Matthew Paige Damon was born inCambridge, Massachusetts, on October 8, 1970,[2][3] the second son of Kent Telfer Damon, a stockbroker, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor atLesley University.[4][5][6] His father had English and Scottish ancestry, while his mother is of Finnish and Swedish descent; her family surname had been changed fromPajari to Paige.[7][8][9] Damon and his family moved toNewton for two years. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he and his brother returned with their mother to Cambridge,[5][10] where they lived in a six-family communal house.[11][12] His brother, Kyle, is a sculptor and artist.[5][13] Damon has said that, as a teenager, he felt lonely, as if he did not belong,[11] and that his mother's by-the-book approach to child-rearing[11] had made it hard for him to define his own identity.[11]
Damon attended Cambridge Alternative School andCambridge Rindge and Latin School, and was a good student.[14] He acted in several high-school theater productions,[5] and has credited his drama teacher, Gerry Speca, with having an important artistic influence on him, while noting wryly that Speca gaveBen Affleck (Damon's close friend and schoolmate) the "biggest roles and longest speeches".[14][15][nb 1] He attendedHarvard University as a member of the class of 1992, residing inLowell House, but left before receiving his degree to take a lead role in the filmGeronimo: An American Legend. While at Harvard, as an exercise for an English class, Damon wrote an essay in the form of afilm treatment that was later developed into the screenplayGood Will Hunting (for which he received an Academy Award).[17] At Harvard, Damon was a member ofthe Delphic Club, one of the university'sFinal Clubs. In 2013, he was awarded the Harvard Arts Medal.[18]
Damon enteredHarvard University in 1988,[19][nb 2] where he appeared in student theater plays, such asBurn This andA... My Name is Alice.[21][22] Later, he made his film debut at the age of 18, with a single line of dialogue in theromantic comedyMystic Pizza.[23] As a student at Harvard, he acted in small roles such as in theTNT original filmRising Son and the ensemble prep-school dramaSchool Ties.[24] He left the school in 1992, a semester (12 credits) shy of completing his Bachelor of Arts in English to feature inGeronimo: An American Legend[21][25] in Los Angeles, erroneously expecting the movie to be a big success.[21][nb 3] Damon next appeared as anopiate-addicted soldier in 1996'sCourage Under Fire, for which he lost 40 pounds (18 kg) in 100 days[23][27] on a self-prescribed diet and fitness regimen.Courage Under Fire gained him critical notice;The Washington Post called his performance "impressive".[28]
During the early 1990s,Damon and Affleck wroteGood Will Hunting (1997), a screenplay about a young mathematics genius, an extension of a screenplay Damon wrote as an assignment at Harvard, having integrated advice from directorRob Reiner, screenwriterWilliam Goldman, and writer/directorKevin Smith.[29] He asked Affleck to perform the scenes with him in front of the class and, when Damon later moved into Affleck's Los Angeles apartment, they began working on the script more seriously.[30] The film, which they wrote mainly during improvisation sessions, was set partly in their hometown of Cambridge, and drew from their own experiences.[31][32] They sold the screenplay toCastle Rock in 1994, but after a conflict with the company, they convincedMiramax to purchase the script.[33][34] The film received critical praise; Quentin Curtis ofThe Daily Telegraph found "real wit and vigour, and some depth" in their writing and Emanuel Levy ofVariety wrote that Damon "gives a charismatic performance in a demanding role that's bound to catapult him to stardom. Perfectly cast, he makes the aching, step-by-step transformation of Will realistic and credible."[35][36] It received nineAcademy Awards nominations, includingBest Actor for Damon; he and Affleck won theOscar andGolden Globe Award for Best Screenplay.[37] He and Affleck were each paid salaries of $600,000, while the film grossed over $225 million at the worldwide box office.[38][39] The two later parodied their roles from the film in Kevin Smith's 2001 movieJay and Silent Bob Strike Back.[40]
Of his "overnight success" throughGood Will Hunting, Damon said that by that time he had been working in the cinema for 11 years but still found the change "nearly indescribable—going from total obscurity to walking down a street in New York and having everybody turn and look".[41] Before the film, Damon played the lead in the critically acclaimed dramaThe Rainmaker (1997), where he was recognized by theLos Angeles Times as "a talented young actor on the brink of stardom."[42] For the role, Damon regained most of the weight he had lost forCourage Under Fire.[43] After meeting Damon on the set ofGood Will Hunting, directorSteven Spielberg cast him in the brief title role in the 1998World War II filmSaving Private Ryan.[44] He co-starred withEdward Norton in the 1998 poker filmRounders, playing a reformed gambler in law school who must return to playing high-stakespoker to help a friend pay offloan sharks. Despite meager earnings at the box office, it is considered one of the best poker movies of all time.[45]
