Matt Damon has starred in perhaps some of the most remarkable films of this generation, the likes of which include the all-time classic Interstellar, the poignantly provoking Saving Private Ryan, and last year’s blockbuster Oppenheimer, to name a few.
Over the years, the actor and producer has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the industry’s pioneering filmmakers, including 3-time Oscar winner Steven Spielberg. Despite being one of the lead stars in a Spielberg knockout, however, Damon’s favorite film of the director is a completely different one.
Matt Damon’s Favorite Steven Spielberg Movie Is Not Saving Private Ryan
There’s no doubt that the Tom Hanks-led World War II film is one of Steven Spielberg‘s most phenomenal masterpieces. Even at the box office, Saving Private Ryan was a cosmic success with more than $481 million worth of earnings worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). But for Matt Damon – who also starred in the 1998 movie – another Spielberg creation takes the cake.
In a conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, Damon, 53, admitted that Spielberg’s Jaws – which reflects the filmmaker’s “unbelievable mastery” owing to it being an open water shoot – holds a position in his Top 5 favorites.
That’s a terrifying, perfect movie. It’s simple and kind of perfect and beautiful. It’s early Spielberg, and it just shows … I mean, I know it was a mistake that the shark wasn’t ready, but the idea of not seeing the shark is just absolutely brilliant. It tapped into the most primal and terrifying aspects of swimming in the ocean.
The 1975 thriller was concomitantly the 77-year-old’s third shot at directing and the breakthrough project that propelled him toward heights of success. Based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley of the same name, the Spielberg-helmed adaptation also turned out to be both a box office and cultural phenomenon. So, Damon’s answer was spot on, to say the least.
Steven Spielberg Made Matt Damon’s Life Hell But It Paid Off
If there’s one thing the E.T. director is especially famous for, it’s his penchant for authenticity, something which would turn out to be Damon’s worst nightmare on the set of Saving Private Ryan, albeit it was for the greater good of the film.
To translate the essence of battle in his work, Spielberg made his cast attend an army boot camp which made the actors’ lives wretched for almost a week straight. Meanwhile, the Jason Bourne star was exempted from the grueling army training which ultimately made the rest of the actors loathe him. “He made me not go to boot camp so that the other guys would resent me,” Damon told GQ.
The idea behind this was that Damon’s absence from the camp which everyone else was obligated to partake in would help the cast channel their actual resentment in the movie. This would, in turn, capture their raw and strikingly real emotions as they put their lives on the line to save the titular character Ryan played by the Good Will Hunting star. And boy did it work wonders.
Saving Private Ryan can be streamed on Paramount+ or rented on Apple TV+.
