Matt Damon

28:03Like he gave me all this encouragement. And that was when I just took it out and showed it to Ben. It's so cool because you can, you can also tell that respect you have for teachers in the film, like it's in Good Will Hunting. And we grew up around educators and like we're saying the obvious, but it is still wild how people can remember the teacher. Oh my God. The three teachers. I had multiple teachers. Me too. That were like, you're doing good, hang in there that just that those like positive reinforcements about anything you were doing yeah um so okay you guys moved to hollywood congratulations you win an academy award you do goodwill hunting everybody's favorite movie give the best speech ever you bring your moms it's incredible um and we didn't have a choice

28:50but from that moment like where you know you've been working to your point what you were saying You've been working for a long time. We know you then. We meet you then. And I'm the same age as you. I'm watching you like be my age, like entering into some system. And you're from Boston. And it's like, oh, OK, we don't have to live near the game to be in the game, basically. What is your relationship to work now? Because when you're young, like we talked about, you're like, I want to do this and this. And then you start getting these things. Then like, so then what is your relationship? Are you tired?

29:21That's a long question to ask. But I'm personally asking for myself to. Sometimes. Yeah. I mean, yeah. But I think that's where this—I feel like—and for both Ben and me, that we are at the same time kind of stepped into this new phase of life and really felt it. Yeah. What is that new phase? That we just want to work on—it's about really the pursuit of joy in our lives and in our work. And like this movie, I never would have, I think 20 years ago, I would have bitched a lot about, you know, I don't think. That actually hits home. It was like the physical discomfort in making this movie that everybody, everybody had to go through, the entire crew.

30:12So the experience of doing this movie, though it was the hardest movie that I've ever done by far, was so joyful. Yeah. That's amazing. And also it felt more like an expedition than a movie because of how we made it. And to know that every single person around you was weathering those same difficulties and pushing themselves. Like it's just this feeling of, you know, of being a part of that team of people was just – it was one of the best feelings I've ever had. That's very cool. I mean, you're making me think of that like Sanskrit idea that life is what you say it is basically. So you can be like, this is the worst.

30:58This is the hardest thing. And this is where you can be like, this is the most incredible opportunity I'm getting to do. Yeah. And I definitely from the moment Chris gave me the part. Yeah. I felt I felt that because, first of all, he it's first of all, it's one of the great roles of all time. Yeah. and he was going to make this thing at the scale that it deserved to be made. And not, and like pretty practical, right? All practical. Like that's, you know. He's going to make it the way David Lean would have made it. Right. The way somebody would have made it 80 years ago. It's that, for people that are going to see it, and you guys can tell us if it's too spoily and we'll cut it, but like there's scenes where Cyclops is, you're meeting Cyclops, who by the way, I was proud of myself.

31:40I was like, is that Bill Irwin? You got him right away. Because I'm obsessed with him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's amazing. He's amazing. Rachel getting married. Amazing. And I was like, oh, my God, is that Bill Irwin's face? That, I find out, is a giant puppet? Yeah. What the fuck? That is wild. It's really wild when you realize we shot it in an actual cave. And so there's no soundstage. That's wild. So we would hike to this cave, and it was called Zeus's Cave. They say it's where Zeus was born. And we would hike up to this cave. and the rigging that the guys did in this cave, they basically turned it into a soundstage almost.

32:21Yeah, right. Like there were, I mean, it was just the amount of work that went into doing this was like. And I bet you shot at places that no one had ever been allowed in. Or that nobody would be crazy enough to try to shoot in was what it really was. Like honestly, every time I would show up and I would start laughing, I would be looking like, you've got to be kidding me. You're like, we're going up there. Yeah, that's where. Yeah. Like, so what are we shooting? Well, we're not shooting anything until we get up there because that's where everything is. Yeah, that's wild. So that part of it was—that's what I mean about an expedition.

32:50And we were all in it together. We all hike up the mountain. And in that cave, that was, you know, Chris was like, no, we got a 60-foot puppet. And so basically he does as little special effects as humanly possible, which means you can do quite a bit without CGI. and where he needs it, you know, he'll, you know, he understands what year he lives in and he has the absolute best special effects teams. Yeah. They really help, you know, try to figure out how we can do everything, almost just about everything in camera.