Damon then portrayed antiheroTom Ripley inThe Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), a role for which he lost 11 kilograms (25 lb). Damon said he wanted to display his character's humanity and honesty on screen despite his criminal actions.[46] An adaptation ofPatricia Highsmith's 1955novel of same name, the film costarredJude Law,Gwyneth Paltrow, andCate Blanchett, and received praise from critics.[47] "Damon outstandingly conveys his character's slide from innocent enthusiasm into cold calculation", according toVariety magazine.[48] InDogma (1999), Damon plays a fallen angel who discusses pop culture as intellectual subject matter with Affleck's character.[49] The film received generally positive reviews, but proved controversial among religious groups who deemed it blasphemous.[50]
2000–2008: Worldwide recognition
In 2000, Damon, Affleck, and producersChris Moore andSean Bailey founded the production companyLivePlanet to create theEmmy-nominated documentary seriesProject Greenlight, which aimed to find and fund worthwhile film projects by novice filmmakers.[51][52] Among the company's projects was the short-lived mystery-hybrid seriesPush, Nevada.[53]
Damon in 2001
Damon's attempts at leading characters in romantic dramas such as 2000'sAll the Pretty Horses andThe Legend of Bagger Vance were commercially and critically unsuccessful.[38]Variety said of his work inAll the Pretty Horses: "He just doesn't quite seem like a young man who's spent his life amidst the dust and dung of a Texas cattle ranch. Nor does he strike any sparks with[Penelope] Cruz."[54] He was similarly deemed "uncomfortable being the center" ofRobert Redford'sThe Legend of Bagger Vance by Peter Rainer ofNew York magazine.[55]
During this period, Damon joined two lucrative film series—Ocean's Trilogy (2001–2007) andBourne (2002–2016)—and produced the television seriesProject Greenlight (2001–2005, 2015). He co-starred as thief Linus Caldwell in the former's first installment,Steven Soderbergh's 2001 ensemble filmOcean's Eleven, a remake of theRat Pack'sOcean's 11 (1960).[23] The role was originally meant forMark Wahlberg, who declined it in favor of other projects.[56] The film grossed $450 million on a budget of $83 million.[57] Damon, alongside Affleck and others, produced the documentary seriesProject Greenlight, aired onHBO and laterBravo, which helped newcomers develop their first film. The series was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program in 2002, 2004, and 2005.[58] Damon later said that he and Affleck felt proud that the show helped launch the careers of several directors; Damon later served as the executive producer of a number of projects directed by the winners of the show.[59]
In 2002, Damon began writing and starring inGerry, a drama about two friends who forget to bring water and food when they go hiking in a desert. The film's reviews were generally favorable, but it was a box-office failure.[60][61] He then playedamnesiac assassinJason Bourne inDoug Liman's action thrillerThe Bourne Identity (2002). Liman considered several actors for the role before he cast Damon.[62] Damon insisted on performing many of the stunts himself, undergoing three months of extensive training in stunt work, the use of weapons, boxing, andeskrima.[63] He said that beforeThe Bourne Identity he was jobless for six months, and many of his films during that period underperformed at the box office. He doubted the film's financial prospects, but it proved a commercial success.[61] The film's reviews were also good;[64]Roger Ebert praised it for its ability to absorb the viewer in its "spycraft" and "Damon's ability to be focused and sincere".[65] For his role,Entertainment Weekly named Damon among "the decade's best mixer of brawn and brains."[66]
Damon voiced the role of Spirit in the animated filmSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and later played aconjoined twin inStuck on You (2003), which received a mixed critical reception.[67] His major releases in 2004 included starring roles in the sequelsThe Bourne Supremacy andOcean's Twelve. Both films earned more than $280 million at the box office.[68][69]BBC's Nev Pierce calledThe Bourne Supremacy "a brisk, engrossing and intelligent thriller", adding, "Damon is one hell of an action hero. He does a lot with very little, imbuing his limited dialogue with both rage and sorrow, looking harder and more haunted as the picture progresses".[70] For the film, he earned anEmpire Award for Best Actor;Empire attributed Damon's win to his "astute, underplayed performance, through which he totally eschews movie star vanity".[71] He played a fictionalized version ofWilhelm Grimm alongsideHeath Ledger inTerry Gilliam's fantasy adventureThe Brothers Grimm (2005), a critically panned commercial failure;[38]The Washington Post wrote, "Damon, constantly flashing his newscaster's teeth and flaunting a fake, 'Masterpiece Theatre' dialect, comes across like someone who got lost on the way to an audition for a high school production ofThe Pirates of Penzance."[72]
