The handsome 6'4" son of the famed reclusive "Catcher in the Rye" author, Matt Salinger began his career on stage, making his Off-Broadway debut in "Drums in the Night" (1983) before appearing in his first feature, "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984). A starring role on Broadway as a football player in "Dancing in the End Zone" (1985) caught the eye of director Sidney Lumet who cast him as a professor turned political candidate in "Power" (1986). Salinger followed quickly with TV projects, including the miniseries "Blood and Orchids" and the movie "Manhunt for Claude Dallas" (both CBS, 1986) and frequently returned to the stage, most notably succeeding Tony Goldwyn as the gay son in the Off-Broadway production of "The Sum of Us" (1991). Salinger went on to play a sleazy shrink in three episodes of "Picket Fences" (CBS) during its 1993-94 season before co-starring opposite Connie Sellecca in the short-lived primetime soap "Second Chances" (CBS, 1993-94).

Clumsy direction and terrible editing (among a myriad of faults) overwhelmed the sincerity of Salinger's performance in "Captain America" (1990), but he faired much better in Henry Jaglom's "Babyfever" (1994), receiving praise for his turn as the an unromantic boyfriend. Amazed at what producer Robert Corman could put on the screen for $400,000 when acting for him in "Firehawk" (1993), Salinger decided to produce his own movie, making "Fortunes of War" (1994) for $2 million in the Philippines and repaying his backers from foreign sales before the feature had its video release in the USA. Tabling his acting career, he went on to produce "Mojave Moon" (1996) and served as executive producer for "Hacks" and "Little City" (both 1997) and "Stranger in the Kingdom" (1998).