WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.500 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We sift through the 00:00:02.500 --> 00:00:05.139 sources, cut through the noise, and really focus 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:09.080 on what matters. Today we're, uh, digging into 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.140 a career that seems almost like a contradiction 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:14.890 in terms. Matthew Page Damon. Yeah, Matt Damon. 00:00:15.130 --> 00:00:18.269 He's got this like every man vibe, but he's also 00:00:18.269 --> 00:00:21.629 this global box office powerhouse. Exactly. And 00:00:21.629 --> 00:00:24.170 not just an actor, right? He's consistently worked 00:00:24.170 --> 00:00:27.030 behind the camera, screenwriter, producer, even 00:00:27.030 --> 00:00:29.589 this ethical entrepreneur kind of figure trying 00:00:29.589 --> 00:00:31.449 to shape his own path. It's really the heart 00:00:31.449 --> 00:00:33.270 of it, isn't it? That tension. He doesn't just 00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:35.750 rent out his fame. He's actually building the 00:00:35.750 --> 00:00:37.939 systems he works in. Think about it. He's defined 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:40.240 just as much by, say, the massive success of 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.200 the Bourne movies. Huge. As he is by setting 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:45.380 up production companies that are focused on, 00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:47.380 you know, fair pay and social issues. Right. 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:49.000 And speaking of success, we should probably put 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:50.820 some numbers on that right away. Yeah. The sources 00:00:50.820 --> 00:00:53.939 make it clear his commercial impact is just huge. 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:56.719 Oh, absolutely. Back in 2007, Forbes already 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.579 had him ranked as one of the most bankable stars 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.240 out there. And that wasn't just popularity, remember? 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.519 Yeah. That ranking was about... RY return on 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:06.239 investment. Yeah, what was the number? It was 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.379 something like... It was incredible. The analysis 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:12.420 showed he was averaging $29 at the box office 00:01:12.420 --> 00:01:15.019 for every single dollar he earned. That's based 00:01:15.019 --> 00:01:17.540 on his last three movies at that point. $29 back 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:19.900 for every dollar spent? I mean, if you're a studio 00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:23.319 exec, that's almost unbelievable. It proved he 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:25.739 wasn't just critically liked. He was a profit 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:28.799 engine. And by 2010, yeah, the stats put him 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:30.900 up there with the highest grossing actors ever. 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.859 But it's not just about the money, is it? He's 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:36.780 got the critical respect, too. Definitely. The 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:38.879 awards back it up. He's got the Oscar for Best 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:40.939 Original Screenplay. For Good Will Hunting, yeah. 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:42.959 Two Golden Globes, one for writing, one for acting 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.480 later on. And a Screen Actors Guild Award, too. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:48.700 Plus tons of nominations. It shows he's seen 00:01:48.700 --> 00:01:51.640 as both a performer and a creator. So our mission 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.290 today is really to trace that whole arc. From 00:01:54.290 --> 00:01:56.870 his college days that led to that breakthrough 00:01:56.870 --> 00:02:00.109 script. Right. Through becoming the super reliable 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:03.290 blockbuster lead and then evolving into this 00:02:03.290 --> 00:02:06.150 like creative architect role he has now, leading 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:08.789 new companies, dealing with activism. And all 00:02:08.789 --> 00:02:10.409 the public attention that comes with that. Yeah. 00:02:10.569 --> 00:02:13.009 Let's unpack the whole Damon dossier. OK, let's 00:02:13.009 --> 00:02:15.050 start where it all began. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 00:02:15.530 --> 00:02:18.150 But maybe not the Cambridge you first think of. 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:22.030 All right. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Born October 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:26.729 8th, 1970. And his early life, looking at the 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:29.509 sources, it really wasn't your standard Hollywood 00:02:29.509 --> 00:02:33.750 upbringing. Not at all. His dad, Kent, was a 00:02:33.750 --> 00:02:37.310 stockbroker. His mom, Nancy Carlson Page, she's 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:39.389 actually quite well known in her field, early 00:02:39.389 --> 00:02:41.150 childhood education professor. But they divorced 00:02:41.150 --> 00:02:43.229 when he was really long, right? Like two. Yeah, 00:02:43.250 --> 00:02:45.490 it's two. He and his older brother, Kyle, who's 00:02:45.490 --> 00:02:47.330 an artist, a sculptor, they moved back to Cambridge 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:50.490 with their mom. And they lived in this six family 00:02:50.490 --> 00:02:52.930 communal house. A communal house. That's different. 00:02:53.069 --> 00:02:54.650 Definitely not the Hollywood Hills. Right. It 00:02:54.650 --> 00:02:56.629 sounds like it fostered independence. But Damon 00:02:56.629 --> 00:02:58.990 himself said later that, well, he felt kind of 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:01.650 lonely as a teenager. Really? He mentioned his 00:03:01.650 --> 00:03:04.110 mom's approach to child rearing was quite strong. 00:03:04.009 --> 00:03:07.349 strict, very academic, and maybe that combined 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:10.110 with the communal living. He said it made it 00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:12.229 hard for him to sort of figure out his own identity, 00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:14.669 which might be why he gravitated towards acting, 00:03:14.830 --> 00:03:17.729 you know. Makes sense. And he got into acting 00:03:17.729 --> 00:03:19.810 pretty early. Yeah, he did. He went to Cambridge 00:03:19.810 --> 00:03:22.569 Alternative School, then Cambridge Ringe and 00:03:22.569 --> 00:03:25.030 Latin School. And that's where the famous partnership 00:03:25.030 --> 00:03:27.469 with Ben Affleck really started. Ah, Ringe and 00:03:27.469 --> 00:03:30.110 Latin. That connection runs deep. It does. He 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:32.069 gives a lot of credit to his drama teacher there, 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:34.909 Jerry Spica. Called him a major influence. But 00:03:34.909 --> 00:03:38.050 didn't he also joke that Spica always gave Affleck 00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:41.370 the better parts? He did. With a bit of wry humor, 00:03:41.530 --> 00:03:44.449 yeah. Yeah. Sounds like that friendly competition, 00:03:44.629 --> 00:03:46.810 that needing to kind of push each other, was 00:03:46.810 --> 00:03:49.229 there from the start. Probably fueled both of 00:03:49.229 --> 00:03:51.409 them. And that educational path led him to Harvard. 