Matt Damon names his two favourite comedy movies: “I love him a lot”
Alongside his partner in crime, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon became an overnight sensation in 1997 following the success of his debut movie, Good Will Hunting. Damon and Affleck co-wrote and starred in the classic Gus Van Sant direction and took home Oscars for ‘Best Original Screenplay’. As a cherry on top, Robin Williams also won an Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in the movie.
“Ben has always had an incredible charisma. People are just getting introduced to it through film,” Damon told The Los Angeles Times while reflecting on their friendship in 1999. “It’s hard to think of your best friend as a movie star, but the fact that he is [stems from] the extent to which parts of the real him come through. He is somebody that everybody wants to be around.”
Following the success of their movie debut, Affleck and Damon remained close friends while pursuing respective careers in cinema. The latter established himself as an indelible presence with appearances in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley and the Bourne action franchise thereafter.
Damon’s acting talent and professional range can be traced back to his upbringing, during which he immersed himself in high-quality New Hollywood cinema. When selecting his five favourite movies of all time for a feature with Rotten Tomatoes, Damon revealed himself to be a keen admirer of Robert De Niro, with Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II and Midnight Run among his choices.
“I guess so,” Damon replied when asked if the selections reveal De Niro as one of his favourite actors. “I put three of his movies in there! I didn’t do that on purpose. I am a huge fan of his, though, and I love him a lot.”
Picking out Midnight Run, Martin Brest’s classic action comedy of 1988, Damon remembered a high school obsession. “That was a movie that in college and in high school, my friends and I could quote probably every line of that movie,” he said. “So, I haven’t seen it in a few years now, but that was definitely a favourite. It’s not just a one-off, either – you watch it again and again and again.”
“My friends in college, we’re now in our fifties, but we can come up with obscure lines out of that movie and instantly crack each other up through texts. It’s just a beautifully acted movie and still makes me laugh,” Damon added.
For his final selection, Damon picked out another comedy: Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 Cold War satire, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. “That’s another good comedy and a Kubrick movie, so it ticks a couple of boxes for me,” Damon commented, revealing his admiration for the late filmmaker.
“It sticks out to me for Peter Sellers, actually,” he continued. “Sellers, I mean, he’s so brilliant in that movie. And I was sitting there wondering, should I go for Being There? Should I go for another Sellers movie? I just wanted Sellers on this list because he was so great. And that’s a movie where he’s as dynamic as he ever was. He played, however many… three or four different people… and they’re all just totally different and totally great. That guy was just absolutely brilliant and terribly funny.”
The late, great comedy actor, Peter Sellers, portrayed President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove and remarkably improvised most of his iconic dialogue in the movie. Watch the trailer below.
