Matt Damon

Matthew Paige Damon (born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes’ most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.12 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

Damon began his acting career by appearing in high school theater productions. He made his professional acting debut in the film Mystic Pizza (1988), with Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor, and Vincent D’Onofrio. Other early roles include School Ties (1992), with Brendan Fraser, Ben Affleck, Chris O’Donnell, Cole Hauser, Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery and Anthony Rapp; Walter Hill’s Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Wes Studi, Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, and Robert Duvall; Glory Daze (1995), with Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Megan Ward, French Stewart, John Rhys-Davies, Alyssa Milano, and Spalding Gray; Edward Zwick’s Courage Under Fire (1996), with Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan; and Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Rainmaker (1997), with Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Roy Scheider, Mickey Rourke, Virginia Madsen, Mary Kay Place and Teresa Wright.

He came to prominence in 1997 when he and Ben Affleck wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting (directed by Gus Van Sant, with Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård), which won them the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Screenplay and earned Damon a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He would collaborate with Van Sant on otter films including Finding Forester (2000), with Sean Connery, Rob Brown, Anna Paquin, and F. Murray Abraham; Gerry (2002), and Promised Land (2012), with John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt and Hal Holbrook.

He continued to garner praise from critics for his roles in Steven Spielberg‘s Saving Private Ryan (1998), with Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies; Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), with Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, and Philip Seymour Hoffman; Kevin Smith‘s Dogma (1999), with Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Mewes, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, and Jason Lee; Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana (2005), with George Clooney, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, and Mark Strong; Martin Scorsese‘s The Departed (2006), with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin; and James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari (2019), with Christian Bale.

Damon is also known for his starring roles as Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise (2002–2016) and as a con man in Stephen Soderbergh‘s Ocean’s trilogy (2001–2007), collectively with Clooney, Andy García, Brad Pitt, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, and Al Pacino. Other Soderbergh films he’s worked on include Che: Part Two (2008), with Benicio del Toro; The Informant! (2009), with Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey; Contagion (2011), with Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Law, Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, and Sanaa Lathan; and Unsane (2018), with Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy Irving.

For his supporting role as rugby player Francois Pienaar in Clint Eastwood‘s Invictus (2009), with Morgan Freeman; and his leading role as an astronaut stranded on Mars in Ridley Scott‘s The Martian (2015), with Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Benedict Wong; he received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively. The latter also won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He received Emmy Award nominations for his portrayal of Scott Thorson in the biopic Behind the Candelabra (2013), with Michael Douglas, Dan Aykroyd, Bakula, Rob Lowe, and Debbie Reynolds; and for producing the reality series Project Greenlight (2001–2015). He also received an Academy Award nomination for producing Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea (2016).

Other notable roles include Rounders (1998), with Edward Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, and Martin Landau; Robert Redford’s The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), with Will Smith and Charlize Theron; Terry Gilliam‘s The Brothers Grimm (2005), with Heath Ledger, Lena Headey, Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, and Monica Bellucci; The Good Shepherd (2006), with Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro (who also directed), Billy Crudup, Lee Pace, Eddie Redmayne, William Hurt, and Joe Pesci; Green Zone (2010), with Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, and Jason Isaacs; and Joel & Ethan Coen‘s True Grit (2010), with Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin, and Pepper.

Later roles include The Adjustment Bureau (2011), with Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, and Terence Stamp; Margaret (2011), with Paquin, Jean Reno, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron, Jeannie Berlin, Kieran Culkin, Olivia Thirlby, and Rosemarie DeWitt; Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo (2011), with Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, Colin Ford, and John Michael Higgins; Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium (2013), with Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, Sharlto Copley, and William Fichtner; The Monuments Men (2014), with Clooney (who also directed), Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Blanchett; Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar (2014), with Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, and Michael Caine; Zhang Yimou‘s The Great Wall (2016), with Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau; Alexander Payne’s Downsizing (2017), with Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, and Wiig; and Suburbicon (2017), with Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe, and Oscar Isaac. Damon has also performed voice-over work in both animated and documentary films, and has established two production companies with Affleck. He has been involved in charitable work with organizations including the One Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, Feeding America, and Water.org. Each review will be linked to the title below. (*seen originally in theaters) (**seen rereleased in theaters)