00:03:51.610 --> 00:03:54.810 Yep. Harvard University, class of 92. Lived in 00:03:54.810 --> 00:03:56.830 Lowell House. He was an English major, did student 00:03:56.830 --> 00:03:58.770 theater. And he was in one of those final clubs 00:03:58.770 --> 00:04:02.030 too, right? The Delphic Club? He was. Which, 00:04:02.150 --> 00:04:04.009 for anyone listening who doesn't know the Harvard 00:04:04.009 --> 00:04:07.270 scene, these final clubs are these very old, 00:04:07.389 --> 00:04:10.840 very exclusive sort of social clubs. Pretty elite. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:12.860 But he didn't actually finish Harvard, did he? 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:15.479 No, and this is a key moment. The pull of acting 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:18.920 was too strong. He made this calculated bet that 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:22.060 didn't pay off initially. What happened? He left 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:24.480 Harvard, just 12 credits short of his degree, 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:28.240 12 credits, to take a lead role in a Western 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.959 called Geronimo, an American legend. This was 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:34.540 1993. And he thought Geronimo was going to be 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:37.430 his big break. Apparently so. He admitted later 00:04:37.430 --> 00:04:39.670 it was a mistake kind of driven by youthful confidence. 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:42.430 He expected it to be this massive hit. And it 00:04:42.430 --> 00:04:45.430 wasn't. No, flopped. Yeah. So suddenly he's not 00:04:45.430 --> 00:04:47.230 graduating Harvard. The movie didn't launch him. 00:04:47.290 --> 00:04:50.430 And he finds himself back in L .A., broke, crashing 00:04:50.430 --> 00:04:52.470 in Affleck's apartment, just trying to get any 00:04:52.470 --> 00:04:54.730 role he could. Wow. That must have been a tough 00:04:54.730 --> 00:04:57.430 period. Crucial, though, because that financial 00:04:57.430 --> 00:04:59.370 pressure, that feeling of needing to make something 00:04:59.370 --> 00:05:01.509 happen, seems to be what really pushed him and 00:05:01.509 --> 00:05:03.829 Affleck to focus on writing something for themselves. 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:06.600 Which brings us to Good Will Hunting. The Breakthrough. 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:09.300 And the origin story is almost mythical now, 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.560 but it started pretty small. Wasn't it from a 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.839 class assignment at Harvard? Exactly. An essay, 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.600 basically. He wrote this short, like 15 -page 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:22.420 play for an English class, and that became the 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:25.399 seed for the character Will Hunting. Just amazing. 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:27.379 So they took that seed. And they worked on it 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:30.120 for years, living together, bouncing ideas, pitching 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.060 it around. Apparently they got some pretty wild 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:35.500 notes back from studios early on. Like what? 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:38.459 Oh, suggestions to add more action. Or maybe 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:40.800 someone else should play the leads. You know, 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:42.839 typical development hell stuff. But they stuck 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:45.000 with it. They did. Our sources mentioned they 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:46.980 got really important advice from people like 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:49.579 Rob Reiner and especially the legendary screenwriter 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:52.420 William Goldman. The William Goldman. Wow. What 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:54.639 did he help with? Apparently Goldman really helped 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:56.720 them crack the structure, particularly the ending. 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.319 And the whole script just felt real because it 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.819 drew so heavily on their own experiences, their 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:03.939 observations of growing up around Cambridge and 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:06.079 South Boston. So when it finally came out in 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:10.240 1997, the impact was huge. Seismic is the word. 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:12.639 Instantaneous. It wasn't just a hit movie. It 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:15.339 was like this cultural moment. Critics loved 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:17.699 it, called it witty, vigorous. Damon's performance 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:21.079 was praised as charismatic. It just immediately 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.699 proved they weren't just actors trying to write, 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.759 they were writers. And the payoff. Life -altering. 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:29.480 Academy Award Golden Globe for Best Original 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.720 Screenplay. The each got paid $600 ,000 for it, 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:34.980 which was... massive for unknowns back then. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:38.740 600 grand each. Wow. And the film grossed over 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:43.040 $225 million worldwide. Damon said going from 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:45.139 being broke to that level of fame almost overnight 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:48.750 was just... Nearly indescribable. Imagine that, 00:06:48.810 --> 00:06:50.769 winning an Oscar in your 20s for something you 00:06:50.769 --> 00:06:52.930 started in a college class. It really sets the 00:06:52.930 --> 00:06:55.129 tone for his whole career, doesn't it? That idea 00:06:55.129 --> 00:06:58.129 that creative control leads to success. Absolutely. 00:06:58.329 --> 00:07:00.949 Yeah. But even before the Oscar win, he was showing 00:07:00.949 --> 00:07:03.350 this incredible, almost obsessive dedication 00:07:03.350 --> 00:07:06.050 to the acting craft itself, especially the physical 00:07:06.050 --> 00:07:08.550 side. Right, the transformations, like for Courage 00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:10.670 Under Fire. Yeah, that was before Good Will Hunting 00:07:10.670 --> 00:07:13.490 even came out in 1996. He played an opiate -addicted 00:07:13.490 --> 00:07:18.560 soldier. And to look the part, he dropped, get 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:23.660 this, 40 pounds. That's 18 kilos in just 100 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:27.379 days. How? On his own regimen, self -prescribed 00:07:27.379 --> 00:07:31.060 diet and intense exercise, which sounds incredibly 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:33.360 dangerous, frankly. But it got him noticed. Oh, 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.620 yeah. Critics called his performance impressive, 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:38.019 but it apparently took a huge toll on him physically. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.660 Then he had to gain most of it back really quickly 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:42.680 for the Rainmaker in 97. And then he lost weight 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:45.329 again soon after. Yep. dropped about 25 pounds, 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:48.189 11 kilos, to play Tom Ripley in The Talented 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:51.379 Mr. Ripley in 99. that manipulative anti -hero 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:53.759 role. So this pattern of intense physical commitment 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.060 was there early on. He clearly saw it as part 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:58.339 of building the character. Exactly. And that 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:00.100 kind of dedication really carried over into the 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:02.439 next decade, the blockbuster years. Yeah. Hashtag, 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:04.560 hashtag, hashtag two, franchise star in the blockbuster 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:06.759 decade. So the 2000s arrive and Damon makes this 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:08.699 huge shift. He goes from being the indie darling 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:11.079 who wrote his own ticket to being, well, the 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:13.800 definition of a reliable, bankable, global movie 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:15.660 star. This was really the franchise decade for 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:18.470 him. Yeah, he ended up anchoring two massive 00:08:18.470 --> 00:08:21.449 trilogies almost simultaneously. First up was 00:08:21.449 --> 00:08:24.790 the Oceans series, starting in 2001. Right, Oceans 00:08:24.790 --> 00:08:27.990 11, 12, 13. He played Linus Caldwell, the kind 00:08:27.990 --> 00:08:30.250 of rookie thief in that big ensemble. And wasn't 00:08:30.250 --> 00:08:32.250 that role originally meant for someone else? 00:08:32.389 --> 00:08:34.730 It was. Mark Wahlberg, apparently. He turned 00:08:34.730 --> 00:08:37.990 it down, so Damon stepped in. And Oceans 11 was 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:43.379 just... Cool, smooth, and a huge hit. Colossal. 00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:46.159 It let Damon flash that sort of everyman charm 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:48.700 within this super stylish ensemble cast, didn't 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:50.519 have to carry the whole thing. And yeah, it made 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:53.679 a fortune, like $450 million worldwide on an 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:56.139 $83 million budget. But the role that really 00:08:56.139 --> 00:08:58.740 defined that era for him and cemented him as 00:08:58.740 --> 00:09:01.200 an action star was Jason Bourne, starting in 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.480 2002. Absolutely, Jason Bourne, the amnesiac 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:05.659 assassin. It's fascinating, though, because he 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:07.879 landed that role when things were actually a 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:09.419 bit uncertain for him. him professionally. Really? 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.360 After Oceans? Well, Oceans was big. But remember, 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:15.080 some of his other films around that time, like 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.019 All the Pretty Horses in 2000, hadn't done well 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:20.779 commercially. He actually said he was jobless 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:23.159 for about six months before The Bourne Identity 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.879 came along. Wow. So Bourne wasn't a guaranteed 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:29.159 hit in his mind. Apparently not initially. He 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:30.759 even had some doubts about whether it would find 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.200 an audience. But once he took it, he committed 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:36.320 fully. And how. He didn't just phone it in. The 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:38.580 training was legendary. Totally. He insisted 00:09:38.580 --> 00:09:40.960 on doing a lot of his own stunts. He went through 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:43.120 three months of intense training stunt work, 00:09:43.240 --> 00:09:46.480 weapons, boxing, and that Filipino martial art. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:49.379 You see that same discipline again, right? Like 00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:52.000 with courage under fire. He wanted it to feel 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.460 authentic. Exactly. And critics really responded 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:57.279 to that. Roger Ebert loved the first film, praised 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.919 its focus on spycraft, and Damon's ability to 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:03.039 be so focused and sincere made Bourne feel smart 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:06.139 and dangerous, not just a blunt instrument. And 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:08.059 by the time the sequel, The Bourne Supremacy, 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.240 came out in 2004, the character was iconic. Totally 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:13.820 iconic. He won an Empire Award for Best Actor 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:17.820 for that one. The critics noted his astute, underplayed 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:20.559 performance, how he avoided typical movie star 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:23.460 vanity. Entertainment Weekly called him one of 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:25.679 the decade's best mixer of brawn and brains. 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:28.559 That really nails the Damon brand at that point, 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:31.279 doesn't it? Smart, grounded action. Perfectly. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:33.539 But what's interesting is that massive success 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:37.960 didn't totally box him in. In 2006, he's also 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.259 in Martin Scorsese's The Departed. Which won 00:10:40.259 --> 00:10:42.919 Best Picture? Playing the undercover state trooper 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:46.059 inside the mob. Right. And that role showcased 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:47.799 that other quality we talked about, his ability 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:50.720 to kind of blend into a powerhouse ensemble but 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.000 still be totally essential. The New York Times 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:54.779 had a great line about that, didn't they? Something 00:10:54.779 --> 00:10:57.440 about his ability to recede into a film while 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:00.419 also being fully present. That's the one. It's 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:02.879 key to his appeal. He wasn't trying to outshine 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:05.519 DiCaprio or Nicholson. He was the relatable guy, 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:08.220 the anchor in the middle of all that chaos, the 00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:10.700 audience's way in. So you've got the franchise 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:13.279 lead, the reliable ensemble player. Yeah. It 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:15.220 makes sense that Forbes called him the most bankable 00:11:15.220 --> 00:11:18.580 star in 2007. Studios knew he delivered. Huge 00:11:18.580 --> 00:11:21.340 return on investment. But that level of success, 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.519 being that bankable, also sets up maybe the most 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:28.320 famous what if of his career. The avatar decision. 