Which actor played Ferris Bueller in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?

Matthew Broderick played Ferris Bueller in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Directed by John Hughes, the film follows Ferris as he skips school with his best friend Cameron Frye and girlfriend Sloane Peterson during a day in Chicago. Broderick was 24 when the movie was released, although he played a high-school student.

The role became one of Broderick’s defining performances. Ferris frequently addresses the audience directly, a technique that gives the film its distinctive conversational style and lets viewers hear his plans and observations.

The film is sometimes confused with other 1980s teen comedies, especially The Breakfast Club, another John Hughes movie. However, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is centered on a single day of elaborate truancy rather than a Saturday detention. Its parade sequence, museum visit, and repeated “Save Ferris” campaign are among its best-known scenes.