Matthew Arkin
American actor and acting instructor
title: "Matthew Arkin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1960-births", "21st-century-american-jews", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-people-of-ukrainian-jewish-descent", "horace-greeley-high-school-alumni", "jewish-american-male-actors", "living-people", "male-actors-from-brooklyn"] description: "American actor and acting instructor" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Arkin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor and acting instructor ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Matthew Arkin |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| occupation | Actor, instructor, author |
| alma mater | Wesleyan University |
| Fordham University School of Law | |
| years_active | 1969–present |
| spouse | |
| children | 2 |
| father | Alan Arkin |
| relatives | Adam Arkin (brother) |
| David I. Arkin (paternal grandfather) | |
| :: |
| name = Matthew Arkin | image = | birth_date = | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | occupation = Actor, instructor, author | alma mater = Wesleyan University Fordham University School of Law | years_active = 1969–present | spouse = | children = 2 | father = Alan Arkin | relatives = Adam Arkin (brother) David I. Arkin (paternal grandfather) Matthew Arkin (born March 21, 1960) is an American actor, acting instructor, and author.
Early life and education
Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jeremy Yaffe, a nurse, and actor Alan Arkin. He is the younger brother of actor Adam Arkin. After his parents separated when he was an infant, Arkin was raised by his mother in California until age 7. He then lived with his father and stepmother, actress Barbara Dana, and half-brother Anthony Dana Arkin, in Greenwich Village. In 1968, Arkin and his brother were directed by their father in the Academy Award nominated short film People Soup. Arkin attended Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. Arkin graduated from Wesleyan University and earned a J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law. Although he was raised in a non-denominational household, Arkin is Jewish and identifies with Jewish culture.
For five years Arkin practiced law with small firms in Tarrytown and White Plains, New York. He quit to pursue a career in acting. When asked why he would give up a career in law, Arkin pointed out a laughing audience and said, ""You hear that sound? You know how many people I made laugh when I was a lawyer? None... well, maybe a few judges."
Career
Acting
Arkin studied acting at the HB Studio under Uta Hagen, Austin Pendleton and Sheldon Patinkin. In 1993, he debuted on Broadway in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor and continued during the production's national tour. He played Ben Silverman in the 1997 Broadway revival of The Sunshine Boys. Arkin was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Gabe in the 1999 Off-Broadway premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Dinner with Friends.
Arkin also appeared in a variety of films and television shows, including All My Children (2007), Law & Order (1991–2009) and 100 Centre Street (2001).
At the South Coast Repertory in Orange County, California, Arkin originated roles in the world premieres of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair (2009) and Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis (2011). In 2013, Arkin portrayed the 600-pound main character in the West Coast premiere of Samuel Hunter's The Whale.
Teaching
Beginning in 2008, Arkin taught acting technique at the HB Studio in New York City and later at the Actors Studio in Los Angeles. In 2015, Arkin accepted the position as Director of the Acting Intensive Program at South Coast Repertory in Southern California.
Author
In 2016, Arkin published the detective novel In the Country of the Blind.
Personal life
Arkin married Pamela Newkirk in May 1993, with whom he has two children. They divorced in 2011. He resides in Pasadena, California.
References
References
- Ridel, Michael. (November 17, 1999). "He's Arkin up the Right Tree Matthew is a Hir in 'Dinner'". New York Post.
- Klein, Alvin. (March 5, 2000). "Another Arkin in Father's Footsteps". [[The New York Times]].
- Goldfarb, Myra Yellin. (February 7, 1993). "For Matthew Arkin, Family Has Played A Leading Role". [[The Morning Call]].
- [https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/ HB Studio Alumni]
- "Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk.
- Isherwood, Charles. (October 13, 2006). "Dad Had Adultery; the Son Is Stuck With Adulthood". New York Times.
- Jones, Kenneth. (March 12, 2009). "Arkin, Gross, Hinkle and O'Hara Will Star in Premiere of Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair". Playbill.
- Hodgins, Paul. (April 26, 2011). "Matthew and Adam Arkin finally share a stage in O.C.". [[Orange County Register]].
- Ng, David. (March 17, 2013). "Bringing heft to 'The Whale' at South Coast Repertory". Los Angeles Times.
- Wood, Mark Dundas. (April 9, 2010). "Those Who Can". Backstage.
- (May 21, 2012). "Matthew Arkin Joins SCR's Teaching Faculty". South Coast Repertory.
- (January 30, 2015). "Matthew Arkin Appointed Director of South Coast Repertory's Acting Intensive Program". South Coast Repertory.
- Royalty, Catherine. (September 17, 2016). "Matthew Arkin". Los Angeles Public Library.
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