Matt Damon is an incredible guy. An actor and charismatic man who charms his way into everyone's hearts. He claims he makes a lot of movies that people don't care about, but I care! Does that count? I'll watch any movie with this man... *begin googly eyes now.* Here is everything you need to know about this beautiful man in order to become as obsessed as I am.
Life Facts:
He was born and raised in the Boston area (1 brother, divorced parents). He grew up as childhood friends with Ben Affleck. Damon attended Harvard University as an English major until he skipped so many classes, he dropped out to pursue his acting career. He attempted to launch his career, failed, but tried again. And again. And again. Until he won one Emmy and two Golden Globes.
In 2005, Damon married his current wife, Luciana. The couple has one daughter from a previous relationship of Luciana's and three children of their own. They typically are seen going out with Ben Affleck and his wife.
Damon has become incredibly close friends with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, as well.
In his personal time, Damon has become actively involved in multiple charities, including the ONE Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, Feeding America, and Water.org (hot AND charitable).
Career:
Damon has had 89 feature films, but here are the ones you are most likely to know (poor Matt):
"Field of Dreams" (1989)
"Geranimo: An American Legend" (1993) - 1st big fail
"Good Will Hunting" (1997) - Screenplay originally written by Damon for an English class at Harvard University (nominated for nine Academy Awards, won one for Best Original Screenplay)
"Saving Private Ryan" (1998)
"Rounders" (1998)
"Dogma" (1999)
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999) - mixed reviews
"The Legend of Bagger Vance" (2000) - poor reviews
"Project Greenlight" (2001-2005) - (Televeision series produced through Damon's company, LivePlanet) Three Emmy Nominations
"Ocean's Eleven Series" (2001, 2004, 2007)
"Gerry" (2002) - Damon was a co-writer
"Stuck on You" (2003) - 60% Rotten Tomatoes score, mixed reviews
"The Bourne Series" (2002, 2004, 2007)
"The Brothers Grimm" (2005) - critically panned commercial failure
"The Good Shepherd" (2006)
"The Departed" (2006) - 92% on Rotten Tomatoes
"Invictus" (2008) - Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
"The Informant!" (2009) - Golden Globe nomination
"True Grit" (2010)
"We Bought a Zoo" (2011)
"The Monuments Men" (2014)
"Interstellar" (2014)
"The Martian" (2015) - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Recognitions:
It wasn't all in vain though... He won an Academy Award, Oscar, and Golden Globe Award for screenplay of "Good Will Hunter" (1997). He was ranked one of the most bankable stars by "Forbes" and one of the top 40 highest-grossing actors of all time. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007 and "Entertainment Weekly" named Damon among "the decade's best mixer of brawn and brains."
Awesome Facts About Matt:
Competed in the Texas Hold-'Em World Series of Poker (www.wsop.com) in Las Vegas (1998) - He was knocked out the first day (whoops).
He was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People Magazine (1998).
He dropped out of Harvard 12 credits short of graduating...
To perfect a southern accent for a role in "The Rainmaker" (1997), Damon tended a bar in Knoxville, Tennessee for free.
He started a bowling league in Berlin, Germany while making "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004).
His uncle made a world record of being the oldest person to swim across the English Channel (21-mile swim in 15 hours and 59 minutes at the age of 70).
He quit smoking after visiting a hypnotist in L.A.
He was offered the chance to play Daredevil in two separate productions, turned both down (one went to his best friend, Ben Affleck).
He turned down the role of playing Harvey Dent (Two-Face) in "The Dark Knight" (2008).
Named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine (2007)
He shared a bank account with Ben Affleck while they were struggling actors.
He was originally chosen to play the role of Jake Sully in "Avatar" (2009), but was dismissed for the more unknown (at the time) Sam Worthington.
Matt, you're amazing. Can I go to dinner with you?
If only life worked this way... But great job at everything you've done. Even if you feel people haven't watched a lot of your movies, you're doing what you love. And that's what counts, right? Right.