According toForbes in August 2007, Damon was the most bankable star of the actors reviewed. His last three films at that time averaged $29 at the box office for every dollar he earned.[78] Two of his major releases in 2007 were the filmsOcean's Thirteen andThe Bourne Ultimatum, the third installments of their respective series. Both films earned more than $300 million at the box office.[79][80] Damon had an uncredited cameo inFrancis Ford Coppola'sYouth Without Youth (2007) and another in the 2008Che Guevara biopicChe.[81][82] While working on theBourne films, Damon declined an offer fromJames Cameron to star in his upcoming filmAvatar, as he did not want to break hisBourne contract. Cameron offered Damon 10% of the profits for the film, which went on to become the most successful of all time. Damon said later: "I will go down in history... you will never meet an actor who turned down more money."[83]
He made a guest appearance in 2009 on the sixth-season finale ofEntourage as himself, where he tries to pressureVincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) into donating to his real foundationONEXONE.[84][85] His next role was Steven Soderbergh's dark comedyThe Informant! (2009),[86] of his Golden Globe-nominated work in whichEntertainment Weekly wrote: "The star—who has quietly and steadily turned into a great Everyman actor—is in nimble control as he reveals his character's deep crazies."[87] Also in 2009, Damon portrayedSouth Africa national rugby union team captainFrançois Pienaar in theClint Eastwood-directed filmInvictus, based on the 2008John Carlin bookPlaying the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation and featuringMorgan Freeman asNelson Mandela.[88]Invictus earned Damon an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.The New Republic observed that he brought "it off with low-key charm and integrity."[89] Damon also lent his voice to the English version of the animated filmPonyo, released in the United States in August 2009.[90]
In March 2010, Damon and Affleck collaborated again to create another production company,Pearl Street Films, aWarner Bros.-based production company.[91][92] That year, he reunited with director Paul Greengrass, who directed him in theBourne Supremacy andBourne Ultimatum, for the action thrillerGreen Zone, which flopped commercially[93] and received a score of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes and ambivalent critical reception.[94] He appeared as a guest star in an episode ofArthur, titled "The Making of Arthur", as himself.[13] During season 5 of30 Rock, he appeared as a guest star in the role ofLiz Lemon's boyfriend in the episodes "I Do Do", "The Fabian Strategy", "Live Show", and "Double-edged Sword". Damon's 2010 projects included Clint Eastwood'sHereafter and theCoen brothers' remake of the1969 John Wayne-starring WesternTrue Grit.[95] He also narratedInside Job, a documentary film about the effects of financial deregulation in the2008 financial crisis.[96]
In 2010, he was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, ranking 37th.[97] In 2011, he starred inThe Adjustment Bureau,Contagion, andWe Bought a Zoo. That same year, the documentary he narrated,American Teacher, opened in New York before national screening.[98] Also in 2011, he voiced akrill named Bill in the animated filmHappy Feet Two.[99] In 2012, Damon signed a multiyear deal to be the voice ofTD Ameritrade advertisements, replacingSam Waterston as the discount brokerage's spokesman. He donated all fees from the ads to charity.[100] In 2012, Damon filmedPromised Land, directed byGus Van Sant, which Damon co-wrote withJohn Krasinski.[101][102][103] Damon's next film with Soderbergh wasBehind the Candelabra, a drama about the life of pianist/entertainerLiberace (played byMichael Douglas), with Damon playing Liberace's longtime partnerScott Thorson. The film premiered onHBO on May 26, 2013.[104]
In 2023, Damon starred asNike executiveSonny Vaccaro inAir, a drama film about the launch ofAir Jordan, co-starring and directed by Affleck.[123] It marked the first release from Affleck and Damon's independent production company,Artists Equity, which they formed in 2022.[124] The company was founded with a mission to give creators a larger stake in the financial success of their projects, utilizing a data-driven approach to distribution and offering profit participation to both above- and below-the-line talent.[125] FollowingAir, the company's next major project was the Jennifer Lopez-led science fiction filmAtlas, released on Netflix in 2024.[126]Damon received praise for the role, earning a nomination for aGolden Globe Award. He also reunited withChristopher Nolan in the biographical filmOppenheimer,[127] playingLeslie Groves, the director of theManhattan Project.[128][129] The film was a critical and commercial success, becoming Damon's highest-grossing movie.[130]