33:33Much like I compared you to Paul McCartney, I'm going to compare the Odyssey to SNL. But SNL is like SNL. That's another thing that I told you. But similarly, there's few places left that's like, we have a show tonight. And you know, because you've done it, hosted many times. And you're like, everyone's just, it's like comedy emergency room. Everyone's doing the best version that they can do in a time that they have. And therefore, everything feels really human. It's very cool that way. Like things feel practical and tactile and stuff. And you've done the show a bunch of times. I don't know if you remember the first time you hosted, I think it was like 2002.

34:14I was like my second year there. I have a great picture of us, me and Dratch, and you have your like arms around us. We look like 10 years old. We look like babies. Such babies. And we're all like, the whole world. But it was, I remember just starting when you came. And I remember that exact feeling of like, holy shit, look at all these talented people trying to make something like real and human, basically. What was it like to what is it like to do that show? Do you like doing it? I still remember. I love doing it. Yeah. And and I that first time, the reason I did it, Patrick, my agent, called me and said, you're hosting Saturday Night Live.

34:52And I said, oh, OK, like, but I don't have anything coming out. And he goes, no, Bruce Springsteen's the musical guest. We're going to get to hear two songs from Bruce. So I was like, oh, yeah, we're huge fans of Bruce Springsteen. So so that was really why I did it. And I remember going on the Monday night for the, you know, the little pitch in Lauren's office. And everybody pitches these ideas. And then everybody went, let's go to a bar. And I was like, guys, we have 90 minutes to do by Saturday. Like, how are you people so calm? Like, I couldn't. There's like a push where people have to like force panic almost to get anything creatively done.

35:35I was fully panicked on Monday, but then Tuesday night was the night everyone, and I stayed up. They were like, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. I stayed up overnight till like five in the morning, popping into different rooms and writing with people and, you know, and love that part of it. And then from the read-through on Wednesday, it's just, you're just shot out of a cannon. Yeah, it's done in five minutes. Yeah. Yeah, and the minute you're done, you're like, okay, I got it. Let's do it again. And it's over. The rush that you get is incredible. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I actually we were looking up some stuff because I was like, what did I do with Matt?

36:06And there is a sketch that I do not remember. What was it? And I want to watch it with you. There's a better chance I'll remember it because I've done some. You might remember it, but I have zero memory of it. You played a doctor? I saw it and I was like, no idea what the joke is. Sorry, I got to get my commercials on YouTube. Is this the one where Parnell, where we're on it, where it's everybody's name, Matt Damon? Is that the thing? Maybe that's it. It sounds like that's it. All I know is. OK, here we go. Excuse me. I hate to bother you, but are you Matt Damon? Yeah. That's amazing. That's really amazing.

36:45Harnsey, the Iceman. Oh, really? Oh, yeah, they're Dr. Matt Damon. I'm the chief of oncology. OK, so he's a doctor. Matt Damon. That's the whole joke. It's amazing. You have no idea what it's been like for me. And that's not true. Your identity is not about your name, man. It's about who you are, what you do. Okay, that's easy for you to say. Matt Damon. Oh my God. Are you Matt Damon? Yeah. I love you. This is so weird. My name is Pat Damon. Okay, now we're heightening. We're two minutes in. We should always get married. And now we'll do the introduction. Wait, you do remember this. Pat Damon, Matt Damon, Matt Damon, Matt Damon.

37:30So stupid.

37:34Oh, my God. That's so good. And it's just – it's totally ridiculous. I haven't seen – that's really funny. I know. I did not – I mean, it is – I really – Well, I remember because I think I've hosted the show three times, and I've come on and done guest spots. But that means I've probably done less than 20 sketches in my life. So I think I probably remember all of them. You would think you will, but I mean – It's so – and then at the end, I think someone comes out and is Dr. Julius Irving. I think that's the part. I forget how it happens, but it's like Matt Damon, Matt Damon, Pat Damon, Matt Damon, Pat Damon, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Dr.

38:09Julius Irving. I don't think it played that well. I thought it was funny. I know, but it's a good example of like, you know, there are hosts who like, you know, especially in your first time, you don't really know the power you have. You know, no one really tells you the power that you have where you can be like, I don't want to do that. but there are hosts that are like I like to pick the funny stuff and then there are hosts that like I want to pick the stuff that I'm in a lot or that you know like and that's a real ensemble-y sketch you don't get to do much in that well I said that I but I always say to Lauren like just I want the best show like I just you know this last one I think we cut five sketches after dress and you know yeah that I was like in heavily and I was like whatever makes it you know you're also you've got a younger cast and it's like they're trying to like establish themselves and like all if you've got something for them to do that, you know what I mean?

