The American actor is one of the most sought-after talents in the film industry. Matt Damon’s breakthrough role came in 1996 in the film Courage, opposite Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. For “Good Will Hunting” from 1997, he received an “Oscar” and a “Golden Globe” as a writer. He was also nominated for an “Oscar” for best actor. His most popular films include “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “Ocean’s Eleven, Twelfe and Thirteen” and “The Departed”.
Matt Damon, real name Matthew Paige Damon, was born on October 8, 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of a tax officer and a college professor.
Damon had his first contact with the camera with various advertising shots as a small child. He dropped out of Harvard after a few semesters of literary studies and moved to Los Angeles with his childhood friend Ben Affleck to pursue acting. There, Damon soon landed a small role in the film “Pizza Pizza” (1988), in which he made his film debut opposite Julia Roberts. For television, he played the part of a college dropout in the TNT production “Aufbruch der Söhne” (1990). Damon got his next big break in 1992’s The Outsider, in which he played a racist student. Matt Damon mimed one of his star roles in 1993 with Walter Hill’s “Geronimo – Eine Legende”. In the cable production “Once a Cowboy, Always a Cowboy” he was seen in 1995 in the role of a technology-loving young man who left his family to devote himself entirely to his passion, cars.
Damon’s talent was recognized and he landed a role in the film Courage to Truth (1996). Damon starred in the military drama alongside Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington. He was convincing as a guilt-ridden Gulf War veteran haunted by his battlefield experiences. Francis Ford Coppola then engaged him for “The Rainmaker” (1997). Together with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon co-wrote the screenplay for the drama ‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997), for which the two won an ‘Oscar’ trophy. The film received seven other Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The screenwriters also earned a Golden Globe and Damon received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in Good Will Hunting. Steven Spielberg signed Damon on his war drama Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Damon continued his streak with Dogma (1999) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). The Robert Redford film The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) starred Matt Damon as a golfer who gets help from Will Smith.
In addition, Damon was one of many Hollywood stars who graced the roulette tables in “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001). His other film projects include the thriller “The Bourne Identity” with Franka Potente, in which he played the CIA agent “Jason Bourne”. The strip was released in German cinemas in 2002. The sequel “The Bourne Supremacy” followed in 2004. One of his most successful productions was the Martin Scorsese mafia epic “The Departed: Among Enemies”. Matt Damon plays a mole in the ranks of the Boston Mafia. On December 9, 2005 he married Luciana Barroso. Together they have two daughters. Barroso also brought a daughter into the marriage.
In 2007, he starred in Robert De Niro’s directorial The Good Shepherd. The production examines the beginnings of the US secret service CIA during the Cold War. In 2010 he was in front of the camera for “Green Zone” and “The Adjustment Bureau”.
Table of Contents
Filmography
1988 – Pizza, Pizza. A piece of heaven
1993 – Geronimo – The Blood of the Apaches
1993 – The Outsider
1996 – Courage for truth
1996 Chasing Amy
1996 – The Rainmaker
1997 – Good Will Hunting
1998 – Rounders
1998 – Saving Private Ryan
1999 – The talented Mr. Ripley
2000 – The Legend of Bagger Vance
2001 – Ocean’s Eleven
2002 – The Bourne Identity
2003 – Inseparable
2004 – The Bourne Conspiracy
2004 – Ocean’s Twelve
2004 – Jersey Girl
2005 – Brothers Grimm
2006 – Departed: Among Enemies
2007 – The Good Shepherd
2007 – Ocean’s Thirteen
How did Matt Damon get famous?
Damon began his acting career by appearing in high school theater productions. He made his professional acting debut in the film Mystic Pizza (1988). He continued acting in Courage Under Fire (1996) and The Rainmaker.
Are Ben Affleck and Matt Damon still friends?
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck met as kids back in the 1980s, and they’ve been friends ever since.
Where is Matt Damon’s net worth?
As of October 2022, Matt Damon’s net worth is $170 Million.
Has Matt Damon won an Oscar for best actor?
Damon is another of Hollywood’s biggest names to have never scooped an Oscar win – despite coming close on three occasions. In 1998, he lost out after being nominated for Good Will Hunting (though he did manage a win in the Best Original Screenplay category).
Who is Matt Damon’s wife?
Luciana Barroso