Mystic Pizza (1988) – directed by Donald Petrie
The Good Mother (1988) – directed by Leonard Nimoy – extra
Field of Dreams (1989) – directed by Phil Alden Robinson – uncredited extra
Rising Son (1990) – directed by John David Coles – TV movie
School Ties (1992) – directed by Robert Mandel
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) – directed by Walter Hill
Good Old Boys (1995) – directed by Tommy Lee Jones – TV movie
Glory Daze (1995) – directed by Rich Wilkes
Courage Under Fire (1996) – directed by Edward Zwick
Chasing Amy (1997) – directed by Kevin Smith
The Rainmaker (1997) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Good Will Hunting (1997) – directed by Gus Van Sant – also co-writer
Saving Private Ryan (1998)** – directed by Steven Spielberg
Rounders (1998) – directed by John Dahl
Dogma (1999) – directed by Kevin Smith
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) – directed by Anthony Minghella
Titan A.E. (2000)* – directed by Don Bluth & Gary Goldman
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) – directed by Robert Redford
Finding Forrester (2000) – directed by Gus Van Sant – cameo
All the Pretty Horses (2000) – directed by Billy Bob Thornton
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)* – directed by Kevin Smith – cameo as himself
Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
The Majestic (2001) – directed by Frank Darabont – voice cameo
Gerry (2002) – directed by Gus Van Sant – also co-writer, co-editor
Stolen Summer (2002) – directed by Pete Jones – producer only
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) – directed by Kelly Asbury & Lorna Cook
The Third Wheel (2002) – directed by Jordan Brady – cameo – also executive producer
The Bourne Identity (2002) – directed by Doug Liman
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) – directed by George Clooney – cameo
Speakeasy (2002) – directed by Brendan Murphy – executive producer only
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003) – directed by Efram Potelle & Kyle Rankin – executive producer only
Stuck on You (2003) – directed by Peter & Bobby Farrelly
EuroTrip (2003)* – directed by Jeff Schaffer, Alec Berg (uncredited), & David Mandel (uncredited) – cameo
Jersey Girl (2004) – directed by Kevin Smith – cameo
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)* – directed by Paul Greengrass
Ocean’s Twelve (2004) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004) – directed by Deb Ellis & Denis Mueller – narrator – documentary
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005) – directed by Mark Cowen – narrator – documentary
The Brothers Grimm (2005)* – directed by Terry Gilliam
Syriana (2005) – directed by Stephen Gaghan
Feast (2005) – directed by John Gulager – executive producer only
The Departed (2006) – directed by Martin Scorsese
The Good Shepherd (2006) – directed by Robert De Niro
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) – directed by Paul Greengrass
Youth Without Youth (2007) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola – uncredited cameo
Running the Sahara (2007) – directed by James Moll – narrator – also executive producer – documentary
Che: Part Two (2008) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
Ponyo (2008)* – directed by Hayao Miyazaki – English dub
The Informant! (2009) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
Invictus (2009) – directed by Clint Eastwood
Green Zone (2010) – directed by Paul Greengrass
Hereafter (2010) – directed by Clint Eastwood
True Grit (2010)* – directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
Inside Job (2010) – directed by Charles Ferguson – voice – documentary
The Adjustment Bureau (2011) – directed by George Nolfi
Contagion (2011) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
Margaret (2011) – directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Happy Feet Two (2011) – directed by George Miller
We Bought a Zoo (2011) – directed by Cameron Crowe
Promised Land (2012) – directed by Gus Van Sant – also co-writer, co-producer
Behind the Candelabra (2013) – directed by Steven Soderbergh – TV movie
Elysium (2013) – directed by Neill Blomkamp
The Zero Theorem (2013) – directed by Terry Gilliam
The Monuments Men (2014) – directed by George Clooney
The Man Who Saved the World (2014) – directed by Peter Anthony – narrator – documentary
Interstellar (2014) – directed by Christopher Nolan
The Martian (2015)* – directed by Ridley Scott
Manchester by the Sea (2016) – directed by Kenneth Lonergan – producer only
Jason Bourne (2016) – directed by Paul Greengrass – also co-producer
The Great Wall (2016)* – directed by Zhang Yimou
Bending the Arc (2017) – directed by Kief Davidson & Pedro Kos – co-executive producer only
Downsizing (2017) – directed by Alexander Payne
Suburbicon (2017) – directed by George Clooney
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)* – directed by Taika Waititi – uncredited cameo
Unsane (2018) – directed by Steven Soderbergh – cameo
Deadpool 2 (2018)* – David Leitch – cameo (credited as Dicky Greenleaf)
Ocean’s 8 (2018) – directed by Gary Ross – cameo (scenes deleted)
Ford v Ferrari (2019) – directed by James Mangold
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019)* – directed by Kevin Smith – cameo
No Sudden Move (2021) – directed by Steven Soderbergh – uncredited
Stillwater (2021) – directed by Tom McCarthy
The Last Duel (2021) – directed by Ridley Scott – also co-writer, executive producer
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)* – directed by Taika Waititi – cameo
Air (2023) – directed by Ben Affleck – also co-producer
Oppenheimer (2023)* – directed by Christopher Nolan
Drive-Away Dolls (2024)* – directed by Ethan Coen
Imaginary Friends (2024) – directed by John Krasinski

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