39:01Like you all have to do this next week, you know? Yeah, but a lot of people don't really take that in. Like, and I don't even necessarily mean it's a bad thing. They're just like focusing on other like things. Like you have this ability, you always have, I think, to pay attention to like the environment that you're in, what other people need. I mean, I think it's what makes you such a good producer. I think it's what makes you such a good collaborator. Like that isn't always people's process. They just don't know how to take all that in. Yeah, I guess I always just defaulted to the better the thing is you're making, the better for everybody.

39:38Yeah, very true. And I really do think that way about movies, too. I don't always take the best role. You know what I mean? I want to be in a good movie. You've been in so many good movies. Yeah. Goddamn. I mean, that's interesting you say that because like even in Interstellar, that role that you take is a really surprising role to take. Yeah, Chris undersold it to me actually because Chris, I was really happy to get the call from him. And he and he, I guess, like trying to manage my expectations said, you know how they say there are no small parts, only small actors. And I said, yeah, this is a small part.

40:17so I was like okay but I read it and I was like no this is a terrific part like it's a really great I mean it's not big but it's a really good part and so yeah it's always about if there's something I feel like you know worth doing it doesn't have to be the biggest thing yeah I mean you got to work with so many amazing people if it's okay I want to just ask you about a few because some of them we talk about here a lot and some I had the pleasure to either meet or work with, and I, like, love talking about them. Yeah. And you've talked about him a lot, but can we just talk about Robin for a second?

40:53Because I had the experience, as I'm sure you did, of, like, feeling like I got to watch him use his gift to make young people feel like they had some kind of future in whatever they were doing. That was basically, he would come, Robin Williams would come, and improvise at UCB and like jump in the theater, the improv theater that I was a part of. And he would just show up. I mean, people would lose their minds. He would show up and he'd talk to 20, all of us 20 year olds. Like we were like smart and funny and like change our lives. What was he like? What was it like to work with him when you were so young?

41:35Yeah. He was like that generous. Like that was just his, that's just who he was. Yeah. It's just like overflowing with generosity. Yeah. Like as a creative partner to work with, to do scenes with. And obviously this was something that we'd written. We'd been holding onto this thing for five years. And how seriously he took it, how prepared he was. Interestingly, he was very, he did a lot of takes at his. Did he feel like he didn't have it? Like would he want more because he wasn't quite sure if he was having it? Yeah. And I remember Terry Gilliam telling me, like, Terry Gilliam gave him after they did The Fisher King.

42:11And Robin's brilliant in that movie. And Terry gave him a report card at the end. And it had all these different things like creativity, you know, energy, all this stuff. You know, A, A, A, late night phone calls, F. Because Robin would get home and he would call. He was a ruminator? He was a ruminator. And there were things we went back and did another pickup of a thing. And we shot it 15 times already. And Ben and I knew we had it. Gus knew we had it. Yeah. And he just, and I think that might be the comedy background where it's like, I'm going to refine this joke. Yeah. There's always a joke that you're thinking about.

42:45There's always something more that I can grab in there. Yeah. Yeah. And he had this like, you know, and he was like indefatigable. Like the guy just had so much energy. Yeah. And so we went over budget in film. I remember every day at lunch we would send out to Kodak. They'd come back with more film because we were burning through a lot of film really just for him to feel like we got it. Yeah. You know, I mean, Ben and I knew. Yeah. I mean, even like the last line of the movie that was not written. He was just supposed to come out and read a letter and it was just supposed, the camera was supposed to sit on him for as long as he wanted as he thought about this boy driving out of town and he's on his way.

43:30You know, he's going to go see about the girl. And Robin, we left the camera rolling and we were shooting up at him. And I was right next to the camera because every time he came out when he opened up the letter, I said it so that he could hear my voice. And so Gus and I, the director— And you were standing by camera to do it? And I'm standing by camera. Yeah. And he wasn't meant to look at me, but just so he could hear me. and he must have done 15 takes and he'd put the envelope back and he'd put it back in the mailbox and then he'd go in and we'd still be rolling and then he'd come back out.

44:05And he did, you know, a few without saying anything and then he just started improvising lines. And on like the ninth line, he opened the door and he looked and he read the letter and he said, son of a bitch, he stole my line. And I grabbed Gus. Like, I mean, it's like, you know, when a piece of dialogue falls from heaven, you know, and you just know. But Robin went back in and he did it five, six more times. He came back. And I remember Ben wasn't on set that day for some reason or maybe he couldn't fit up where we were. And so he was back. And I just couldn't get to him fast enough to tell him, you're not going to fucking believe what he said.

