The movie Matt Damon turned down because his mother told him to: “You’re allowed to have fun”
The film Mystic Pizza proved to be a vehicle for two future icons, with both Julia Roberts and Matt Damon appearing in the comedy and subsequently breaking through into the industry. The latter appeared in various comedies and dramas over the coming years, but it was the second half of the 1990s that saw Damon go from being a modest star to a Hollywood sensation.
He penned a movie with his pal, Ben Affleck, with the two also deciding to appear. Of course, the movie was Good Will Hunting, which Gus Van Sant brought to life as the director. It was a huge success, remaining a cult classic over 25 years later. The film won Damon and Affleck an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’, cementing the pair as important new faces in the industry.
However, Damon has since prioritised his status as a movie star, becoming better known as an actor than as a writer – although he has since penned a few other films, like Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. He appeared in many significant movies in the wake of Good Will Hunting, like Saving Private Ryan, The Talented Mr Ripley, The Departed and Ocean’s Eleven.
Often opting for action-oriented movies, he is also well-known for his role as the titular character in the Jason Bourne series. However, the actor once admitted that he has felt the pressure of appearing in a certain kind of movie, one that requires intense and often physical preparation. It was only when his own mother gave him some advice that he realised he could star in any film he liked, even if it was a lot less serious.
At a press conference, the actor revealed that he almost took on a movie by Werner Herzog, but after chatting with his mother, he settled on a Farrelly brothers film instead. The actor explained how this choice might sound a little preposterous, considering how Herzog has made some of the most acclaimed movies of all time, while the Farrelly brothers made Shallow Hal. Yet, Damon believes the decision was fate.
“I do end up thinking about all those jobs I was desperate to get that I didn’t get that really turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” Damon said. “I’d say one of the biggest ones, there was the Werner Herzog movie called Rescue Dawn that Christian Bale did, and Werner and I were talking about that – this was eight years ago, about me possibly playing that role. I was really strongly considering it, and instead I met with the Farrelly Brothers.”
He continued: “I remember talking to my mother, and my mother said, ‘You don’t always have to go into the jungle and lose a bunch of weight, you’re allowed to have fun.’ And I did the Farrelly Brothers movie [Stuck On You] and that was where I met my wife. Four kids later, that was a pretty fateful decision.”
As it turns out, Rescue Dawn was a box office failure, grossing just $7.2 million. Meanwhile, Stuck on You, starring Greg Kinnear and Cher, grossed $65.8m.