In 2024, Damon starred in and producedThe Instigators, alongsideCasey Affleck, forApple TV+.[131] The film received mixed reviews, with critics generally praising the chemistry between Damon and Affleck but finding the script formulaic.[132]
WithGeorge Clooney,Brad Pitt,Don Cheadle,David Pressman, andJerry Weintraub, Damon is one of the founders ofNot On Our Watch Project, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities such as inDarfur.[136] Damon supports One Campaign, which is aimed at fighting AIDS and poverty inThird World countries. He has appeared in its print and television advertising. He is an ambassador for ONEXONE, a nonprofit foundation committed to supporting, preserving, and improving the lives of children at home in Canada, the United States, and around the world.[137]
Damon is a spokesperson forFeeding America, a hunger-relief organization, and a member of its Entertainment Council, participating in itsAd Councilpublic service announcements.[138] He was a board member of Tonic Mailstopper (formerly GreenDimes). This company attempted to halt the delivery of junk mail to American homes.[139][nb 5] Damon founded theH2O Africa Foundation, the charitable arm of theRunning the Sahara expedition,[141] which merged withWaterPartners to createWater.org in 2009.[142] Water.org has partnered with corporate sponsors to promote awareness and raise funds to support its mission of bringing safe, clean, cost-effective drinking water and sanitation to developing countries.[143] In this context, Damon has been the face of advertising campaigns to promote Water.org in conjunction with products from major sponsors.
In 2011, Water.org received an $8 million grant from thePepsiCo Foundation to scale up WaterCredit, which provides microloans to families in India.[144] Damon has promoted those efforts, tying in withAquafina andEthos Water bottled water, owned by PepsiCo andStarbucks.[145][146] Since 2015, Damon has promotedAnheuser-Busch InBev'sStella Artois beer as a Water.org partner, including the sale of limited-edition "blue chalice" glasses imprinted with an embellished blue version of the brand's logo.[147][148] In a commercial made for broadcast during the 2018Super Bowl of the United States'National Football League (NFL), he promoted Water.org and Stella Artois's role in supporting its work.[149]
In October 2021, he announced a new partnership with the cryptocurrency trading platformCrypto.com, under which Crypto.com was to make a $1 million donation to Water.org. In the announcement, Damon said, "Crypto.com gave us this great donation, which is amazing. The money that I make for the commercials to promote them, I give 100% of that to Water.org as well. So, it's millions of dollars coming in to us."[150][151] Damon's Crypto.com commercial[152] started rolling out in cinemas late in 2021, and then on television in January 2022, mainly during sports programming such as NFL games. Once it was broadcast widely on television, it sparked much criticism, as did its accompanying "making of" featurette.[153] InThe Independent, Nathan Place wrote, "Twitter is cringing after a TV commercial starring Matt Damon compared trading cryptocurrency to mankind's greatest achievements. In the ad, which aired during Sunday night's NFL games, Mr Damon makes an abstract plug for crypto.com – a platform for exchanging digital currencies like Bitcoin – while striding past images of explorers and astronauts.[154] InThe New Zealand Herald, Lexie Cartwright summed up viewer reaction: "Matt Damon's new commercial plugging cryptocurrency has been absolutely savaged on social media, with viewers dubbing it 'insulting' and 'disgusting'." Cartwright included a series of tweets, among them one byCarole Cadwalladr ofThe Observer that read, "There isn't enough yuck in the world to describe Matt Damon advertising a Ponzi scheme and comparing it to the moon landings."[155] Jody Rosen of theNew York Times wrote, "There is something unseemly, to put it mildly, about the famous and fabulously wealthy urging crypto on their fans" and "The bleakness of that pitch is startling."[156]
Public image
ComedianJimmy Kimmel had a running gag on hisABC television show,Jimmy Kimmel Live!,where he apologized for not being able to interview Damon at the end of each show. It culminated in a planned skit on September 12, 2006, when Damon stormed off after having his interview cut short.[157] Damon appeared in several of E! Entertainment's top tenJimmy Kimmel Live! spoofs.[158][nb 6] On January 24, 2013, Damon took over his show and mentioned the long-standing feud and having been bumped from years of shows. It involved celebrities who were previously involved in the "feud", including Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, andSarah Silverman.[161]
Damon met his wife, Luciana Bozán, while filmingStuck on You in Miami in April 2003.[162][163] They became engaged in September 2005 and married in a private civil ceremony at theManhattan Marriage Bureau on December 9, 2005. They have three daughters together, born in 2006,[164] 2008,[165] and 2010.[166] He also has a stepdaughter from Bozán's previous marriage, and considers her his own.[167][168][169]
