Matt Damon in "The Bourne Supremacy"
courtesy of Universal Studios
"A Meeting With Matt"

Matt Damon in person looks just like he does on screen, plus his personality comes across as even warmer in real life. At least this was the impression I got when I talked with him in Atlanta last week. He was there to promote his movie "The Bourne Supremacy" and even though it was the first time we had met, it was like running into an old friend again.

What I liked about him best was his humility. He showed a lot of it when I asked about his being cast as Jason Bourne in the first film, which was titled "The Bourne Identity," and now being cast again in this one. I confessed that when I had read Robert Ludlum's books, on which the films are based, he was not the actor I immediately put into the role.

"Hey, me either," he answered. "When they came to me to talk about the project I was giving them suggestions for actors to play the part. It didn't dawn on me they wanted me to play Jason Bourne. I was shocked as anybody when I realized they wanted me to do it."

I told him that although he was good in the first film, I think he is better in this one. I apologized in advance for making this backhanded compliment and assured him I didn't think he was bad in the first one.

"No," he said with a laugh. "I appreciate it. I don't know if I got any better. I think I just got older."

He still doesn't look his age, which is thirty-three, but he is intense and almost scary in the movie. He portrays a true action hero in the film and is believable in all the chase scenes and fight scenes.

Since this is a sequel and his next film "Ocean's Twelve" is a sequel, I asked him if he made the originals of these movies with sequels in mind. "No I didn't" he replied. "I think 'The Bourne Identity' is a stand alone film, and I certainly wouldn't have considered this one if I didn't think we could make it better. And I hope we did."

Jokingly I asked if we would see a sequel to "Saving Private Ryan" since Damon had the title role in that film.

"I think we have seen the last of Jimmy Ryan," he said.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won the Oscar a few years back for their screenplay for "Good Will Hunting." And more recently they have been involved in the "Project Greenlight" series on HBO. So knowing Damon is a writer, I gave him a copy of my first book JOURNEY OF A GENTLE SOUTHERN MAN.

He got so excited when I presented it to him. "I didn't know you're a writer," he said. "This is great. I love southern stories. I will start reading this tonight!"

Now he is either an even better actor than I thought, or he is a truly nice guy who was really pleased by the gift. I prefer to think it is the latter.

Be sure and catch nice guy Matt Damon playing a steely-eyed killer in "The Bourne Supremacy" which is now playing in theaters nationwide.

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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