American actor Matt Damon made his film debut with a small role in Mystic Pizza (1988), after which he played several supporting roles. His first leading role was in the legal drama film The Rainmaker (1997). His breakthrough came later that year when he played the title role of an unrecognized genius in Good Will Hunting, which he also co-wrote with Ben Affleck. They won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Damon was nominated for Best Actor. He followed it by playing the title roles of a soldier in Steven Spielberg's war drama Saving Private Ryan (1998) and of the criminal Tom Ripley in the thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), both of which gained critical and commercial success. Damon and Sean Bailey worked on the television series Project Greenlight since 2000, helping newcomers make their first film.

Damon's profile continued to expand in the 2000s, as he took on starring roles in two lucrative film franchises. He played a con man in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Trilogy (2001–2007) and played the titular spy Jason Bourne in four films of the Bourne series (2002–2016). Damon played an energy analyst in the thriller film Syriana (2005) and starred in Martin Scorsese's acclaimed crime film The Departed (2006). He played the rugby player Francois Pienaar in the sports film Invictus (2009), gaining a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Damon continued to gain praise for his collaborations with Soderbergh on the crime film The Informant! (2009) and the drama Behind the Candelabra (2013). His portrayal of Scott Thorson in the latter earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Damon's biggest commercial successes in the 2010s came with the western True Grit (2010), and the science fiction films Elysium (2013) and The Martian (2015). In the latter, which earned over $630 million to become his highest-grossing release, he played a botanist stranded on Mars, for which he received an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Interstellar (2014) earned over $670 million, with Damon in a minor role. Following a series of poorly received films, Damon had a success in the sports drama Ford v Ferrari (2019), in which he portrayed Carroll Shelby. He co-wrote, produced, and starred as Jean de Carrouges in the period drama The Last Duel (2021), which despite positive reviews was not financially profitable. In 2023, Damon portrayed Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro in Affleck's acclaimed sports drama Air. Damon appeared in back-to-back Christopher Nolan films, first in Oppenheimer (2023) as Leslie Groves and next in The Odyssey (2026) as the titular character Odysseus. Film

+ YearTitleRoleNotes 1988 Mystic Pizza Steamer Windsor Extra 1989 Field of Dreams Extra Uncredited 1992 School Ties 1993 Geronimo: An American Legend 1995 Glory Daze 1996 Courage Under Fire Specialist Ilario 1997 Chasing Amy Good Will Hunting Also screenwriter 1998 Saving Private Ryan Rounders 1999 Dogma Loki 2000 Titan A.E. Cale Voice role Finding Forrester Cameo All the Pretty Horses 2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Himself Cameo Ocean's Eleven Voice role 2002 Gerry Gerry Also screenwriter and editor Stolen Summer Producer only Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Spirit Voice role Kevin Cameo; also executive producer Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Bachelor Matt Cameo Speakeasy Executive producer only 2003 Executive producer only Stuck on You 2004 EuroTrip Donny Cameo Jersey Girl PR Exec #2 Cameo Ocean's Twelve Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train Narrator Documentary 2005 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Documentary Syriana Feast Executive producer only 2006 2007 Ocean's Thirteen Youth Without Youth Uncredited Running the Sahara Narrator Documentary; also executive producer 2008 Che: Part Two Father Schwarz Kōichi Voice role 2009 Invictus 2010 Teenage Paparazzo Himself Documentary Green Zone Hereafter True Grit LaBoeuf Inside Job Narrator Documentary 2011 Contagion Margaret Mr. Aaron Happy Feet Two Bill the Krill Voice role We Bought a Zoo 2012 Promised Land Also screenwriter and producer Radioman Himself Documentary 2013 Behind the Candelabra Elysium Management 2014 Himself Documentary Interstellar 2015 2016 Manchester by the Sea Producer only Jason Bourne Also producer 2017 Bending the Arc Documentary; executive producer only Downsizing Suburbicon Thor: Ragnarok Loki Actor Uncredited cameo 2018 Unsane Cameo Deadpool 2 Redneck #1 Cameo; credited as "Dickie Greenleaf" Ocean's 8 Cameo in deleted scene 2019 Ford v Ferrari Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Loki Cameo 2021 No Sudden Move Uncredited cameo Stillwater Also screenwriter and producer 2022 Thor: Love and Thunder Loki Actor Cameo 2023 Air Sonny Vaccaro Also producer and writer: additional literary material (uncredited) Oppenheimer General Leslie Groves 2024 Drive-Away Dolls Senator Gary Channel Cameo IF Sunny Voice role Small Things like These Producer only The Instigators Rory Also producer Unstoppable Executive producer only 2025Kiss of the Spider Woman Executive producer only The Accountant 2 Executive producer only 2026 Influenced Himself Cameo The Rip Lt. Dane Dumars Also producer The Odyssey Odysseus scope=row Post-production; producer only 2027scope=row (working title) Filming

Television

+ YearTitleRoleNotes 1990 Rising Son Television film 1995 2001–2005, 2015 Project Greenlight Himself Executive producer 2002 Push, Nevada Himself Episode: "Keep It on the Short Grass" Will & Grace Owen Episode: "A Chorus Lie" 2002, 2018, 2026 Saturday Night Live Himself / host, Brett Kavanaugh 4 episodes 2003–2014 Journey to Planet Earth Narrator Documentary; 9 episodes 2006–present Jimmy Kimmel Live! Himself Talk show; 26 episodes 2007 Arthur Himself (voice) Episode: "The Making of Arthur/Dancing Fools" 2009 Entourage Himself Episode: "Give a Little Bit" Narrator Documentary; executive producer 2010 Cubed Himself Episode: "Welcome Matt Damon" 2010–2011 30 Rock 4 episodes 2013 House of Lies Himself Episode: "Damonschildren.org" 2014 Years of Living Dangerously Documentary; episode: "A Dangerous Future" 2015 Television movie; executive producer 2016 Executive producer Incorporated 2019–2022 City on a Hill 2024 We Were the Lucky Ones 2025 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Himself Teamed up with Ken Jennings to win one million dollars for the charity Water.org.

See also List of awards and nominations received by Matt Damon Footnotes

References

External links