In the 1983 film WarGames, which actor plays teenage computer hacker David Lightman?

Matthew Broderick plays teenage computer hacker David Lightman in the 1983 film WarGames.

David is a high-school student who uses a modem to access computer systems, including a military supercomputer. He believes he has connected to a game company and selects a nuclear-war simulation called Global Thermonuclear War.

The film turns David’s curiosity into a crisis when the military system treats his game session as a real attack. Ally Sheedy plays Jennifer Mack, David’s friend, while John Wood portrays Dr. Stephen Falken, the scientist behind the system.

WarGames was directed by John Badham and became one of the best-known films about hacking and accidental computer intrusion. Its story also helped popularize public anxiety about networked military computers during the Cold War.