Back in the ’90s—and once again in the ‘00s—Matthew Fox was one of television’s most popular faces. He achieved something most actors only dream of, which is to star in not one but two massively popular primetime TV shows. But when the second of those shows went off the air in 2010, the once-in-demand actor began facing personal issues. Reports of his unsavory behavior began popping up in tabloids, leading many fans to worry about what happened to Matthew Fox. In 2015, he took an official hiatus from Hollywood and hasn’t been seen in a movie or TV show since. So where is Matthew Fox now? Here’s what we’ve uncovered.
Matthew Fox’s TV Career
Born on July 14th, 1966, Matthew Fox grew up in a small Wyoming town. His father was a farmer and raised Fox and his two brothers on a rural, middle-of-nowhere ranch. “It was 17 miles of dirt road—17 miles!—just to get to the two-lane blacktop,” the Lost star told The Guardian in a 2013 interview. “And from there you had to go another 20 miles to reach a town of 900 people.”
Fox says that while the isolation definitely led him to dream about becoming an actor, it didn’t prepare him for what fame and celebrity would be like. “It’s worked for and against me when it comes to what’s required from the whole package of being an actor,” he explained. “I’m not very good at the emotional hoopla that comes along with [fame]. Selling myself. I was always a dreamy kid. I still am a dreamy kid.”
After moving to New York City to attend Columbia University, Fox decided to give acting a try, though he had a hard time initially breaking out of his shell. “The [acting] classes I went to were miserable at the beginning because I was so painfully shy,” he told The Guardian. “But once I realized it was about telling a story and being part of the group, I felt liberated from that self-consciousness.”
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Fox to land his first gig on an episode of the sitcom Wings. That lead to a few other minor TV roles until he was cast as Charlie Salinger on the Fox family drama Party of Five.
Fox Was Accused Of Assault In 2012
During the years Fox was on Party of Five and Lost, he appeared to be well-liked by both fans and fellow actors. Though he did his best to avoid the spotlight when possible, he was a frequent guest on talk shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live, where he had no problem poking fun at himself.
But that happy-go-lucky reputation was seriously damaged in 2012, when the Vantage Point star was accused of punching a woman multiple times a year prior because she would not let him board a private party bus in Cleveland, Ohio. Fox was never arrested for the incident, and the civil suit filed by the woman in question was eventually dropped. However, not long after the press reported on the incident, actor Dominic Monaghan made a stunning accusation about his former Lost co-star.
“He beats women. Not isolated incidents. Often,” Monaghan Tweeted, referring to Fox.
Fox disputed the claims, telling Men’s Journal, “It’s been a long, trying year of sitting on my hands on a lot of negative shit said about me, when they’re the furthest things from who I am. That I beat a woman in Cleveland when in fact I was assaulted by a man and did nothing but retaliate against him? The 46 years I’ve been breathing on this planet, I have never hit a woman before. Never have, never will.”
The Vantage Point actor also addressed Monaghan’s scathing Twitter comments in the interview, calling them “a pile of bullshit, and I’m not gonna waste too much breath on that.”
He Was Also Charged With A DUI
While he may not have assaulted a woman, Fox did break the law by driving under the influence. The Alex Cross actor received a DUI in May of 2012 and admitted in an Ellen interview not long after that he deeply regretted his mistake. “I was terribly embarrassed by that,” he said. “I really own that and have done every single thing the state of Oregon requires for a first-time DUI offender. I have learned a ton. I did four weeks of alcohol informational training. And just learned an enormous amount.”
Fox also used his Ellen interview as an opportunity to clear up exactly about what went down that day he allegedly punched a woman in Cleveland. He explained that while a fight did break out and he had gotten sucker-punched by a guy, the woman in question was not involved and just trying to capitalize on witnesses the incident. “She was a woman that was in proximity to that, and she decided that she was going to write up a different version of events that happened that night and try to extort money from me,” Fox said. “That was what went down.”
As for why Fox didn’t speak out against the allegations sooner, the star said he didn’t want to interfere with legal proceedings. “I was going to let the courts resolve it on that end, and then I knew there would be a time down the road where I got an opportunity to tell the truth,” he explained.
His Career Went On Hiatus In 2015
Despite the bad press and DUI, Fox appears in a few films after the scandal, including Alex Cross, Emperor, World War Z, and Extinction. His last movie, 2015’s Bone Tomahawk, was critically acclaimed thanks to its strong ensemble cast but did not do very well at the box office. This is when Fox decided to take a break from big-screen roles, presumably because he wasn’t happy with the kinds of opportunities that were coming to him. “For me, whether or not I work again is always gonna depend upon the quality of the opportunities that I get,” he said in his interview with Men’s Journal. “And if I don’t get quality opportunities, you probably won’t see much of me. I’ll probably be doing something else.”
It’s also important to remember that Fox’s movie career has never been terribly successful, to begin with. Though he has had supporting roles in movies like Smokin’ Aces and World War Z, Alex Cross was a big box office bomb.
Fox Has Started Making A Comeback
Perhaps Fox has realized that his luck really lies on the small screen, as the 55-year-old actor has decided to return to TV after an 11-year absence. According to Variety, he’ll star and executive produce Last Light, a five-part miniseries based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling novel. First aired on Peacock in 2022, the show also stars Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt and tells the story of a family fighting to survive an impending global disaster.
We think this one might be a hit—especially if an island is involved!