00:11:29.449 --> 00:11:32.710 $250 million mistake, as some call it. It's legendary 00:11:32.710 --> 00:11:35.190 now. It just perfectly illustrates the kind of 00:11:35.190 --> 00:11:37.490 insane opportunities and tough choices that come 00:11:37.490 --> 00:11:40.070 with that level of fame. James Cameron offered 00:11:40.070 --> 00:11:43.049 him the lead in Avatar. The lead role, Jake Sully. 00:11:43.269 --> 00:11:46.250 Yep. But Damon turned it down. Why on earth? 00:11:46.789 --> 00:11:49.330 Loyalty and contracts. He was committed to the 00:11:49.330 --> 00:11:51.649 Bourne franchise, filming the Bourne ultimatum, 00:11:51.649 --> 00:11:55.330 I believe, and the schedules conflicted. He didn't 00:11:55.330 --> 00:11:57.129 want to abandon the series that had been so good 00:11:57.129 --> 00:11:58.809 to him. Okay, that's professional integrity. 00:11:59.070 --> 00:12:01.490 But the crazy part was the money Cameron offered, 00:12:01.710 --> 00:12:03.710 right? That's the kicker. It wasn't just the 00:12:03.710 --> 00:12:06.409 role. Cameron offered him 10 % of the film's 00:12:06.409 --> 00:12:09.870 profits. 10%. Of Avatar. Yeah. Which became the 00:12:09.870 --> 00:12:11.529 highest -grossing film of all time. Exactly. 00:12:11.730 --> 00:12:14.330 Do the math on 10 % of what? Nearly $3 billion 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:17.370 worldwide? It's hundreds and hundreds of millions 00:12:17.370 --> 00:12:19.730 of dollars. Unbelievable. Damon himself jokes 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:22.409 about it constantly. He's quoted saying, I will 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:25.450 go down in history. You will never meet an actor 00:12:25.450 --> 00:12:28.289 who turned down more money. It's kind of amazing 00:12:28.289 --> 00:12:30.009 he can laugh about it. Well, it may be easier 00:12:30.009 --> 00:12:32.350 to laugh when you're still Matt Damon, but it 00:12:32.350 --> 00:12:34.590 shows the scale he was operating on. Absolutely. 00:12:34.809 --> 00:12:36.850 And just to keep things grounded, we should mention 00:12:36.850 --> 00:12:40.480 not everything he touched. turned to gold in 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.000 that decade. There were other non -franchise 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.039 films, dramas like All the Pretty Horses or that 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.820 fantasy film The Brothers Grimm in 2005. Right, 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:51.019 those didn't really land. No, they were critical 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:54.299 and commercial disappointments. It kind of reinforces 00:12:54.299 --> 00:12:57.480 how important those big franchises or prestige 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:00.460 ensemble pieces were for maintaining that bankability 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:03.740 during that specific era. Okay, so after establishing 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:06.360 himself as this massive star, the next major 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:08.620 phase in Damon's career is really about taking 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:11.399 back control. Moving from being the product to 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.559 being the architect. Which seems like a direct 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:15.240 line back to the struggles he and Affleck had 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:17.539 getting Good Will Hunting made, right? Absolutely. 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:20.039 You can see that thread. The desire to control 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:23.580 the process, not just the performance. And it 00:13:23.580 --> 00:13:26.230 started pretty early. formerly, with their first 00:13:26.230 --> 00:13:28.409 production company, Live Planet, back in 2000. 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:30.570 And their big thing was Project Greenlight. I 00:13:30.570 --> 00:13:32.429 remember that show. Yeah, the Emmy -nominated 00:13:32.429 --> 00:13:35.250 documentary series. It was on HBO, then Bravo. 00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:38.009 And it wasn't just reality TV. It was kind of 00:13:38.009 --> 00:13:40.529 a mission statement. How so? The whole point 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:43.710 was to find undiscovered filmmakers, give them 00:13:43.710 --> 00:13:46.870 funding, document their first real shot at making 00:13:46.870 --> 00:13:49.450 a feature film, and actually help launch their 00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:52.990 careers. Damon was an executive producer, really 00:13:52.990 --> 00:13:55.529 hands -on, trying to guide these first -timers 00:13:55.529 --> 00:13:58.629 through the studio system. So nurturing new talent 00:13:58.629 --> 00:14:00.929 that might otherwise get ignored? Exactly. It 00:14:00.929 --> 00:14:03.070 was about changing the system from within, even 00:14:03.070 --> 00:14:05.470 back then. And that focus on changing the system 00:14:05.470 --> 00:14:07.789 continued with their next company, Pearl Street 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:10.330 Films, which they started in 2010. Right. Pearl 00:14:10.330 --> 00:14:12.590 Street Films, based at Warner Brothers. And they 00:14:12.590 --> 00:14:15.110 made a really significant move in 2018 regarding 00:14:15.110 --> 00:14:17.789 industry practices. The inclusion writer. That's 00:14:17.789 --> 00:14:20.570 it. In March 2018, they announced Pearl Street 00:14:20.570 --> 00:14:22.909 would adopt the inclusion writer agreement for 00:14:22.909 --> 00:14:25.250 all their future productions. Remind us what 00:14:25.250 --> 00:14:27.129 that is exactly. Basically, it's a clause you 00:14:27.129 --> 00:14:29.409 can put in a contract that requires a certain 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:32.409 level of diversity in casting and hiring, not 00:14:32.409 --> 00:14:34.830 just for actors, but trucially for the crew behind 00:14:34.830 --> 00:14:37.490 the camera, too. So using their power as producers 00:14:37.490 --> 00:14:40.990 to push for real structural change in who gets 00:14:40.990 --> 00:14:43.690 hired in Hollywood. Precisely. A very deliberate, 00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:46.830 proactive step. And now their newest venture, 00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:50.230 Artists' Equity, founded with Affleck in 2022, 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:53.269 seems like the culmination of all this. It really 00:14:53.269 --> 00:14:56.049 does. Artists' Equity feels like the most direct 00:14:56.049 --> 00:14:59.429 attack on the old financial model. The core idea 00:14:59.429 --> 00:15:01.750 is giving creators the people actually making 00:15:01.750 --> 00:15:04.330 the film a bigger, fairer piece of the pie. How 00:15:04.330 --> 00:15:06.309 does that work? They use a more data -driven 00:15:06.309 --> 00:15:08.269 approach to figure out distribution and value. 00:15:08.429 --> 00:15:10.789 But the key thing is offering profit participation, 00:15:11.110 --> 00:15:14.509 not just to the big names, the stars, the director. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.460 what they call above -the -line talent, but also 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:20.620 to the below -the -line talent, the crew, the 00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:23.139 camera operators, the editors, the costume designers, 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:27.740 the people whose work is essential but who almost 00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:30.539 never share in the film's financial success under 00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:32.379 the traditional model. That sounds revolutionary, 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.480 honestly, giving crew points on the back end. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:37.080 It's a huge shift. It feels like the goodwill 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.580 -hunting ethos talent should be rewarded, applied 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:41.820 across the entire production process. And their 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:45.549 first film... under that banner was air about 00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:48.309 nike signing michael jordan yep air came out 00:15:48.309 --> 00:15:52.210 in 2023 affleck directed damon starred it did 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:54.710 really well commercially got great reviews and 00:15:54.710 --> 00:15:56.809 damon even picked up another golden globe nomination 00:15:56.809 --> 00:15:59.870 for it so proof of concept maybe while he's building 00:15:59.870 --> 00:16:02.070 these companies he's still acting obviously and 00:16:02.070 --> 00:16:03.909 taking on some really interesting roles oh yeah 00:16:03.909 --> 00:16:06.889 his acting choices remain strong like in soderbergh's 00:16:06.889 --> 00:16:10.129 dark comedy the informant back in 2009 he gained 00:16:10.129 --> 00:16:12.090 weight for that one didn't he he did Played Mark 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:14.649 Whitaker, got a Golden Globe nomination. And 00:16:14.649 --> 00:16:16.990 critics started talking about how he was quietly 00:16:16.990 --> 00:16:20.669 becoming this great everyman actor. Not just 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.070 a star, but a character actor, too. And then 00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:26.929 Invictus, also in 2009, his first Oscar nomination 00:16:26.929 --> 00:16:29.490 for acting. Right. Best Supporting Actor for 00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:31.909 playing Francois Pienaar, the South African rugby 00:16:31.909 --> 00:16:34.269 captain opposite Morgan Freeman's Nelson Mandela. 00:16:34.409 --> 00:16:36.850 And again, the reviews highlighted that grounded 00:16:36.850 --> 00:16:39.529 quality, low -key charm and integrity, one said. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.279 Even playing these larger -than -life figures, 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.159 he keeps them relatable. That reliability is 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:47.860 his superpower. Which leads us to The Martian 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:52.179 in 2015. Stranded on Mars. That felt like peak 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:56.220 Damon in a way. Smart, resourceful, funny, carrying 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:59.059 a huge movie, mostly by himself. Absolutely. 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:01.960 Directed by Ridley Scott, who was a massive success, 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:04.619 won him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:07.910 Comedy Musical. Which is a bit odd category wise. 00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:10.170 Yeah. A comedy about potentially dying alone 00:17:10.170 --> 00:17:12.809 in space. Right. But it got him his second Oscar 00:17:12.809 --> 00:17:15.450 nomination for best actor. And it proved he could 00:17:15.450 --> 00:17:17.750 anchor a giant blockbuster outside of the Bourne 00:17:17.750 --> 00:17:19.950 world. He also went back to writing co -writing 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:23.049 Promised Land in 2012 and The Last Duel in 2021. 00:17:23.430 --> 00:17:25.769 Yeah. Back to his roots with Affleck on The Last 00:17:25.769 --> 00:17:28.690 Duel. Now that film really highlights the tension 00:17:28.690 --> 00:17:31.769 we've been talking about. Well, The Last Duel, 00:17:31.849 --> 00:17:35.589 medieval France, complex themes. It got good 00:17:35.589 --> 00:17:40.130 reviews, generally. But financially, it bombed. 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:43.910 Really? With Damon, Adam Driver, J .D. Comer, 00:17:44.009 --> 00:17:46.609 Ridley Scott directing? Exactly. If that lineup 00:17:46.609 --> 00:17:49.289 can't make an original challenging period drama 00:17:49.289 --> 00:17:53.250 work at the box office, what does that say about 00:17:53.250 --> 00:17:55.670 the market for those kinds of films now? It raises 00:17:55.670 --> 00:17:57.690 big questions. It shows his commitment, though, 00:17:57.710 --> 00:17:59.269 right? He's still willing to take those creative 00:17:59.269 --> 00:18:01.369 risks, even if they don't have the guaranteed 00:18:01.369 --> 00:18:03.789 payoff of another franchise entry. Precisely. 00:18:04.089 --> 00:18:05.869 The creative control, the quality of the project 00:18:05.869 --> 00:18:08.029 seems to trump the guaranteed commercial hits 00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:09.890 sometimes. And we have to mention his collaborations 00:18:09.890 --> 00:18:12.369 with Christopher Nolan. Oh, definitely. He had 00:18:12.369 --> 00:18:15.049 that small but memorable role in Interstellar 00:18:15.049 --> 00:18:18.390 back in 2014. Dr. Man, not the nicest guy. No, 00:18:18.430 --> 00:18:20.289 definitely not. And then more recently playing 00:18:20.289 --> 00:18:22.829 Leslie Groves in Oppenheimer. Right, the military 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:24.990 head of the Manhattan Project. And Oppenheimer, 00:18:25.009 --> 00:18:27.470 interestingly, became Dema's highest grossing 00:18:27.470 --> 00:18:30.119 film ever. Bigger than born, bigger than oceans. 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:32.559 Wow, that's saying something. And they're working 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:35.799 together again. Supposedly, yes. He's set to 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:38.400 play Odysseus in Nolan's upcoming adaptation 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:41.480 of The Odyssey. That should be fascinating. And 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:43.640 just quickly, he's done some great TV work, too, 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:46.039 showing that versatility. Yeah, Emmy -nominated 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.500 guest spots. He was hilarious as Liz Lemon's 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:51.380 pilot boyfriend on 30 Rock. Oh, yeah, Carol Burnett. 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:54.119 And his portrayal of Scott Thorson, Liberace's 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.859 lover, in HBO's Behind the Candelabra was incredible. 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:59.160 Earned him an Emmy nomination for that, too. 00:18:59.420 --> 00:19:01.480 It just shows he'll go wherever the good writing 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:04.619 is, regardless of the platform. Hashtag tag, 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.759 tag, tag, freebie. Activism, advocacy, and public 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.150 scrutiny. OK, so beyond the acting and producing, 00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:12.789 Damon has put a significant amount of his energy 00:19:12.789 --> 00:19:15.869 and fame into activism, particularly around a 00:19:15.869 --> 00:19:18.670 couple of key global issues. Yeah, his work on 00:19:18.670 --> 00:19:20.950 global water access is really substantial. It 00:19:20.950 --> 00:19:23.509 goes back quite a way. He founded the H2O Africa 00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:26.849 Foundation and then in 2009 that merged with 00:19:26.849 --> 00:19:29.650 another organization, Water Partners, to become 00:19:29.650 --> 00:19:32.569 Water .org. And their approach isn't just charity, 00:19:32.650 --> 00:19:34.910 right? It's more systemic. Exactly. It's not 00:19:34.910 --> 00:19:36.809 just about digging wells, though that's part 00:19:36.809 --> 00:19:40.079 of it. The core mission is using microfinance 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.619 to help people in developing countries get access 00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:46.640 to safe, clean, affordable drinking water and 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:49.319 sanitation. Microfinance for water. How does 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:51.619 that work? They pioneered this model called Water 00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:54.599 Credit. Essentially, they help provide small 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.539 loans, microloans to families so they can afford 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:01.059 to install taps or toilets in their homes, things 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:04.180 that provide a lasting solution. The idea is 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.660 to make it sustainable. And has it been successful? 