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Charles Matthau

Charles Matthau

Actor, director and producer, also writer · Born December 10, 1962 (63) · New York, New York, U.S.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Charles Matthau (b. 1962, New York City), is a film and television director and actor and the son of actor Walter Matthau. He appeared as a child actor alongside his father in such films as Charley Varrick (1973), The Bad News Bears (1976) and House Calls (1978). Among his directorial projects have been The Grass Harp, from a novella by Truman Capote, and the made-for-TV movie The Marriage Fool, both of which starred his father. He also directed Doin' Time on Planet Earth (1988), Her Minor Thing (2005) and Baby-O (2009). "Charlie" Matthau was named after famed actor Charlie Chaplin, a personal friend of his father. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Matthau, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 10, 1962 (63)
From
New York, New York, U.S.
Works as
Actor, director and producer, also writer
Titles
17 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Down 23% in 30 days

What are Charles Matthau's films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 58th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
31%
Self
22%
Society
15%
Morality
14%
Ideas
14%
Survival
4%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 11 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 11 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 9 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 8 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 2

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 3

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 9 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
8
Absurd
4
Tense
3
Contemplative
4
Romantic
4
Other
13

How their films linger

Feel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Charles Matthau's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 17 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Charles Matthau's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

22 credits, 17 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Freaky Deaky(2012)

    Director · Adaptation · Producer · as Groovy Director

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Ghost Town: The Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Doc Morrison

  • Going Shopping (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Sarcastic Boyfriend (uncredited)

  • Her Minor Thing(2005)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • An Ordinary Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    as Detective Mark Peyton

  • Hanging Up(2000)

    as Young Lou

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • The Marriage Fool(1998)

    Director · as Salesperson

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Grass Harp(1995)

    Director · Producer · as Barbershop Regular

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Number One Fan(1995)

    as Scotty Youngman

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love(1991)

    Director · Producer · as Partner

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Incident(1990)

    Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Doin' Time on Planet Earth(1988)

    Director · Actor

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • I Ought to Be in Pictures(1982)

    Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Buddy Buddy(1981)

    Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • First Monday in October(1981)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Stingiest Man in Town(1978)

    as The Boy (voice)

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • House Calls(1978)

    as Michael Atkinson

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Bad News Bears(1976)

    as Athletic

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Saturday Night Live(1975)

    Show 1 episode · as Bee (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Charley Varrick(1973)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Baby-O (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • The Book of Leah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · as Psychiatric Patient

Career shape

Star power in the 73rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 21 titles, 19 of them dated from 1973 to 2012; peak year 1973.

Biggest box office

House Calls (1978)

$28M worldwide

Highest rated

The Incident (1990)

Midcredits 79th

Most popular right now

Freaky Deaky (2012)

Film career

19732012

Peak 1973 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting16 of 21: 10 only acting, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score58thDirecting8 of 21: 2 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score52ndWriting1 of 21: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing6 of 21: 3 only producing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score61st

21 titles, 6 with more than one role — acting and directing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1970s5 · acting1980s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew1990s5 · 4 acting · 4 crew2000s5 · 4 acting · 1 crew2010s1 · 1 acting · 1 crew

Billing

usually 17th · top billed in 0% of 5 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Charles Matthau's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 55th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

57thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 17 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th8
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 17 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director

Her Minor Thing (2005)

79th percentile spread · 27% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Charley Varrick (1973)

Midcredits 95th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the acting 71/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 44. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Charles Matthau work with?

People who share at least 2 of Charles Matthau's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Walter Matthau shares the most, 8.

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles