Matt Damon’s Hollywood career has been defined by diverse films and roles across genres that have earned the actor the title of being one of the most bankable stars in the industry. From action to drama to comedy, The Martian star has covered the whole gamut of characters without being typecast in any particular genre.
Apart from his acting chops, Damon’s expertise has extended to screenwriting and production as well. The star won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay along with his long-time buddy and colleague Ben Affleck for Good Will Hunting. The two friends have taken their relationship one step further by starting their own production company called Artists’ Equity. Despite making intelligent film choices over the years, a few films that Damon was in, met with criticism from different corners including from the actor himself.
Matt Damon Regretted Doing The Great Wall
In 2016, Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal starred in The Great Wall, a story about two European mercenaries who are imprisoned by the Chinese Emperor in The Great Wall of China and join forces with the local army to protect the kingdom from destruction. The film received positive responses at the box office, making over 350 million dollars worldwide while filmed on a 150 million dollar budget.
But not all opinions of the movie were favorable. While Damon and filmmaker Zhang Yimou were criticized for making a film that glorified the concept of the “white savior”, Damon himself was dissatisfied with the way the script had panned out. Speaking of the original ideas that did not make the cut due to monetary complications, the actor said,
“I was like, ‘This is exactly how disasters happen, It doesn’t cohere. It doesn’t work as a movie. That’s as s***ty as you can feel creatively, I think. I hope to never have that feeling again.”
Damon went on to further confess that he regretted doing the film as he felt it was doomed right from the outset. He also mentioned that he receives flak from his daughters even today for being a part of the film.
Matt Damon Is Basking In the Success Of Air
The first project to hit the screens from the production house of long-time friends and associates Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, is the Amazon Prime original, Air. This inspiring sports film follows one of basketball’s greatest legends Michael Jordan and his association with the iconic brand Nike, which resulted in the Air Jordan shoes. Both Damon and Affleck have also starred in the film with The Talented Mr Ripley actor playing the role of Sonny Viccaro, the pioneering Nike executive behind the Air Jordan shoes.
Air opened to positive reviews with fans of Michael Jordan being emotionally invested in the basketball icon’s relationship with Nike. The reunion of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as professional partners and on-screen co-stars which was highly anticipated by fans, also succeeded in meeting the lofty expectations. Matt Damon’s next collaboration with Affleck for Artists’ Equity will be another true-life sports drama titled Unstoppable which will see the Argo director and his wife Jennifer Lopez sharing screen space after 20 years.
Source: Parade