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:09.160 Seems to be scaling up. Our sources mentioned 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:11.839 Water .org got a big, like, $8 million grant 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.480 from the PepsiCo Foundation specifically to expand 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.539 that water credit program in India. So the model 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:18.579 seems to be working. And Damon uses his celebrity 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:20.859 to promote this heavily. Oh, yeah. He's front 00:20:20.859 --> 00:20:22.759 and center. He's done partnerships with big brands, 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:26.380 Aquafina, Ethos Water, Stella Artois Beer. Remember 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:29.039 that Super Bowl commercial he did for Stella 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.059 Artois on Water .org in 2018? Vaguely, yeah, 00:20:32.059 --> 00:20:35.819 using that massive platform. Exactly. Leveraging 00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:38.349 his fame. directly for philanthropic funding. 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:40.930 He's also involved in other things he co -founded, 00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:44.210 not on our watch with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, 00:20:44.349 --> 00:20:46.829 Don Cheadle. What does that one focus on? Preventing 00:20:46.829 --> 00:20:49.390 mass atrocities, bringing global attention and 00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:51.750 resources to crises, like the one in Darfur, 00:20:51.829 --> 00:20:54.470 for example. Plus, he's a spokesperson for Feeding 00:20:54.470 --> 00:20:57.309 America, the hunger relief organization, and 00:20:57.309 --> 00:21:00.990 an ambassador for Onexone, which helps kids globally. 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:04.440 So a serious long -term commitment. to these 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:07.140 causes. Definitely. But like many public figures 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:09.880 who engage in advocacy, his efforts haven't been 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:12.039 without controversy or intense public scrutiny. 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:14.680 It highlights that tension between using your 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:16.980 platform and navigating tricky public perception. 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:20.019 Let's talk about the Crypto .com ad. That got 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:21.940 a lot of attention, mostly negative. It really 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:25.319 did. This was late 2021. Damon announced a partnership 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:27.599 with Crypto .com, this cryptocurrency trading 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.099 platform. Part of the deal involved a million 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:33.319 -dollar donation from them to Water .org. Okay, 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.039 so a direct benefit to his charity. And didn't 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:38.559 he say his fee went to Water .org too? Yeah, 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:40.660 he was clear that 100 % of his fee for doing 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:42.339 the commercials went straight to the foundation. 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:45.299 But the ad itself, Fortune Favors the Brave, 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:48.680 it didn't land well. Not at all. It came out 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:53.240 in early 2022. The ad basically compared investing 00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:56.799 in cryptocurrency to these grand historical acts 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.619 of bravery, explorers, astronauts, etc. Which 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:03.059 sounds a bit much. That was the reaction. The 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:05.599 backlash online was huge. People called it insulting, 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.920 cringy, disgusting. The criticism was that here's 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:11.079 this incredibly wealthy celebrity encouraging 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:13.480 average people to gamble on this highly volatile, 00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:16.559 largely unregulated market. Some even compared 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.079 it to promoting a Ponzi scheme. So the charitable 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.559 angle got completely overshadowed by the criticism 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.000 of the core message. Pretty much. It became a 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.099 case study in the potential pitfalls of celebrity 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:28.740 endorsements, especially in new risk financial 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:32.079 areas. That tension between raising money for 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:34.579 a good cause and potentially harming your audience's 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.220 financial well -being, it's a tough line. There 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:39.259 was also scrutiny around comments he made during 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:42.000 the height of the Me Too movement. Yes, in late 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:46.599 2017. There were two main incidents. First, related 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:49.569 to Harvey Weinstein. An old story resurfaced 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:52.029 suggesting Damon had tried to kill a negative 00:22:52.029 --> 00:22:54.930 article about Weinstein back in 2004. What was 00:22:54.930 --> 00:22:58.230 his response? He strongly denied it. He clarified 00:22:58.230 --> 00:23:00.670 that he did call the reporter back then, but 00:23:00.670 --> 00:23:02.569 only to vouch for the professional reputation 00:23:02.569 --> 00:23:05.869 of an executive who ran Miramax's Italy office, 00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:08.190 who he felt was being unfairly characterized. 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:11.480 He wasn't calling about Weinstein himself. And 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:13.599 the reporter involved later confirmed Damon's 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:15.900 account of that specific call. OK, so that was 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:18.019 clarified. But there was another comment that 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:20.420 caused more widespread backlash. Right. Around 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:23.519 the same time, December 2017, he gave an interview 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.640 where he talked about sexual misconduct needing 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:27.740 to be viewed on a spectrum of behavior. Meaning 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:30.059 what exactly? His point seemed to be that there's 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:32.160 a difference between, say, telling an inappropriate 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:34.980 joke or patting someone on the back and acts 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:37.059 like rape or child molestation, and that the 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:38.869 response should perhaps be. different depending 00:23:38.869 --> 00:23:41.069 on the severity. And that didn't go over well. 