Birth Name: Matthew Paige Damon
Birth Date: October 8, 1970
Birth Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Matt Damon has been honored for his work on both sides of the camera, most recently earning Academy Award® and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations, for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of South African rugby hero Francois Pienaar in Clint Eastwood’s true-life drama Invictus.
In addition, he garnered dual Golden Globe Award nominations in 2010: for Best Supporting Actor for Invictus; and for Best Actor for his performance in Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant! Earlier in his career, Damon won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, both for his breakthrough feature Good Will Hunting.
Earlier this year, Damon starred in director Steven Soderbergh’s thriller Contagion; in Kenneth Lonergan’s drama Margaret. He also lends his voice to the animated feature Happy Feet Two, directed by George Miller.
Earlier this year, Damon starred in George Nolfi’s thriller The Adjustment Bureau. In 2010, he starred in the Coen brothers’ Oscar-nominated remake of the classic Western True Grit, Clint Eastwood’s drama Hereafter, and the action thriller Green Zone for director Paul Greengrass.
He had previously starred under Greengrass’s direction in The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Damon originated the title role of Jason Bourne in Doug Liman’s 2002 action blockbuster The Bourne Identity.
His other recent film credits include Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning Best Picture The Departed, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg; Robert De Niro’s dramatic thriller The Good Shepherd, with De Niro and Angelina Jolie; and Stephen Gaghan’s geopolitical thriller Syriana, with George Clooney. Damon also teamed with Clooney and Brad Pitt as part of the all-star casts of Soderbergh’s heist comedy hit Ocean’s Eleven, and its sequels, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen.
For the small screen, Damon both executive produced and appeared in the History Channel project The People Speak, based on a book co-written by historian Howard Zinn and featuring dramatic readings and performances from some of the most famous names in the entertainment industry.
Hailing from Boston, Damon attended Harvard University and gained his first acting experience with the American Repertory Theatre. He made his feature film debut in Mystic Pizza, followed by roles in School Ties, Walter Hill’s Geronimo: An American Legend, and the cable projects Rising Son and Tommy Lee Jones’ The Good Old Boys. Damon first gained attention with his portrayal of a guilt-ridden Gulf War veteran in 1996’s Courage Under Fire.
Together with his lifelong friend Ben Affleck, Damon co-wrote the acclaimed 1997 drama Good Will Hunting, for which they won an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as several critics groups awards for Best Original Screenplay. Damon also garnered Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations, in addition to his Oscar nomination, for Best Actor. Additionally in 1997, Damon starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rainmaker and appeared in Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy.
The following year, Damon played the title role in Steven Spielberg’s award-winning World War II drama Saving Private Ryan, and also starred in John Dahl’s drama Rounders, with Edward Norton. Damon earned his third Golden Globe nomination for his performance in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by Anthony Minghella. Damon’s subsequent film credits include Kevin Smith’s Dogma, with Affleck, Robert Redford’s The Legend of Bagger Vance, Billy Bob Thornton’s All the Pretty Horses, the Farrelly brothers’ comedy Stuck on You, Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm, and George Clooney’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
Damon and Affleck formed the production company LivePlanet, which produced three Emmy-nominated seasons of Project Greenlight, chronicling the making of independent films by first-time writers and directors. The Project Greenlight films produced include Stolen Summer, The Battle of Shaker Heights and Feast. LivePlanet also produced the documentary Running the Sahara, directed by Oscar winner James Moll. In addition, Damon is the co-founder of Water.org and a founder of Not On Our Watch.
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