University Wire (1998)

Party of Five star Fox re-visits Columbia campus

It’s 9 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. A hush falls over the Columbia campus. Dorm rooms are deserted. Homer is abandoned, Herodotus discarded, calculus problem sets suspended mid-equation. For one hour, Columbia students ponder moral dilemmas of which Nietzsche never dreamed. Party of Five makes its weekly visit to Morningside Heights.

The Fox Television drama appeared in a more tangible form last night in the Hartley library, where Party of Five star Matthew Fox, CC ‘89, spoke informally with a group of 25 students, aspiring actors, and loyal devotees. Propped causally in an armchair and sharing pasta with his audience, Fox recalled his journey from his father’s ranch in Wyoming to Columbia University to Hollywood stardom.

“You can’t see two more opposite ends of the spectrum,” Fox said of the shift from the ranch of his childhood to his freshman dorm room in John Jay Hall. “[My hometown] is really just a post office along the highway. It has a population sign that says 13.”

Although said he Fox found the adjustment difficult, he noted that his decision to attend Columbia dramatically changed the course of his life.

“Wyoming ’s a beautiful place, but it has a way of locking people in. Your horizons narrow and you have a way of getting trapped,” Fox said, adding, “It was very important that I studied. I don’t think I would be doing what I’m doing now if I hadn’t.”

Although Fox has found success as an actor, his fame is not the result of a lifetime of dedication. The star displayed little affection for Hollywood celebrity, passing off his television career as the luck of being, “in the right place at the right time.”

“I never ever wanted to be a movie star. For me, it’s just about the work. Even the work, in the beginning, it was really tough. Sitting up here in front of you guys now, I’m nervous,” Fox said.

Indeed, sporting a faded gray tee-shirt and a beard of stubble the thirty-something actor appear little removed from his undergraduate days at Columbia years ago, when he was studying economics, playing varsity football, and hanging out with his friends at Cannon’s.

According to Fox, his foray into acting only came about when the price of a Columbia education began to pressure his family financially.

“The whole acting thing started because I was broke. My dad and mom couldn’t help me pay for school that much,” Fox said.

Through the mother of his Columbia girlfriend, Fox gained connections at the Ford modeling agency. However, the young student was dismayed by the suggestions of his Ford agents, who encouraged him to abandon his education to take up modeling full-time in Europe. Instead, Fox turned to television commercials as a quick and painless source of income.

Fox recalled that few of his dramatic roles have been as glamorous as Party of Five.

While at Columbia, a Clearasil commercial became his first introduction to professional acting.

“I wasn’t the one with the zit,” Fox insisted.

Later, there was the short-lived Freshman Dorm, a television drama set in southern California attempting to play off the popularity of Beverly Hills, 90210.

“It was so bad. It just wasn’t written very well. None of us were very good in it. It was just a miserable failure,” Fox said.

Fox also recalled one of his big breaks, a guest-starring role on the sitcom Wings.

“My head was bobbing all over the place. It was basically a nervous twitch. It was so embarrassing.”

Although he refers to his present Party of Five character, cancer patient Charlie Salinger, as a “totally irresponsible asshole,” Fox said that the role has allowed him to come into his own as an actor.

“I’ve gotten to this point in my work where I can be completely focused on my work and everything that I’m doing there is really there,” Fox said, adding that his education and his love of reading were key elements in the development of his acting career.

“The smarter you are, the better actor you’re going to be,” Fox said.

Lynnette Narrero, a Columbia College junior who spent much of her sophomore year performing eight shows per week in a professional musical production, agreed.

“It’s something really important for me to finish my degree and graduate next spring. Columbia is a great place to be because you’re not inundated with actors all the time. It’s nice to have that distance,” Narrero said.

Jamil Ellis, SEAS ‘99 and a returning member of the Varsity Show cast, was impressed with Fox’s casual demeanor in the face of his stardom.

“I thought he was really cool, down to earth, and gave a nice perspective of what acting is all about. It was nice to know that you could be famous and still just be chill,” Ellis said.

Fox bears little resemblance to the characters of Party of Five, who are forever willing to emote.

However, as Fox noted, emotion and melodrama are the driving forces of the wildly popular series, which attracts an audience of 12 million people per week.

“[The show] is very depressing. If the Salingers were happy…,” Fox said, drifting off.

Several audience members completed his thoughts, “Who would watch?”