Biography - Matt Damon

Oscar-winner Matt Damon has emerged as an icon of a new generation of movie stars. Politically active and humbled by his success, the former Harvard student has followed actors like George Clooney and Philip Seymour Hoffman by alternating between mega-budget projects and smaller, more politically-charged films like 2005’s “Syriana”.

Damon was born in Cambridge, MA on October 8, 1970 and spent his early life in nearby Newton, MA, where he lived with his mother and older brother. The family eventually returned to Cambridge where Damon attended the well-regarded public high school Cambridge Rindge & Latin before moving on to undergraduate studies at nearby Harvard. Damon dropped out of college to pursue acting, and found his first major breakthrough with a role in “Geronimo: An American Legend” (1993). The young actor’s head-turning role in 1996’s “Courage Under Fire” received considerable attention, and helped him receive the lead role in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed “The Rainmaker” (1997).

It was his collaboration with childhood friend Ben Affleck that ultimately made Damon a major star. With the assistance of filmmaker Kevin Smith and Miramax executive Harvey Weinstein, the two friends managed to get the ambitious and smartly written “Good Will Hunting” to the screen after lengthy and frustrating pre-production process. Affleck and Damon co-wrote the script as well as co-starring with Robin Williams and Minnie Driver, who Damon briefly dated. Released in late 1997, the film was a surprising success, grossing an astounding $225 million worldwide and earning Damon and Affleck Best Original Screenplay Oscars in addition to Damon’s Best Actor nomination.

Superstardom came quickly to the hunky actor after the film’s success. He appeared next in “Rounders” with Edward Norton and in the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film “Saving Private Ryan”, both in 1998. Damon then gave an incredible performance in Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, and starred in Kevin Smith’s “Dogma”, “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, “All the Pretty Horses”, and “Ocean’s Eleven”.

Damon continued with a variety of off-beat roles, including Gus Van Sant’s brilliant and melancholy “Gerry”, which he also co-wrote with Van Sant and Casey Affleck. In 2002, Damon proved that he was a bankable action star as well with the surprise success of “The Bourne Identity”. The film was a major success and spawned a sequel, “The Bourne Supremacy”, which was an even bigger hit than the original. The third film in the series, “The Bourne Ultimatum,” is set for release in 2007.

2006 is set to see Damon star in the hotly-anticipated Martin Scorsese film “The Departed” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, as well as Robert De Niro’s CIA story “The Good Shepherd”, which pairs Damon with Angelina Jolie. To top it off, he’s been cast as the lead role in an upcoming Frank Marshall-directed biopic of Lance Armstrong. Like Will Hunting, Damon doesn’t seem satisfied with resting on his laurels.