44:46Listen. And Ben, the second he heard it, like, that's it. Yeah. Like, we knew. Like that's the, but, but Robin must've known because it came out of him. But like when that line comes out of me, if ever I'm lucky enough to come up with something on the spot that just comes out in the moment and it works, I know it. And now I'm, now I'm a dog with a bone. You know what I mean? I'm not going to go start trying. That is the thing I love about improv. I have to say is it's like so many ideas are flung around and they're, a lot of them are jewels and they're just thrown for free. Yeah. Like, it's like, here's 10 more.

45:19Yeah. And you're like, whoa, whoa, these are like, let me pick these up. Like each one could be interesting. But like when you're with like an incredible improviser, it's like, I have a million of these. Right. Like these, these are, these are never going to go away. That's what—see, when I wrote a movie that not many people saw called Promised Land with John Krasinski, and John and I joke about it because John's like Ben. He's got a supercomputer on board. He goes really fast, and I'm much more—I don't know. I got a Commodore 56 or whatever, so my processing chip isn't quite as fast. And so John would throw out a line of dialogue.

45:56We'd be sitting in the kitchen writing, and he'd throw out a line of dialogue. and my face would do something like this. And John would read that as he hates it. And then he'd give me another one and then another. And then now he's given me five lines of dialogue. And I'm and I just go, I'm like, stop. I'm still on the first one, John. I think the first one's really good. Now I got to think about all these other ones because I think they're really good, too. You know, give me a minute. And I think, you know, yeah, you're right. They're like jewels that are falling on the ground. And I'm like somebody who wants to pick up each one and go like, we're going to put this thing together like a Swiss watch.

46:35And that's why I think sometimes it's always like, I mean, it's interesting to watch people be able to be okay with that speed and stillness. It's what like film actors do so well is they allow things to just stay. And when you're coming up in like from a comedy perspective, like speed is where you get your self-esteem. It's everything. And you just have to sometimes just like stop. You have to just stop. With that in mind, what was it like to work with Phil Hoffman, who, like, what an incredible actor. Yeah. What was it like to be – because your character is really – you have to square off with him in this way that is – I mean, he's so intimidating in those scenes.

47:17He's so good in that movie. He's so good in Talented Mr. Ripley. He was great in everything. But holy shit, he's good in that movie. It's about a role where you come in and I mean, he, that scene, the scene where he comes back, where I kill him in Townsend, Mr. Ripley, spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert, Odyssey, it's a long trip. He, he, I loved him because he, you know, we'd, we'd rehearse. There was a whole month of rehearsal and, and we got to know each other and, and, and, but I hated him so much that day. Yeah. You know what I mean? And he, but because that's how he, it's like, he like, Built the energy for that scene.

47:55It was like a fucking Marvel superhero coming out of him and sucked me right into it. And we had this day of working where—and we liked each other. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. But that was not—that wasn't in the room. Yeah. And I just remember—it's that—I've said—I say it all the time because it really is the truth. When you're working with a great actor, they're great enough for both of you. And it's like just paddle into the wave and stand up. And that's it. And you just get transported. And that was what he was. I mean, he was just phenomenal. Phenomenal. Yeah, he's incredible to watch.

48:40And his theater company was great. I used to go and see them. Did you ever do anything? Like, did you do a lot of theater in New York when you were? No, no. You didn't, right? I was working already. And the last play I did, in fact, Phil was there. We did. He, I think he was doing Jesus Hopped the A-Train or he was directing it. I can't remember, but we were all over. And then Gwyneth was doing Proof. And Casey Affleck and I were, and Summer were doing This Is Our Youth. And we were all in the West End in the same summer. And none of us saw each other's plays because we were on the same schedule.

49:10But we were all, it was like the Ripley reunion kind of, right? And I think Jude was like doing something that summer too, but we were all. Do you ever get a, I'm sure you get offered all the time. Do you ever want to do something on Broadway? I've thought a lot about it. It's the schedule that until my youngest is a freshman, and once she's out of the nest, I would definitely do it. Yeah. It's just not a great schedule for parenting. It's a crazy schedule. All the SNL ladies are on Broadway this summer. Like, they're all Dratch is in Rocky Horror, and Anna's in Schmigadoon, and Amaya's doing O'Meary right now.

