An affable player who has cultivated friendships in tandem with his showbiz career, Damon began acting professionally while attending Harvard University. His first notable role was as an anti-Semitic student in the 1992 teen drama
School Ties, costarring his childhood buddy and future collaborator Ben Affleck. After a handful of supporting parts, Damon and Affleck cowrote and costarred in the hit 1997 indie drama
Good Will Hunting. Not only did Damon earn an Oscar nod for his winning portrayal of a quiet genius, the duo picked up an Oscar for best screenplay. As both actors' stars continued to rise, they made cameos in each other's projects and also produced the popular filmmaking reality series
Project Greenlight. But Damon was generally viewed as the more talented of the two, delivering top-notch performances in diverse roles, such as a murderous imposter in
The Talented Mr. Ripley, a suave thief in
Ocean's Eleven and an amnesia-stricken spy in
The Bourne Identity. Like Affleck, Damon had an eye for famous ladies (Winona Ryder, Minnie Driver) but he usually managed to keep out of the tabloids. In 2005 Damon married interior designer Luciana Barroso when she was a few months pregnant with their child, just as Affleck had done earlier in the year with Jennifer Garner.
Matt Damon Fast Facts:
- Left Harvard University 12 credits shy of a degree in English to pursue a career in acting.
- At one time, his father was a janitor at Harvard University, and he protested for employee rights on his father's behalf.
- Bartended in Tennessee to perfect his Southern accent for a role in The Rainmaker (1997). He hired a customer to be his dialect coach.
- Worked as an extra on Field of Dreams (1989) with best friend Ben Affleck. He jumped down to Boston's Fenway Park to pick a few blades of grass as mementos for his father during the shoot.
- Announced that he and Minnie Driver broke up during a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show (1998) before telling her in person.
- Learned to play the piano for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).
- A Los Angeles hypnotist helped him quit smoking.
- Matt Damon Relationships:
- Alexia Barroso - Stepdaughter
- Celeste Bradford - Stepmother
- Gia Zavala Damon - Daughter
- Isabella Damon - Daughter
- Kent Damon - Father
- Kyle Damon - Brother
- Luciana Bozan Barroso - Wife
- Minnie Driver - Ex-significant Other
- Nancy Carlsson-Paige - Mother
- Sarah Bradford - Stepsister
- Winona Ryder - Ex-significant Other
- Matt Damon Awards:
- 1997 Oscar: Best Writing (Original Screenplay) - Winner
- 1997 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Reality Program - Nominee
- 1998 Golden Globe: Best Screenplay - Motion Picture - Winner
- 2002 Emmy: Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Reality) - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Reality Program - Nominee
- 2008 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Male Action Star - Winner
- 1998 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2000 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- College:
- Attended Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
