About the Author
Matt Damon is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. Most recently he completed filming The Informant for director Stephen Soderbergh and Invictus for director Clint Eastwood. Both films are due for release this fall.
Following the release of these films audiences will see Damon reteam with director Paul Greengrass on The Green Zone.
In December, The History Channel will broadcast the film The People Speak, which features dramatic performances chronicling the history of this country, including charter documents, letters, diaries read by actors and woven together with archival footage and interviews. In addition to Matt appearing in the film, he serves as an Executive Producer on the project.
Most recently Matt reprised his role as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) for director Paul Greengrass having previously starred in The Bourne Supremacy (2004) also for director Paul Greengrass and in The Bourne Identity (2002) for director Doug Liman. He also reprised his role as Linus Caldwell in Ocean’s Thirteen (2007) for director Steven Soderbergh having previously starred for Soderbergh in Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and in Ocean’s Eleven (2001).
Previous films include the Academy Award winning film The Departed (2006) in which he appeared alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson for director Martin Scorsese; The Good Shepherd (2006) with Angelina Jolie for director Robert DeNiro; the geopolitical thriller Syriana (2005) with George Clooney for director Stephen Gaghan; The Brothers Grimm (2005) with Heath Ledger for director Terry Gilliam; the Farrelly Brothers comedy Stuck On You (2003) with Greg Kinnear; Gerry (2002) with Casey Affleck for director Gus Van Sant; the film version of the Cormick McCarthy book All the Pretty Horses (2000) for director Billy Bob Thornton and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), for director Robert Redford.
In 1999, Damon starred in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. That same year he rejoined Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith and pal Ben Affleck in Dogma, a film about a pair of outcast angels.
In 1998, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with longtime friend Ben Affleck for the critically-acclaimed drama Good Will Hunting. Damon also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his work in the title role. The film, directed by Gus Van Sant, received seven additional Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture and a win for Robin Williams for Best Supporting Actor. In addition, both he and Affleck received a Golden Globe Award for their screenplay, and Damon also garnered a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.
In the same year, Damon starred in the title role of the World War II drama Saving Private Ryan for Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg, and in John Dahl’s Rounders.
In 1997, Damon made a cameo appearance in Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy and he starred as an idealistic young attorney in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rainmaker, based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham.
Damon first gained the public’s eye in 1996, when he gave a vivid performance in Courage Under Fire, in which he portrayed a guilt-ridden Persian Gulf War soldier tormented by an incident which happened in the heat of battle.
The versatile young actor made his feature film debut in 1988 in a small role in the critically well-received Mystic Pizza. He went on to play Brian Dennehy’s medical school dropout in the TV movie Rising Son (TNT, 1990) and gained further attention when he returned to the big screen as a fascist preppy in School Ties (1992).
For director Walter Hill, Damon enjoyed a sizeable supporting role as the green second lieutenant new to the West who narrates Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) and in 1995, he appeared in The Good Old Boys, directed by Tommy Lee Jones for TNT.
In addition to their work in front of the camera, Damon and Affleck formed LivePlanet Productions. LivePlanet produced three Emmy-nominated seasons of Project Greenlight, the documentary series chronicling the making of an independent feature films by a first time writer and director. The three Project Greenlight films produced for Miramax/Dimension were Stolen Summer, The Battle of Shaker Heights, and Feast. LivePlanet also produced Running the Sahara, a documentary about three men running across the Sahara Desert, which was directed by Academy Award winner James Moll.
Additionally, Damon co-founded H20 Africa and is an ambassador for the children’s foundation ONEXONE.
Damon, who attended Harvard University, first gained acting experience at the American Repertory Theatre as well as other Boston-based theatre venues.