49:45I'm, like, watching them all do it. And we've had a bunch of Broadway actors on here. I just, I, having the hardest part of your day be the end of your day every day, sometimes twice a day. It's brutal. Yeah. So hard. And I remember even if this is 20 something years ago, doing that play and I love that play and I love Kenny Lonergan. Um, but this elation coming off stage when things went, went, when it was like, oh my God, that was something. And then that would last like five minutes. And then I'd go, I have to do this twice tomorrow. And I remember thinking, why didn't someone just film that?

50:21You guys are making this so unnecessarily difficult. We could be in the can. We could be done. We could be in Toronto. We could show in Toronto. We should be at the festival. What's happening? Yeah. But yeah, I mean, you know, Cheadle is doing proof right now. Yeah, that's right. I just went and saw that, and he's fantastic. How fun were those Oceans movies, by the way? Speaking of Cheadle, that looks like, I mean, what a boondoggle. Not fun for Steven Soderbergh. Yeah, he was the one that had to make them. He actually had to. And you guys were like having cappuccino and he was like, can we roll?

50:53I mean, God, they look so fun. They look so fun. They were really fun. And it was just a wonderful group of people. And we, and the group changed, you know, it's like as the movies went along, you know, then suddenly, you know, people were married, people had babies, you know, we were loaning diapers to each other. You know what I mean? It was just a nice kind of run of life for us. You mentioned Clooney. We have a fun thing with, I don't know if you remember us and Clooney and you, because what a Hollywood thing I just said we have a fun thing me you and Clooney I know but when we when we poked fun at him at the Golden Globes he's got a great as do you great sense of humor about himself um do you know this that he made stationary yeah okay so not the first time he's done this by the way and I've told I've said this to his face I'm not talking behind his back I don't like pranks I don't fuck with pranks I'm not a prank guy either I don't like it I don't it makes me stressed He loves them enough for all of us, though.

51:49He does. Yeah. He loves them. And I'm like, don't do your weird pranks on me. And he's like, oh, OK. And anyway, Tina and I hosted the Golden Globes. We made a joke that now that you were in TV, you were basically a garbage person because you weren't there for just TV. And you weren't in the movie section anymore. And you, of course, laughed and played along with it. George Clooney made stationary pretending he was you and sent us like a strongly worded letter saying that really hurt our people. It really, really hurt my feelings. Now, did he tell you he was going to do it? Okay, got it. No, the way I found out, and by the way, the only reason I found out was because you guys sent me some, like, fruit basket or something.

52:27And I was like, I was so bewildered. We were like, we think this is a prank. That's right. Yeah, you were on it. We were covering our bases. Just in case it's not, it's a real fruit basket. But, and then I called one, I think I called Tina. I was like, what the fuck? Because she lived right down the street from me at that time. I was on the Upper West Side. And then we, you know, we put it together pretty quickly. Yeah, it was Clooney's doings. But, yeah, I guess Soderbergh is the one that has to make such a well-crafted movie. That's him. I mean, I've done, I think, 10 movies with Stephen. You've worked with him.

53:01Yeah, yeah. I will do the phone book with Stephen Soderbergh. I absolutely love working with him. What do you love about working with him? Well, he's just, he's, he's, it's like he sees the matrix. Yeah. Like, really, I mean, by the time, so when we did Behind the Candelabra in 2012. So good. But Stephen would – I'd get to work. We'd shoot a scene. I'd go home at like 5 o 'clock because Stephen operates the camera, is the editor, is the cinematographer, and the director. And I'd go home and the kids were little and we'd bathe them. We'd give them dinner, read them a story, put them to sleep. I'd come downstairs by like 8, 7.30 or 8 o 'clock.

53:51and on my iPad there was a new delivery and I'd open it up and it was the scene we shot that day fully scored as it was going to appear in the movie when it came out nine months later. Holy shit. Yeah. So for Michael and me to, you know, you're playing this relationship, which is this kind of dysfunctional relationship, a kind of descent into like drugs and, you know, and it unfolds over time. And so to calibrate the performance is difficult, but not when you can watch. Yeah. What you just did. Here's the scene that's going to happen after this. And here's the scene that just happened before this.

54:28I know. And then it's even like, all right, I'm starting on Michael's face. And you know exactly where you are at all times. Oh, God, that feels really comforting. It's unbelievable. It's like, and I always say like the only excuse an actor has, and it's a legitimate excuse if you suck in a movie, is I didn't know what movie I was in. Yeah. That's a totally fair, like, if the director just couldn't communicate the tone and didn't, you know, couldn't, it's very easy to be in the wrong movie. Here's another Soderbergh story, like, I did this movie with him, The Informant. Great movie. And yeah, I love that one.

