Matt Damon burst onto the Hollywood scene when he and his friend Ben Affleck (whom you may also have heard of) came out of nowhere with a script they co-wrote and starred in: Good Will Hunting. One of the best Oscar moments in recent memory is the two of them going bezerk after winning Damon’s only Oscar to date for the film’s screenplay. Damon has gone on to be one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in The Bourne movies, Ocean’s trilogy, Saving Private Ryan, The Martian, Interstellar, and more than a dozen other huge hits. Post-The Martian, Damon has been in a bit of a slump, and it remains to be seen how much his career will be hurt by his ties to disgraced Hollywood mogul and sexual predator Harvey Weinstein (Damon has admitted he knew of Weinstein’s atrocities and did not come forward). On-screen, he’s one of the most versatile and talented actors of his generation. Time will tell what his sins of omission will do to his career going forward.
Matt Damon’s 10 Best Movies
1. Saving Private Ryan (1998) Private Ryan
2. The Bourne Trilogy (2002 – 2007) Jason Bourne
3. Good Will Hunting (1997) Will Hunting
4. The Martian (2015) Mark Watney
5. Courage Under Fire (1996) Ilario
6. Interstellar (2014) Mann
7. The Ocean’s Trilogy (2001 – 2007) Linus Caldwell
8. Rounders (1998) Mike McDermott
9. The Departed (2006) Colin Sullivan
10. True Grit (2010) LeBoeuf
Honorable Mention: The Adjustment Bureau (2011) David Norris
Oscars, Golden Globes & Emmys
Oscar Wins (1): Good Will Hunting (1998 – Screenplay)
Oscar Nominations (5): Good Will Hunting (1998 – Actor & Screenplay), Invictus (2010), The Martian (2016), Manchester by the Sea (2017 – Producer)
Golden Globe Wins (1): The Martian (2016)
Golden Globe Nominations (6): Good Will Hunting (1998 – Actor & Screenplay), The Talented Mr. Ripley (2000), The Informant! (2010), Invictus (2010), Behind the Candelabra (2014), The Martian (2016)
Emmy Wins (0): None
Emmy Nominations (6): Project Greenlight (2002, 2004, 2005, 2016 – Producer), 30 Rock (2011 – Guest Actor), Behind the Candelabra (2013)
My Favorite Damon Scene:
“NSA” from Good Will Hunting (1997)
Next Film: Damon will next have a cameo in June’s Ocean’s 8 linking that film to the original Ocean’s trilogy. He’s currently unattached to any other projects. Whether that’s due to a desire to take a break on Damon’s part, or the start of post-Weinstein ostracism, we’ll have to see. Several Ocean’s 8 stars wanted his cameo removed after his admissions.
Lots of charisma. Shouldn’t have talked to the media about the different gradations of sexual harassment. He was about to walk away from the Weinstein scandal unscathed. It was remarkable, and he didn’t deserve it, but he was successfully dodging.
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He shouldn’t have from a PR smarts standpoint, from a moral standpoint, he should have said something about that monster 15 years ago. I think his career really may be damaged, and he was one of my favorite stars before this came to light (I really loved that he did that unbilled cameo as Loki in Thor: Ragnarok in Loki’s play of the events of Thor 2). Basically I figured I’d do his 10 because I’m not sure it’s going to change, and I’m kind of fine with that given what he did.
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Dave, I am horrified at the thought that anyone might think I was defending Damon’s friendship with Weinstein. I was talking about his career. As I said in my comment, he did not deserve the pass he was getting. Lots of horrible, horrible men in this business, it seems. Seems like when they brought down the big one, the rest started falling like dominos. Good riddance, and may none of our cherished heroes turn out to be among the ranks of the monsters.
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No, I don’t think you came off as defending him, I got what you were saying. But half the reason I chose him this week is that I do think his career might be done, so might as well sum it up. He literally has no projects he’s signed to and the Ocean’s 8 thing was filmed before this broke and his cameo must be critical enough to the plot not to cut or I think they would’ve. But I also wanted to flip him the bird for disappointing me and all his fans for sitting on knowledge that his “friends” were being sexually assaulted for 15 years. He’s the tool, man, not you. You were fine in what you said, I just went off on Damon for letting me down, because he was probably one of my five favorite actors.
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I didn’t know you were such a big fan of his. Sorry.
It’s usually easy to separate the art from the artist, but somehow you never expect something this bad to hit.
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He does have a great body of work, and if he’s done for, then so be it.
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As far as your list I like it except I might have given The Departed a little higher rating. And about the Weinstein controversy, I’d say it won’t affect his fan base. Fans of actors will watch everything their favorite actors are in unless he is an offender, like Weinstein. If we’re talking about Hollywood exiling him I’d say none of them should be holding stones to throw at him.
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He’s also one of my favorite actors. I’m just hoping I can see how he ages and what roles he’ll play. I hope he doesn’t just go behind the scenes forever.
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I’m not as big a fan of The Departed as most, but Damon’s done do so many good films I had to collapse the Bourne and Oceans films to get more on the list. I would like to see him own up to what he did, and I don’t know how his career will go from now on, but I always have paid attention when he’s attached to a project.
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I totally understand what you’re saying. I’m just glad I’m not famous because in my life I’ve done things I’d be destroyed for if they were made public. I guess part of society making idols out of Hollywood actors and actresses is we set ourselves us for heartbreak when they have clay feet.
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