It’s been nearly 40 years since Matthew Broderick‘s Ferris Bueller famously faked a fever, hijacked a Ferrari, and taught us all that life moves pretty fast.
But while movie fans love to imagine the ultimate 1980s slacker living out a grand, wild adventure into adulthood, the man who brought him to life has a slightly more grounded theory. Broderick recently weighed in on where his iconic character would be today, and his prediction for Ferris in 2026 might surprise you.
Matthew Broderick Believes This is What Ferris Bueller is Doing Today
In an interview with The Guardian to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Matthew Broderick admitted that his take on what Ferris is doing now might surprise some fans.
“When John [Hughes, director] was alive, I always thought, ‘Maybe we’ll do it again?’ but too much time passed,” Broderick revealed.
“What happened to Ferris? He’s pretty charming and creative but he probably turned into his dad. That’s what most of us do,” the actor quipped.
Alan Ruck, who played Ferris’ best friend Cameron, added his thoughts about where his high-strung, perpetually anxious character might have ended up decades after that legendary day off. Safe to say, his hilarious prediction proves that some adult habits are pretty tough to break.
Ruck deadpanned, “My joke is that Cameron’s father came home and threw him out the window [after his 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder luxury car was destroyed]. The rest of that day wasn’t a happy one, but maybe things turned out OK. Maybe now he’s a lawyer in Chicago.”
Movie Fans Weren’t Initially Keen on the Character of Ferris
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Matthew Broderick admitted that while a completely rule-free day sounded great, not every movie fan was entirely sold on Ferris’s antics. In fact, some viewers found the teen’s smooth-talking charm a bit more arrogant than endearing.
The actor explained, “I thought Ferris shouldn’t seem to be trying too hard, that things came easy to him. I wanted to be a little cool and aloof. We didn’t want him to be somebody you wanted to punch in the face. That’s always the danger with guys who get away with everything.”
Broderick continued, “After a test screening, one young woman’s feedback was that she didn’t like Ferris because ‘he’d make me do things I don’t want to do’ so they got rid of a scene where I try to get Sloane [Mia Sara] not to go back home and keep hanging out having fun.”
Matthew Broderick Talks About That Iconic Parade Scene
Of all the scenes in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the parade sequence remains one of the most iconic. Broderick recalled it as a massive undertaking, with thousands of everyday locals turning up to join in on the big-screen moment.
The actor recalled, “The parade scene was huge. We shot at an actual parade one weekend, then did close-ups the next. They had a radio contest inviting people to be in a John Hughes movie, and 10,000 people showed up. It felt real. The window washers dancing? The camera guys just noticed them. They were catching whatever they could.”
Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck are set to reunite in the feature film, “The Best Is Yet to Come.”
