The baseball playoffs have begun, and the Boston Red Sox are not in them. This is not the best time to get Matt Damon on the phone.
He is always in a better mood when his beloved Sox are playing well, but Damon is not only a professional but one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, so he answers the phone in New York with enthusiasm and good cheer.
“Sorry about the Sox,” I begin, immediately putting a damper on the conversation.
“Oh, thanks,” he says solemnly. “At least I was put out of my misery early.”
But he quickly snaps out of his funk, buoyed by the knowledge that there is always next season. And, of course, there are those other important things in life besides baseball, like his family (he and his wife are expecting their fourth child), and his career, which continues at a torrid pace, with a half-dozen films lined up, including “True Grit” opposite Jeff Bridges this Christmas.
Up first is the Clint Eastwood-directed “Hereafter,” which opens Friday. The 40-year-old Damon plays a psychic who shuns the gift he considers a curse. While trying to live an anonymous life, he is suddenly forced to confront his gift when his life intertwines with the lives of a woman who had a near-death experience and a young boy who can’t deal with the loss of his twin.
See photos of Matt Damon and his films
In this telephone chat, Damon talks about working with Eastwood a second time (the first was “Invictus,” for which Damon was nominated as best supporting actor), how he feels about turning 40 and why the paparazzi ignore him.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: In the new Adrian Grenier documentary “Teenage Paparazzo,” you are quoted as saying that the paparazzi generally leave you alone because you are the most boring movie star in the world. Is that an accurate interpretation of what you said?
MATT DAMON (laughing): I haven’t seen it yet, but it sounds like me.
Q. Is it true?
A. Yes, it is true. But I’m not trying to be boring or exciting. I’m just trying to live my life the way I want to. The tabloids, gossip magazines and paparazzi are moved by sizzle, sex and scandal, and if you’re a dad and married, they show up every once in a while for an update. They pop off a shot and see that I’m still married, and I’m still a dad and still not that exciting.
Q. The funny thing is that you weren’t a tabloid target even when you were younger and single?
A. I don’t know that I had any particular plan or strategy or nobility, but I was always working. I was busy. I have always loved working, and I’ve spent my whole adult life working. When I’m not working, I want to work. I’m looking for work. I think that has kept me out of trouble (laughs).
Q. I understand that tomorrow is a big, painful birthday?
A. You know what? It’s not that painful. Maybe something’s going to hit me, dude, at midnight. But it feels great.
Q. Are you more successful or less successful than you thought you’d be at 40?
A. Oh, I didn’t even think about 40. When you’re 18, 40 seems so old. That’s like 100. Then you get to 40, and you think how young you feel (laughs).
Q. 40 is the new 20?
A. I wish.
Q. Seriously, are you in a pretty good place at 40?
A. Things have gone exceedingly well. And, to be honest, I’m so glad to be turning 40, and not 30 again. All the big questions in my life have been answered in the last decade, and now I’m just looking to be healthy and live as long as I can.
Q. Yeah, but wait until 50. Now that’s a killer.
A. I don’t know about that. When I was doing publicity for “Invictus,” Morgan Freeman and I were doing interviews together, and I remember him telling me that I was coming into the best two decades of my life.
Q. As long as we’re on the subject of learning from our elders, what can you learn from Clint Eastwood?
A. Oh, man, I learned something every day from him.
Q. What did you learn on “Invictus” that made you want to work with him again?
A. It’s just his philosophy on work, and how he’s managed to be different all the time. It’s the mark of true artist to defy any categorization for six decades in the movie business. To bathe in the glory of that example is a good reason to want to work with him. He is the goal. He is the one who my friends talk about when they talk about where they want to be. Ben (Affleck) and Clooney (George); Clint has the career they want. We’re all going into our 40s, and we want to believe we can do this at a high level for another four decades.
Q. Did you ask Clint for his advice on longevity in this business?
A. Of course. I asked him why so many directors fell off when they got a little older. He thought about it for a minute and said, “I just don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Q. Does it make sense to you?
A. No. They should be wiser and more experienced. And there are examples of some directors doing quality work when they’re older. Hopefully, 80 is the new 40.
Q. Do you think you’ve come out of working with Clint as a better actor?
A. Yes.
Q. In what way?
A. It’s hard to explain how somebody makes you better. It’s just the way you feel. I suppose part of it is because Clint is so good in creating a relaxed atmosphere. And his crew is experienced. They know what they’re doing. They help to make you better, too.
Q. So, it’s not that he teaches you new technical skills?
A. No, not at all. It’s an intangible thing. A bad director can ruin a performance by getting inside your head. And it’s easy to do that. Acting is a pretty fragile little game. It’s easy to make people nervous, and movie sets were built traditionally to be unfriendly to actors.
Q. How so?
A. You’ve got people running around with walkie-talkies, and barking and screaming into bullhorns. It can absolutely cripple your concentration. And all that goes away on a Clint set because he’s an actor. There is no panic on his set. It’s a much calmer environment.
Q. You play a psychic in this film. Do you believe in psychics?
A. I’ve never met a psychic. But I’ve never gone looking for one, either. But I do believe there are things happening on another level that I’m not aware of. And I believe in the premise of the script.
Q. It’s not an easy film to digest. What do you think the movie is trying to say?
A. I wouldn’t want to say what I think it’s trying to say. But I don’t think it’s trying to give answers. I don’t think Clint tries to give answers. He leaves it open for people to think about.
Q. Is it true that Clint wanted you for this movie so much that he worked around your busy schedule?
A. He called me, and told me he had a Peter Morgan script and was beginning in the fall when I was on another movie. I told him I’d rather get water-boarded than not work on this film. I was devastated. .
Q. How did you work it out?
A. I didn’t. Clint worked it out. He figured out that since I was only one-third of the movie, he could shoot the other two-thirds, take a Christmas break and then work with me in January. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
Contact the writer: 714-796-5051, ext. 1110, or bkoltnow@ocregister.com
