Matt Damon: on fatherhood and acting

Two quotes from a Sunday Times interview with Matt Damon, star of the Bourne series of movies. He and his wife, Luciana Barroso, have a 14 month old baby daughter and despite all the money and lavish lifestyle, they have some of the same experiences all new parents have ..

“Sometimes I wish I could go back to sleeping on the couch,” he says. “I think back to those days when I was sleeping on friends’ couches. For years I had two duffel bags and I went from set to set and everything I had in the world was in those two bags. I didn’t have a house. I had nothing. And I loved that and there was incredible freedom in it; I could be in and out of a place in a minute – I could have everything on my body and moving. And now I have 20 bags and cribs and strollers and Pack ’n Plays.”

Last night my daughter was up all night,” he says, rubbing his eyes. “My wife tries to help me when I’m working – she tries to do everything at night so I can rest, but the reality is that when you’re in a room with a baby who’s crying it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re the one who’s changing the diaper, you’re still going to be awake.

“Halfway through the movie Paul Greengrass [the director] looked at me and said, ‘You look terrible.’ I told him, ‘I’m sorry. I’m awake all night with the baby’, to which he said, ‘No, it’s really good. She came along just at the right time – she’s really helping your performance.’ In the previous two Bourne films I’d have to achieve that same ragged look by staying out all night in Paris.”

Not all of us have to jet across the world or party all night in Paris to look grubby in the morning but you get the idea. When a baby comes along your life is turned upside down!

Finally, first I’ve heard of him, but apparently Jimmy Kimmel has a long running gag surrounding Matt Damon. Unfortunately Matt “freaks out” when he finally gets on the show.

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