I am sure I recognized Matthew Modine as one of Meggie's older brothers in the original mini-series "The Thorn Birds" in 1983. I looked at the character a few times to be sure it was Modine, and I believe "Matthew Modine" appears in the credits at the end of the film. However, the mini-series is not listed in his filmography, nor is he listed in the cast of "The Thorn Birds" on the imdb website. Would someone please look into this.
shareThese were the younger male Cleary's. The cast list is on the IMDB website. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085101/
John Friedrich .... Frank Cleary
Stephen W. Burns .... Jack Cleary (as Stephan Burns)
Brett Cullen .... Bob Cleary
Dwier Brown .... Stuart Cleary
Sydney Penny .... Young Meggie Cleary
No he was not in the Thorn Birds.
shareModine was definitely NOT in "Thorn Birds." You're probably thinking of Brett Cullen, who did play one of Rachel Ward's brothers and did bare something of a resemblance to Modine - both tall, with sharp noses and floppy, dark blond hair.
Modine was also in "Something's Gotta Give" and the TV series "Legacy," among many other credits.