Matthew Broderick feels ‘impressed’ working with wife Sarah Jessica Parker

By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter

Matthew Broderick has said he is “impressed” by the work of his wife Sarah Jessica Parker in a new version of the play Plaza Suite they are both starring in.

The 61-year-old, known for his role in 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, married Parker in 1997 and the pair are starring in the new production, set to open at the Savoy Theatre in London on January 17th.

The couple recently spent Christmas and New Year together with their children in Co Donegal, where they own a holiday home.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Broderick said that Parker (58) is “a wonderful partner”.

Asked if he knew whether she would be great to work with from the beginning, he said: “I didn’t. This is different: acting.

“But her way of working is very compatible for me. I find her very easy to [work with] and I’m very impressed by her.

“I think she’s tremendously good…”

In the play, which first premiered in 1968, Broderick and Parker depict three different couples who are at moments of crisis in their relationships.

Asked if the production had made him reflect on their marriage, Broderick said: “Boy, you would think it would, but I don’t know that it has … It’s more about depending on each other onstage that’s educational.

“How to help the other person and not take things personally.

“How to work together well is probably a good exercise for a couple.”

The Hollywood stars met in 1991 through Parker’s brothers Pippin and Timothy known as “Toby”.

Speaking about the first time he met his wife, Broderick said: “The first time I met her I was very struck by her.

“She was very special, somebody you wanted to look at.

“I think she was wearing a bright orange puffy coat. And white long johns in a sort of waffle material and Timberland boots. She was very stylish.”

According to Broderick, it took a while for the two to start dating but he eventually left a message on her answering machine and they went to see a movie.

Parker is most known for playing Carrie Bradshaw in hit US TV series Sex And The City and Broderick said he often receives questions from fans that are focused around her.

“Often they say, ‘Please tell your wife how much I like her.’ And I say: ‘It’s the first thing I’ll say when I get home!’ Once someone even asked: ‘Are you Sarah Jessica Parker?’,” he said.

The actors have three children together, a son called James Wilkie and twin daughters, who were born via surrogacy.