Matthew Modine Talks About Mormonism

On many a morning, Matthew Modine and I used to share breakfast together—just not at the same table. We both frequented a now-defunct café on Waverly Place and would occasionally kibitz across the tables. The 56-year-old actor, who made his bones in Full Metal Jacket and who stars in the new TNT series Proof, always struck me as calm, kind and quick with a joke. Perhaps he was just putting on an act, but I don’t think so, judging by Mr. Modine’s warm, approachable demeanor while chatting the other day over chai outside Dominique Ansel’s new West Village bakery.