“It’s not what I do”: why Morgan Freeman called Matt Damon a journeyman
While it might be seen as disparaging in some respects, journeyman actors tend to be the ones who remain gainfully employed for the longest amount of time. Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman aren’t the first names that come to mind based on their stardom and accomplishments, even if the latter would disagree.
In the conventional sense, the journeymen of the acting world are the people everybody recognises, but not many can actually name. They’ve been in hundreds of movies and TV shows but never in a leading role and very rarely given the platform to steal scenes from their more famous co-stars.
Character actors, seasoned veterans, and ‘that guy from that thing‘ are just some of the labels placed upon them, which isn’t criteria neither Damon nor Freeman fills. Those two are A-listers, world-famous celebrities, and the recipients of plentiful honours and billions upon billions of dollars in box office grosses.
They’ve earned an Academy Award from five nominations each, worked with some of the most respected directors in the business, and become barometers of reliability. Damon and Freeman are most definitely movie stars and not journeymen, but their unassuming approach to their craft has one of them willing to suggest otherwise.
They’ve only collaborated once, on Clint Eastwood’s biographical drama Invictus, which earned them both Oscar nods for their efforts. Freeman told The Scotsman that Damon is “like myself, a journeyman,” but he meant it with the best possible intentions because “there’s no strain in his work.”
Michael Caine famously said one of the major differences between an actor and a movie star is that while an actor will change and adapt their persona to fit the script, a movie star will have the script changed and adapted to fit their persona. Damon and Freeman are character actors at their core, which is where his analogy comes from.
Neither of them is particularly transformative, showy, or actively going out of their way to sniff out awards-baiting showcases, which in Freeman’s book makes them journeymen. In a way, Damon agreed, admitting that even though “there’s a style of acting that tends to get rewarded” by those in charge of dishing out trophies, “It’s not what I do.”
It’s been a long time since either of them has been able to venture out in public without being followed by either fans or paparazzi and living a life outside the harsh glare of celebrity is something the majority of journeymen get to enjoy.
Damon and Freeman are A-listers in terms of their status, standing, and reputation, but they’ve managed to go about their business and done very well for themselves without ever succumbing to the pitfalls of stardom that have driven many lesser performers mad with ego and vanity. If those are the criteria, then they’re two of the greatest journeymen of all.
