Character study: Matt Damon
Putting Jason Bourne aside (not that we recommend you try that at home), which roles have been the Oscar winner's favorites?
"Will Hunting is so close to my heart because my best friend [Ben Affleck] and I invented him, he's from Boston, and it was what we knew. The stakes were pretty high with Good Will Hunting and it worked out as best as it can in this business--people saw the movie, it got good reviews, I was happy with the finished product, and they gave us an Oscar. I am also pretty fond of Tom Ripley--playing smart and sinister is just so much fun. I wasn't that fond of his choice of swim trunks, though, so a few points away for that. And John Grady Cole in All the Pretty Horses was good too. The integrity of that character is admirable. Unfortunately, I am the only one who saw that movie, so no one will get that reference."
Mr. Nice Guy
While [Joaquin] Phoenix was on the fritz, Matt Damon was uniquely charming and cogent. In interviews he came across as a hockey player, but smarter. With no film in the competition, Damon turned up only to host the One x One benefit and auction. When supermodel Petra Nemcova offered to cook dinner as a bonus prize for a winning bid, Damon immediately offered $85,000, then asked if he could bring his wife along.