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:44.710 Not at all. It sparked immediate criticism. People 00:23:44.710 --> 00:23:47.490 felt it was incredibly tone deaf, that it minimized 00:23:47.490 --> 00:23:50.349 the harm caused by all forms of misconduct, and 00:23:50.349 --> 00:23:52.809 that creating a spectrum could be used to excuse 00:23:52.809 --> 00:23:56.150 or downplay abuse. It was seen as missing the 00:23:56.150 --> 00:23:58.950 larger point about power dynamics and systemic 00:23:58.950 --> 00:24:02.250 issues. How did he react to the backlash? He 00:24:02.250 --> 00:24:04.450 addressed it publicly a month or so later in 00:24:04.450 --> 00:24:08.420 January 2018. He essentially apologized, acknowledged 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:10.339 he hadn't understood the perspective of people 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:12.720 who felt marginalized, and said he realized he 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:14.259 should probably get in the backseat and close 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:17.059 my mouth for a while. So a public learning moment, 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.480 it sounds like. It seemed that way. A recognition 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:21.759 that his perspective as a powerful man in the 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:24.420 industry perhaps wasn't the most helpful one 00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:26.200 at that moment. And there was one more recent 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:29.539 controversy about language. Yes, in 2021. He 00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:31.240 mentioned in an interview that he had recently 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:34.160 stopped using the homophobic slur fag after his 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:36.339 daughter called him out on it. He claimed it 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:38.240 was a word commonly used when he was younger, 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.339 supposedly with a different application, not 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:44.819 necessarily as a slur against gay people. He 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:47.059 said his daughter wrote him this very long, beautiful 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:49.660 treatise explaining why the word is dangerous 00:24:49.660 --> 00:24:53.099 and hurtful, regardless of intent. He was careful 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:55.339 to say he'd never use the more extreme version, 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.279 faggot. So, again, learning from a different 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:01.039 perspective, in this case, his daughter's. Exactly. 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:03.839 It highlighted a generational shift in understanding 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:06.519 the impact of language. He publicly credited 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:09.140 her for educating him. Shifting to more standard 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:11.740 politics, the sources say he's a Democrat supporter. 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:14.440 Generally, yes. Longtime supporter of the Democratic 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.579 Party. He hosted a fundraiser for Elizabeth Warren 00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:20.599 back in 2012. He's also been very outspoken about 00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:22.640 wanting stricter gun control laws, saying things 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:25.299 like, I actually hate guns. They freak me out. 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:27.539 And it hasn't always towed the party line. No. 00:25:28.140 --> 00:25:30.380 He actually expressed some public disappointment 00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:33.339 with President Obama's policies while Obama was 00:25:33.339 --> 00:25:36.079 in office, felt maybe there wasn't enough substantive 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:38.920 change happening. So he's willing to criticize 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:42.519 even within his own party affiliation. Hashtag 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:45.259 tag tag tag V personal life and cultural footprint. 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:48.259 All right. Let's shift gears a bit from the heavy 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:50.799 stuff, the production deals, the controversies 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:52.920 and look at the personal side and maybe the lighter 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:55.740 aspects of his public image. Sure. Behind all 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:58.039 the career moves, there seems to be a pretty 00:25:58.039 --> 00:26:01.099 stable personal foundation. He married Luciana 00:26:01.099 --> 00:26:03.740 Bazzambroso back in 2005. How did they meet? 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.099 Wasn't it kind of random? Yeah, pretty famously 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:09.359 random. He met her in Miami in 2003 while he 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:11.240 was filming the Farrelly Brothers movie Stuck 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:13.400 on You. She was working as a bartender, apparently. 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:15.319 That's a great story. And they have kids. They 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:17.640 have three daughters together. And Luciana had 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:19.940 a daughter from a previous relationship who Damon 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:23.240 considers his own. People often point to that 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:25.920 stable family life as maybe enabling him to take 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:27.619 some of those bigger professional risks. Where 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:29.660 do they live? He seems like a bi -coastal guy. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:32.079 He's definitely lived in different places. Miami 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:34.759 for a while, New York City, Los Angeles, Pacific 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:38.319 Palisades area. But then in 2018, he bought this 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.259 massive, record -breaking penthouse apartment 00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:43.640 in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Brooklyn Heights. 00:26:43.900 --> 00:26:46.720 For how much? I think it was around $16 .5 million. 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:49.680 Set a record for Brooklyn real estate at the 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:53.099 time. So strong ties to New York as well as L 00:26:53.099 --> 00:26:55.210 .A. And being a Boston guy, you have to mention 00:26:55.210 --> 00:26:57.329 the Sports Connection. Oh, absolutely. Diehard 00:26:57.329 --> 00:27:00.349 Boston Red Sox fan. Threw thick and thin. He 00:27:00.349 --> 00:27:02.809 even narrated the official World Series DVD when 00:27:02.809 --> 00:27:05.710 they won back in 2007. Nice. And didn't he play 00:27:05.710 --> 00:27:08.369 poker, too? Like, seriously. Echoes of Rounders? 