55:02And we shot a scene where my character had to apologize to the entire town. Basically, he stood up in court. And we had the transcript of what he said, and those were my lines. And so we're in Illinois, I think it was Springfield, Illinois, in the courthouse he was actually in. And the entire cast is there because they're all sitting in the gallery, and they're the people that I need to apologize to. And so I stand up, and I start this apology, and I get legitimately choked up. I don't mean to. I'm trying not to. And I get through it. And Stephen's kind of shooting a wide shot on the other side.

55:47And I hear cut. And he walks over. And I'm sitting at the defense table. And he kind of comes up and he goes, no. I'm like, no. So fuck you, no. I go, that shit just happened, man. That was real. He goes, yeah, yeah, no, no. You're in the wrong movie. And I went, oh, OK, get me in the right movie. and he sits there and he thinks for a second and he goes, do it like an awards acceptance speech. Oh, incredible direction. Yeah, because it was like, yeah, this guy, this was this guy's moment. It wasn't, I'm admitting, it was, everyone's here for me. Yes, that's right. Like, this is incredible. This is like, wow.

56:27Yeah. Right, and I think that's what I said, like, wow. Yeah. You know, and it's like. So interesting. Now, both scenes in a vacuum. Also, like, you know, it makes sense that, like, I had a real emotion. Like, I really felt something. Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing here? It's connected to the part of me. That's how this is supposed to go. Oh, yeah. But not if you're in the wrong movie. Mm-hmm. Okay. And so Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey, we're talking about it. You're back with him again. You've made three films with him. So we do this thing where we talk to somebody before our guest comes in and talk well behind their back.

57:00And I got to talk to Christopher. and I was a little intimidated, to be honest. He's very intimidating. Wore a suit, drank tea, and is so good at directing and just such a formidable artist and like really such like the director of this decade in so many ways. And you know this because you've worked with him so many times. But he's asking a lot of you, And you just said earlier, like, that's the part that you're realizing, oh, I'm not going to complain about this. I'm actually going to, I'm going to decide that this is going to be the most, like, fulfilling, incredible experience. But it is still a physical experience.

57:43Like, it still means that you have to get in probably the best shape of your life. And as a person of similar age, it's like, it's one thing running and punching and born in your 30s. It's way different to be getting jacked in your 50s. It's really hard. It's just a complete, complete lifestyle change. Right. So everything goes away. There's no planning it. Like any other time I tried to do something like that, it was always like, well, my time, my workouts, and my thing. And this was like, no. No. Just everything. Yeah. Just put your foot on the gas, and that's it. And that's the only way to do it.

58:25Yeah. And eat a little less. But no, like no gluten. No. no gluten which changed my life are you still no gluten still no gluten you don't have any desire for it anymore because of the because of the um because of what it does to me yeah like i didn't realize the level to which i didn't know well well it's funny you say that because i feel like our generation like a lot of food allergies and stuff or whatever or sensitivities we didn't really have that like we didn't talk about that we didn't talk about it and i didn't realize the level to which it was affecting me and affecting my life. Like, like it's completely changed my life these last couple of years of not, of not eating it.

59:04And so that's made it like, it's a bummer. Yeah. Like I'm, I'm a big fan of bread, but, and beer. And you know what I mean? Like I, so, you know, pasta and pizza and all that stuff, but, but how I feel is just. So much better. Yeah. Incredible. Okay. And then, um, uh, sleep, what's your sleep situation? Do you, Do you sleep? Yeah. Do you love to sleep? I do. You've got teenagers in the house. But, you know, like once you had kids, did you ever sleep well again? No. Yeah. Like all the— It wasn't until they got older. It was this huge stretch where I didn't sleep for—I felt like for like 10 years.

59:42Yeah. I feel like I've been a lighter sleeper. But on this movie, there was—like me and the PAs, we had this kind of joke called The Odyssey Five. If you could get five hours, like you were thrilled. um that's tough yeah that's not a lot of sleep it's not a lot of sleep but it was enough yeah it was enough i get it i just but i did realize that five is the cutoff because there were some four nights there were some no nights i had two nights where i did not sleep because you were working no because i i i got home and i was like overly tired yeah yeah yeah just did that thing where i'm just sitting there and i missed the window and now i'm panicking because and you're Like, tomorrow I literally have to, like, lift a rock through the mud.

