm talking to the wind
showers, under moonlight, try to rain on the parade
don't fight the feelings, try to drain them out
wash them away and they'll end without a doubt
I'm talking to the wind
nothing's going to stop me cause I'm heading for the sky
release the tension, it's good to be alive
don't try to mimic me, don't try to bring me down
cause I've found a way to soar above the clouds