00:27:08.589 --> 00:27:11.269 He did. His character, Mike McDermott, in Rounders 00:27:11.269 --> 00:27:13.390 wasn't totally fictional in that sense. He actually 00:27:13.390 --> 00:27:15.430 competed in the World Series of Poker a few times 00:27:15.430 --> 00:27:17.829 back in the day. Did he do okay? Well, he famously 00:27:17.829 --> 00:27:21.309 got knocked out of the 1998 WSOP main event by 00:27:21.309 --> 00:27:24.589 the legendary Doyle. brunson so maybe stick to 00:27:24.589 --> 00:27:26.990 acting for the big money oh okay but maybe the 00:27:26.990 --> 00:27:29.950 most fun enduring part of his public persona 00:27:29.950 --> 00:27:33.170 is the whole thing with jimmy kimmel oh the feud 00:27:33.170 --> 00:27:36.630 it's brilliant just this long running gag that's 00:27:36.630 --> 00:27:39.029 been going on for what almost 20 years now it 00:27:39.029 --> 00:27:41.490 started super simple right Kimmel just saying 00:27:41.490 --> 00:27:43.309 he ran out of time for Matt Damon at the end 00:27:43.309 --> 00:27:46.589 of the show. Exactly. Back in 2006 on Jimmy Kimmel 00:27:46.589 --> 00:27:49.130 Live. Just a throwaway joke that Kimmel apparently 00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:51.990 did on a whim because the show was running long 00:27:51.990 --> 00:27:54.710 one night. And it just escalated beautifully 00:27:54.710 --> 00:27:57.470 from there. Into this elaborate, ongoing performance 00:27:57.470 --> 00:27:59.829 art piece. Remember Sarah Silverman's video? 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:02.519 I'm fucking Matt Damon. She was dating Kimmel 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:04.599 at the time. Oh, my God. Yes, that was hilarious. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:07.960 And Damon was in it. He was. And then Kimmel's 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:11.220 perfect response video. I'm fucking Ben Affleck 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:13.819 with Affleck and like half of Hollywood making 00:28:13.819 --> 00:28:15.839 cameos. It brought it right back to the original 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:19.180 Affleck partnership. Genius. And then there was 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:22.000 the time Damon actually took over. Kimmel's show 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:24.940 in 2013, tied him up and finally demanded his 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:27.259 interview slot. The commitment to the bit is 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:29.859 incredible from both of them. It really is. Yeah. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.119 And the fact that Damon, this huge movie star, 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:34.900 is so willing to participate in that kind of 00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:38.299 self -mockery, it just reinforces that accessible 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:42.059 everyman quality people love about him. It makes 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:44.160 him seem grounded, even when he's playing, you 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:46.430 know, a super spy or an astronaut. Definitely 00:28:46.430 --> 00:28:48.910 adds to his likability. And he's received official 00:28:48.910 --> 00:28:51.410 honors, too, beyond the film awards. Yeah, he 00:28:51.410 --> 00:28:53.250 got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 00:28:53.250 --> 00:28:57.750 2007. And maybe more significantly, given his 00:28:57.750 --> 00:29:00.809 origins, he received the Harvard Arts Medal in 00:29:00.809 --> 00:29:03.529 2013. Bringing it full circle back to Cambridge 00:29:03.529 --> 00:29:06.049 and Harvard. Exactly. Acknowledging that journey 00:29:06.049 --> 00:29:09.150 from dropout to, well, global figure and influential 00:29:09.150 --> 00:29:12.329 producer. Hashtag, tag, tag, outro. So when we 00:29:12.329 --> 00:29:14.450 try to pull all these threads together. What's 00:29:14.450 --> 00:29:16.569 the big picture on Matt Damon? What does the 00:29:16.569 --> 00:29:18.849 dossier tell us? Well, I think you see this fascinating 00:29:18.849 --> 00:29:20.910 fiasco who operates on two levels simultaneously. 00:29:21.089 --> 00:29:23.069 On one hand, he's got that incredible commercial 00:29:23.069 --> 00:29:26.250 reliability, the guy who delivers that $29 return 00:29:26.250 --> 00:29:28.369 for every dollar the studio spends, the born 00:29:28.369 --> 00:29:30.849 guy, the oceans guy. The bankable star. Right. 00:29:31.130 --> 00:29:33.549 But at the same time, he seems fundamentally 00:29:33.549 --> 00:29:37.000 driven to resist. Just being that commodity, 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:39.839 he's constantly pushing for more creative control, 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:42.839 taking risks, investing personally in changing 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:44.839 the system. It's a real balancing act. You've 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:47.599 got the large scale, serious philanthropy with 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:51.039 Water .org focusing on these innovative microfinance 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:54.119 solutions. Sustainable change. And then you have 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:56.460 these moments where his public statements, whether 00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:59.019 it's about crypto or social issues, draw intense 00:29:59.019 --> 00:30:01.400 criticism and require, you know, some public 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:03.539 recalibration. Yeah, the high profile advocacy 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:06.160 comes with high profile. scrutiny. It's part 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:08.140 of the territory when you operate at that level. 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:10.299 But underlying it all seems to be this consistent 00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:12.859 theme, the fight for control. It started with 00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:15.279 him and Affleck writing Good Will Hunting because 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.180 the system wasn't giving them the roles they 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:19.160 wanted. Right. Bypassing the gatekeeper. And 00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:22.900 now, decades later, his newest company, Artists' 00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:26.539 Equity, is explicitly designed to give more power 00:30:26.539 --> 00:30:28.819 and financial reward back to the creators, even 00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:31.039 the below the line crew. It really brings it 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:33.619 full circle, which leads to, I think, the final 00:30:33.619 --> 00:30:35.819 provocation for you, the listener, to think about. 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:38.200 What's that? When we look back on Matt Damon's 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:41.539 entire career, decades from now, what will ultimately 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:44.380 define his legacy? Which side of the camera wins 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:47.160 out? Is it the actor? The massive, reliable, 00:30:47.500 --> 00:30:50.539 Oscar -nominated star of films like The Martian, 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:53.819 Oppenheimer, The Bourne series? That guy? Or 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:56.420 is it the producer and writer? The guy who started 00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:58.420 with Good Will Hunting? who launched Project 00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:00.579 Greenlight, who's now trying to fundamentally 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:03.579 reshape how Hollywood compensates talent with 00:31:03.579 --> 00:31:06.279 artists' equity. The actor versus the architect. 00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:09.380 Exactly. Where does the balance tip? It's a career 00:31:09.380 --> 00:31:11.960 built on this idea that real success isn't just 00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:14.559 starring in the story. It's maybe about owning 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:16.500 the script itself. A lot to think about there. 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:19.380 We have been deep inside the demon dossier. Thanks 00:31:19.380 --> 00:31:20.720 for joining us on The Deep Dive.