Matt Damon is an American actor, film producer and screenwriter. He is ranked among Forbes magazine’s most bankable stars and is one of the highest grossing actors of all time. Damon has received various accolades, including an Academy Award from five nominations, two Golden Globe Awards from eight nominations and has been nominated for three British Academy Film Awards and six Emmy Awards.
Birth Name
Matthew Paige Damon
Nicknames
Matt, Paige, Damon
Profession
Actor, Filmmaker, Voice actor, Screenwriter
Nationality
American
Personal Life
Birthday / Date of Birth
Matt Damon was born on October 08, 1970, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.
Age
He is currently 48 years old.
Residence
Los Angeles, California, United States
Sun Sign
Libra
Ethnicity
White
Matt has American, Scottish, English, Finnish and Swedish ancestry.
Religion
Roman Catholic
Education
Matt attended Cambridge Alternative School (now Graham and Parks) and then moved on to Cambridge Rindge and Latin School where he started acting in school productions. After finishing high school, he attended Harvard University, from where he dropped out to pursue his acting career.
Family Details
- Father – Kent Telfer Damon (Stockbroker)
- Mother – Nancy Carlsson-Paige (Education Professor at Lesley University)
- Siblings – Kyle Damon (Older Brother)
Marital Status
Married
Girlfriend / Spouse
Matt Damon dated –
- Skylar Satenstein (1989) – Matt dated the American doctor Skylar Satenstein for a short period.
- Minnie Driver (1996–1997) – Matt has dated the English actress Minnie Driver and both starred together in the movie Good Will Hunting.
- Claire Danes (1997) – Matt was RUMORed to have had an encounter with the American actress Claire Danes.
- Winona Ryder (1997–2000)– Matt met Winona Ryder through the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow. They were in a relationship that lasted 3 years until 2000.
- Kara Sands (2000)– Damon dated the model Kara Sands for a brief period in 2000.
- Odessa Whitmire (2001–2003)– Matt and Odessa started dating in March 2001. Odessa, who was a personal assistant to Billy Bob Thornton and later to Ben Affleck, was in relationship with Damon for 2 years. Eventually, they split up in March 2003.
- Rhona Mitra (2003) – Matt dated the beautiful actress Rhona Mitra for a short period.
- Luciana Barroso Damon (2003–Present) – Damon and Luciana met on the set of the comedy film Stuck on You in Miami. The couple got engaged in September 2005 and on December 9, 2005 they finally got married. Matt and Luciana have three children, Isabella Damon (born June 11, 2006), Gia Zavala (born August 20, 2008) and Stella Zavala (born October 20, 2010). Matt is also a stepfather to Luciana’s (previous marriage) daughter, Alexia.
Physical Stats
Height
- In feet – 5 feet 10 inches
- In centimeters – 178 cm
- In meters – 1.78 m
Weight
- In Kilograms – 84 kg
- In Pounds – 185 lbs
Body Measurements
- Measurements – 43-32-15
- Chest: 43 Inches
- Waist: 32 Inches
- Biceps: 15 Inches
Body Build
Athletic
Eye Color
Blue
Hair Color
Light Brown
Sexuality
Straight
Professional Statistics
Famous For
His screenplay Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck won the Academy Award in 1997. Damon is also known for the Bourne series, where he played the rogue secret agent Jason Bourne, Ocean’s Trilogy, where he played the youthful thief Linus Caldwell and Saving Private Ryan where he played the role of James Francis Ryan, a paratrooper.
Film Debut
Matt first gained notice when he appeared in the movie Mystic Pizza in 1988. In the movie, Damon’s character was called Steamer.
Television Debut
As an actor, Matt debuted with NBC’s late-night live television comedy show Saturday Night Live as an host in 2002 during an episode titled Matt Damon/Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. As a producer, he made a debut in 2001 with Project Greenlight. He served as an executive producer for about 33 episodes of the series.
Brand Endorsements
Matt has appeared in different TV commercials for Independent Film Channel (1998), MTV (1997), National Mentoring Month (PSA) (2005), TD Ameritrade (2012), Nespresso (2013) and FeedAmerica.org (2014). He also appeared in a Radio commercial for Samuel Adams Beer in 2001.
Controversies
- Matt Damon was in trouble because of his own statements over The Green Light project when in his documentary he criticized a black movie maker on the basis of diversity.
- There was another bold statement that Matt Damon gave when he was promoting his movie The Martian. He said that gay people should not be open about their sexuality as it affects the way people see you as an artist and one should be able to play the mystery well.
- He has a friendly feud with Jimmy Kimmel because once his time on the show was cut short and Matt stormed out. Jimmy made fun of this at the end of few episodes and Matt appeared again on the show and took over the show to say what he had to say.
Matt Damon Favorites
- Favorite Actor – Tom Cruise
- Favorite Food – Pizza
- Favorite Books – A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Matt Damon Net worth
Matt Damon his a estimated net worth of $180 million dollars as of 2019.
Some Lesser Known Facts About Matt Damon
- Matt’s parents got divorced when he was only two. Matt and his brother came back to Cambridge with his mother, where they lived in a six-family communal house.
- Damon did theater at school and has great respect for his teacher Gerry Speca, although Ben Affleck, his schoolmate, gets a lot of credit and speeches!
- Matt was in Harvard University and lived in the Lowell House, Harvard College. He wrote the first draft of Good Will Hunting for an English class at Harvard. He dropped out of his course to take the lead role in the movie Geronimo: An American Legend.
- Forbes magazine ranked him as the most bankable and one of the highest-engrossing stars of all time.
- Matt has been decorated with several awards including the ultimate Academy Awards from four nominations and two Golden Globe Awards. He’s been nominated for two British Academy Film Awards and five Emmy Awards.
- Matt Damon not only acted in Good Will Hunting, but also wrote it, starring alongside with Ben Affleck. The movie won them an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for screenplay and earned Matt Damon a nomination for Best Actor.
- Damon owns two production companies with Affleck– Pearl Street Films, a Warner Bros. based production company and Live Planet.
- Damon is involved in the charitable work with ONE Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, Feeding America and Water.org.
- Academy Award for the script of Good Will Hunting was handed over to him by Harvard Alumnus Jack Lemmon.
- Matt had just a single line dialogue in the his debut movie Mystic Pizza.
- Matt was noticed by the critics for playing an opiate-addicted soldier in 1996’s Courage Under Fire, for which he lost 18 kgs in 100 days following his own diet and work-out regimen. The Washington Post called his performance impressive.
- Damon acted in a Drama The Rainmaker for which Los Angeles Times described as a talented young actor on the brink of stardom.
- Matt Daymon has been awarded the honor of receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.
- He used to break dance in the middle of the Harvard Square for money.
- Ben Affleck’s father was once a janitor at Harvard, which was Ben’s inspiration for his role in Good Will Hunting.
- Damon learned playing Piano for the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley.
- Matt and his wife, Luciana Barroso, met while he was filming Stuck on You in Florida.
- For his role in The Rainmaker, Matt took the pain to work in a bar in Tennessee. He also hired a dialect coach.
- Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso got married in the New York City Hall in 2005.
- Matt refused the role of Bobby Mercer in Four Brothers because he found the script ultra-violent.
- He gifted a blank check to Ben Affleck and his wife; he had also lost the bet for being the one to get married first.
- He was named Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine in 2007.
- He learned piano for the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley. He also lost 30 pounds for his role in the movie.
- Matt married Luciana in New York City Hall.
- He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 26, 2007.
- He lost 40 pounds for the movie Courage Under Fire, in which he played the role of a Gulf War vet.
