The director who made Matt Damon a far better actor
Everybody needs a teacher. Even the best of the best can get better with a little coaching. The lessons never stop coming, especially in the movie-making world, when each new project throws a new bunch of artists together, each with their own experiences and advice, turning a set into a classroom. That’s how it felt for Matt Damon when he was working on one movie with a true icon, seeing himself improve in real time.
But by this point, Damon himself was already considered a great. After emerging in the 1980s, doing simple extra work or minor walk-on roles, he got his big break with Good Will Hunting – a film that saw him get nominated for his first Oscar and truly make a name for himself.
It wasn’t even just that Damon became a celebrity. Sure, he became a household name and one of Hollywood’s best known actors. But for the man himself, the most important thing was the way that his notoriety brought his talent to his peers, and to his idols. Suddenly Hollywood woke up to Damon and suddenly, his had heroes knocking on his door, wanting to work with him.
The biggest pinch-me moment came in 2009 when he got a call from Clint Eastwood. He’s a man who really needs no introduction and no explanation about his star power. Having begun his career as an actor, becoming one of the most important names in the world of western flicks and writing himself into cinema history with films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Eastwood then pivoted. When he moved into directing, he brought all that experience and insight from being a star to his role behind the camera. It allowed him to connect better with his cast and get the best out of them. It also allowed his cast to learn from the best as they got to not only work with a hero, but be coached by him in a way.
For Damon, that was the best part of the making of Invicus, the first film he worked on with Eastwood. The making of it felt like a crash course in exactly the kind of career he wanted. “It’s just his philosophy on work, and how he’s managed to be different all the time,” Damon said about why the process was so inspiring. “It’s the mark of a true artist to defy any categorisation for six decades in the movie business. To bathe in the glory of that example is a good reason to want to work with him.”
During the making of the movie, Damon had a distinct feeling of privilege as he was suddenly up close and working side-by-side with the man he considered the blueprint. Eastwood was aspirational to him, and to his friends. “He is the goal. He is the one who my friends talk about when they talk about where they want to be,” he said, “Ben [Affleck] and [George] Clooney; Clint has the career they want. We’re all going into our 40s, and we want to believe we can do this at a high level for another four decades.”
It pushed him to get better. Recognising that the sort of career Eastwood has had doesn’t come from coasting along or being okay, it pushed Damon to be a better actor in order to have a better career in an attempt to come close to the goal set by the star.