1:00:23Yeah. Like, every day. I have to do sprints tomorrow. Hardest day! All day, yeah, yeah. It seemed, like, so hard. It was hard. It was hard for everybody, though. Yes, of course. That's what made it wonderful. It's funny you talk about other departments because Chris's question for you, he had a question for you, which was basically, like, why haven't you directed? did. He said, um, and I quote, um, you would be an amazing director. You'd probably be better than me. He lies in interviews. That's his, that's his, that's a lovely thing to say. Uh, that's not true, but it's a very lovely thing to say.

1:01:03Um, I almost directed a couple of things. I almost directed that movie, Promised Land, in 2012, but I ran long on another movie and, and I, I would have had to come down home, put my bags down and leave again. And so I, I, I, I bowed out and then called Gus Van Sant, who then stepped in and directed it. So, so as a producer, I made the movie better. Right. um and then uh another movie that john krasinski and i commissioned uh kenny to write manchester by the sea and i was going to direct it and then as the script as it started to come in i was like kenny this you got to do it um and i was going to play the part and we were about to start shooting but like we were behind we couldn't get the the production office open we were like five weeks out and i called kenny and i was like i'm putting you in a position to fail here like let's take a breath and I didn't have anything for two years or I'm sorry I had worked for two years and and Kenny was ready to go and I was like all right the only person I'm giving this role to is Casey because we'd all done the play together in London and we're all friends and and and I'm like this is this is the best role that I've seen yeah in a long time um and uh but uh but we were able to we were able to get it financed with Casey and and he stole that Oscar from you.

1:02:22That's how he returned the favor. He took your fucking Oscar. I like to say I gave it to him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind that, right? Yeah, not at all. After ripping his heart open in that performance. I allowed you to have it. I allowed you. Okay, lightning round as we end. You have four girls. You've talked so much about how great it is. Do you know the fact, the research shows that the more daughters you have, the longer you live? Did you know that? I believe it. I've never heard that before yeah there's um research that says like you get like a year or something added to your life with each daughter that's great and mothers lose a year for each child they have so congrats yes of course the dads get yes doesn't matter the dads get all the years right right and the mothers wither away like that sounds totally fair um no but um having having all these women in your life, in your house, like, and, and all like, I'm, what's the biggest joy?

1:03:20Speaking about joy, what's the biggest joy about watching them get older and grow up and become real people in the world? Oh, wow. I mean, they're, they're just incredible. I mean, they're, they're all, they're so different. Um, um, and so different from one another. And are they like launching into the world now in different ways? Like they're, my, um, Um, uh, you know, I've got one about to turn 28, one who just turned 20. Um, and then we still have two in the nest, uh, 17, almost 18 and, uh, and 15. Yeah. Um, they're just, they're just amazing. They're my favorite people. Yeah. You know? Yeah.

1:03:54And I feel very lucky that, that, you know, I grew up with just a brother and it was just a side of the, the human experience that I just didn't have access to. And, and I, and I, and I got that in the, in, you know, that next chapter of my life. And it's just been beautiful. OK, and your comfort watch. What are you like? You know, I was thinking about it. I was like, wow, when Matt's like changing the channels and watching movies, there must be a lot of times where you're like, I was in that. I work with that person. You know, like I almost got that part. There's a lot of movies that you've been in and a lot of movies that you know a lot about or that you've produced or that.

1:04:29So what is a comfort watch? One that you can watch where you can check out and be like, if it's on, I'm watching it. Usually Will Ferrell's movies, you know, like in our house, you kind of can't go wrong with him. Like he—we've watched, you know, Step Brothers and Talladega Nights and, you know, again and again and again. Yeah. Blades of Glory, too. Oh, my God. Because, you know, and Will Speck is a great friend of ours. Yes, that's right. Will's great. And that is one of the—that's definitely in the pantheon. Oh, my God. That movie, how fun and dumb that movie is. It's so genius. Okay. And water, how do we fix it?

1:05:07Oh, my gosh. Wow. And this is a speed round. But, I mean, I've been reading the work you're doing. It's incredible. What should we be doing? What can we do? You could go check out water.org, and you can donate directly. Or there's this new—we have Get Blue, which we launched this summer, which is if you see anything that says Get Blue on it, if it's—or if, you know, there's hoodies and T-shirts at The Gap. Let's say Get Blue, you can go to Starbucks and get a blue matcha or a coconut refresher, and proceeds from that will go to water.org and do the work we're doing. And we've reached 92 million people so far, which is really something.