The couple has lived in Miami and New York City;[170] since 2012, they have lived in thePacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles.[171] In 2018, Damon bought a luxury penthouse in New York City'sBrooklyn Heights neighborhood for $16.5 million.[172]
While discussing theIraq War onHardball with Chris Matthews in December 2006, Damon expressed concern about inequities across socioeconomic classes with regard to who is tasked with the responsibility of fighting wars.[179]
In an interview with theSunday Herald in January 2003, Damon expressed his support forgun control with "I actually hate guns. They freak me out."[180]
In October and December 2017, Damon made headlines when he made a series of comments about theMe Too movement against sexual harassment and misconduct. On October 10,Sharon Waxman, a former reporter forThe New York Times, mentioned that Damon andRussell Crowe had made direct phone calls to her to vouch for the head ofMiramax Italy, Fabrizio Lombardo. In her report, she suspected Lombardo of facilitating incidents ofHarvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct in Europe.[187][188][189] Damon later clarified that the calls were solely to reassure her of Lombardo's professional qualifications in the film industry.[190] Waxman endorsed Damon's statement on Twitter hours later.[191] Also during this time, Damon said he had heard a story from Affleck thatGwyneth Paltrow, a co-worker on a feature film of his, had been harassed by Weinstein in 1996, but thought "she had handled it" because they continued to work together, and Weinstein "treated her incredibly respectfully".[192][193]
In another series of interviews in December 2017, Damon advocated a "spectrum of behavior" analysis[194][195][196][197] of sexual misconduct cases, noting that some are more serious than others.[198][196][197] The comment offended prominent members of the Me Too movement[198][199] and the public for being "tone-deaf in understand[ing] what abuse is like".[199][198] On January 17, 2018, Damon apologized onThe Today Show for his social commentary, saying he "should get in the back seat and close my mouth for a while".[200]
In August 2021, Damon sparked controversy after saying in an interview withThe Sunday Times that he had only "months ago" stopped using the word "fag", saying that it "was commonly used when I was a kid, with a different application".[202] This came after an incident in which his daughter left the table due to his usage of the word and "wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous".[203] He denied ever using the word "faggot" in his personal life, and of the word "fag": "I explained that that word was used constantly and casually and was even a line of dialogue in a movie of mine as recently as 2003... To my admiration and pride, she was extremely articulate about the extent to which that word would have been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community regardless of how culturally normalized it was. I not only agreed with her but thrilled at her passion, values and desire for social justice."[204]
Aside fromawards he has garnered for his role as an actor and producer, Damon became the 2,343rd person to receive a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame on July 25, 2007.[205] He reacted to the award by stating: "A few times in my life, I've had these experiences that are just kind of too big to process and this looks like it's going to be one of those times."[206]
^"By the time I figured out I had made the wrong decision, it was too late. I was living out here with a bunch of actors, and we were all scrambling to make ends meet," he has said.[26]
^Appearing onThe Oprah Winfrey Show on April 20, 2007, Damon promoted the organization's efforts to prevent the trees used for junk mail letters and envelopes from being chopped down. Damon stated: "For an estimated dime a day they can stop 70% of the junk mail that comes to your house. It's very simple, easy to do, great gift to give, I've actually signed up my entire family. It was a gift given to me this past holiday season and I was so impressed that I'm now on the board of the company."[140][better source needed]
^On January 31, 2008, Kimmel aired a clip of his then girlfriend, comedianSarah Silverman, singing a song entitled "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" in which Damon appeared.[158][159] Kimmel responded on February 24, 2008, with his music video which said that he was "fucking Ben Affleck". It featured Affleck along with several other actors.[158] Another encounter, titled "The Handsome Men's Club", featured Kimmel, along with handsome actors and musicians. At the end of the skit, Kimmel had a door slammed in his face by Damon, who said that they had run out of time, followed by a sinister laugh.[158][160]
^Thom Geier; Jeff Jensen; Tina Jordan; et al. (December 11, 2009). "The 100 Greatest Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music Videos, And Trends That Entertained Us Over The Past 10 Years".Entertainment Weekly. p. (1079/1080):74–84.
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