The movie role Matt Damon worried might be perceived as “cruelty”
Looking back over Matt Damon‘s career so far and one can see the kind of versatility that he has shown as an actor. Whether in his dramatic roles in the likes of Good Will Hunting, Oppenheimer and The Talented Mr. Ripley or his thrilling efforts in Saving Private Ryan and The Departed, Damon has always delivered a commendable performance.
With such acting roles in mind, it can be easy to forget that Damon has also occasionally ventured into the realm of comedy. For instance, he has offered his talent to a number of Kevin Smith movies like Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, as well as performing in Steven Soderbergh’s heist comedy Ocean’s Eleven.
As far as comedy goes, though, it’s sometimes hard to look beyond the impact of the Farrelly brothers, known for making Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary amongst many other acclaimed works. Damon had once starred for the Farrellys in their 2003 film Stuck on You alongside Greg Kinnear.
The film saw Damon and Kinnear play a pair of conjoined twin brothers whose physical disability naturally throws up conflicting and humorous occurrences, especially when one of them announced that he wants to move to Hollywood to become a famous actor, a detriment to his shy and introverted brother.
In an interview with the BBC, Damon once spoke of his first impressions of the Stuck on You script and how he initially wondered whether he should take on the role or not. “I did have one moment when I first heard about this. I baulked and wondered if it was going to cross a line into cruelty,” the actor admitted.
However, when Damon met up with the Farrellys, he realised that the film wouldn’t be punching down at conjoined twins but rather celebrating them. “It was pretty clear that the spirit and tone of the movie would end up being feelgood,” Damon explained. “You know, it’s really about overcoming adversity. Whatever hand you’re dealt, you can overcome all kinds of obstacles and thrive.”
The kind of wariness of Damon when it came to taking on the role of Bob Tenor shows an actor who was cautious about upsetting a minority group and thus tarnishing his legacy as a Hollywood hero. Still, understanding that the film would be made in good faith, he set about strapping himself to co-star Kinnear, which itself threw up some humorous moments.
Damon admitted that the production of Stuck on You was “strange”, to say the least. The actor explained, “When I read it, I was like: ‘OK, I’ll be harnessed to Greg Kinnear.’ But the actual reality of that was pretty wild because that obviously means trips to the bathroom, personal phone calls, and stuff like that.”
In fact, Damon said that he could remember the colour of the curtains that he and his wife picked out during a moment of downtime on the movie’s set. After all, he just “couldn’t help but be in the conversation.” The actor added, “There were no secrets between us for about four months! And, of course, all personal hygiene issues are absolutely a matter of common knowledge.”
While Stuck on You might not be the first movie we think of when it comes to Matt Damon, it serves as a funny little reminder of his rare comedy moments and the fact that he very nearly came close to crossing a performative line.