1:05:47Because we do it through microfinance, through these small microloans. And had we stayed with drilling wells, it would have taken us 600 years to get to where we are right now. So it's scaling. It's a sustainable solution. And there's a lot more to be done. It's amazing. Talk about the Odyssey, man. Yeah, that's a big one. 600 years is too long. Okay, so last question I ask everybody. Anything you're watching right now that's making you laugh? A video? A scene from a show? I literally, last night. Okay, great. So my kids are watching this thing called Love Island. Oh, yeah. The teens are obsessed.

1:06:27I couldn't do it. I can't do it. I get too much embarrassment. Yeah, I couldn't. But before—and we literally sat down. We had some friends visiting. Then they have a teenage daughter, and they're staying with us. And so the kids at dinner were like, we're going to watch this thing. So we sat down, and it didn't come on until 9. And so we're flicking, and there's something called Temptation Island. Oh, yeah. And so we look at the little thing, and I'm like, you guys want to give this a shot for an hour before Love Island comes on? And I mean, it was it did not disappoint. Am I wrong that Temptation Island is if you make out or have sex, you're out?

1:07:06No, I from what I could understand. OK, that's that's called too hot to something. I watched I watched episode one of season two last night and it was they introduced these four couples. Four unmarried couples. Yeah. Four unmarried couples. Travel to a tropical island to have their fidelity tested. so they bring in people they bring in hot singles

1:07:33it was so funny so they bring in these you know the hot singles and all the guys come in and like rip their shirts off and they're like you made a mistake bringing her here bro

1:07:46I don't know how long you'll last we did make it through an episode but it was really funny oh that's great And my friend, she was, she was, she's visiting with her daughter and we were howling. But, um, but it's these four couples and you're like, and, you know, and the kids are like trying to, they're taking bets on which couples are going to make it. And I'm like, you know, guys, I doubt if they all just were faithful to each other, there wouldn't be much of a show. So I have a feeling. I have a feeling someone's going to buckle. We're going to see some cracks in the veneer. Also the acting exercise of having to come in and be so confident.

1:08:20It's unbelievable. Like I'm breaking you guys up. I know. I know. It's unbelievable. The women and the men, they're just—you've never seen more confident people. Couples get all—you know, they do these in-depth interviews and then, you know, where they're—where it's just like, you know, he's had a problem with fidelity in the past. But this time it's going to be fun. This time he's going to prove it by going to Temptation Island. And, like, you see these guys. Like, they get split up into—so the four guys who are in the couples, they get split up from their partner, and they go into a house with these, you know, 10 gorgeous women.

1:08:53Yeah, some honeypots over there. And, like, you see them. These guys start to crack within 30 seconds. They're like, well, I mean, I didn't know it was going to be like this. I mean, what is a man supposed to do? And it's also the, they're like, they're all in their 20s. And they're all like, you know, I mean, she really means a lot to me. We've been together for 15 months.

1:09:19it's like i mean after six months i mean i had my lapse and i was unfaithful to her but since then i've been and you're just like this is a fucking disaster i don't know if i'll hang in there i made it through one episode we had some laughs i love that the kid your kids are like i don't know they seem pretty in love and you're like i have a feeling someone's gonna fall just from a writing perspective i can tell you we're gonna need some a little more conflict it would be so sad too for that casting and they're like good news is you got temptation island oh my god exciting bad news is you're not coming in to tempt any of the people why not you just thought it would be better if you were the lady that worked at the island

1:09:59well matt thank you so much for coming and doing this was such a blast and congrats on this incredible movie and all the work you do and um thanks so much for being here i appreciate it Thanks, guys. Well, thank you so much, Matt Damon, hometown hero of mine, Boston boy done good. Thank you for coming. And what a pleasure to talk to you. And your work is incredible. So congrats on that and keep doing it. And for this Polar Plunge, you know, Matt talked very briefly about something that he created, a global nonprofit at water.org. But what it really is, is an incredible organization founded by himself and Gary White.

1:10:41And they provide micro loans to, you know, make sure that there's clean water and proper sanitation all over the world. So it's pretty awesome. I mean, sometimes on these plunges, I talk about, oh, I don't know a song I'm listening to. Or I could use this plunge to, you know, goof around about The Martian. But no, I want to just remind you to go donate time, energy or money to water.org and go see the Odyssey. I mean, the Odyssey doesn't need me to pump it. Everyone in the world is going to go see it. OK, thanks for listening. Good for Good Hang. OK, bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman and me, Amy Poehler.

1:11:29The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.

1:11:50Turn it up! Storm has zero sugar and 200 milligrams of caffeine, so you can turn that workout up a notch. Good energy in, good energy out. Energy for life.