Matt Damon has a new interview in Parade Magazine promoting his new Clint Eastwood film, Hereafter, out in the US today. Damon stars as a reluctant psychic helping people contact their departed loved ones. With Parade, Damon talks about his goals in life and how having children has made him confront his own mortality. He’s currently expecting his third biological child with his wife, Luciana. Luciana also has a daughter from her first marriage and is about to have her fourth girl!

He touches on a lot of subjects, including the reboot of the Bourne series without his involvement, which he admits finding out about on the Internet. When Damon answers questions about whether he believes in paranormal phenomenon like mediumship you can tell that he doesn’t but that he’s trying to remain open to it for the sake of his role. It sounds like he did the film out of respect for director Clint Eastwood, with whom he’s worked in the past.

Talking with the dead.
“I’ve never met anyone with the power, but I do believe that it is possible. I’m open to that idea. I don’t know that I’d go to a séance, but who knows? If I got a recommendation from somebody I trusted like, ‘You should go to this guy’s séance because he really seems legit…’ What the hell? I’d probably check it out.”

Facing the grim reaper.
“I do contemplate my own mortality. Whenever you lose people, it’s something you think about a lot and having kids is another thing that makes you give it some thought. Like most people, I’ve dealt with death, starting with my grandfather and then various friends, and it came in various ways, expected and unexpected. There’s nothing we can do. We all gotta get there at some point. But, I sure am curious about what’s next. I’m hopeful, too. That’s about all I can say. Who knows? Maybe the light just goes out, but we’ll all find out.”

What he tells his kids.
“I think what’s important for kids to know is that your decisions here on earth matter, your behavior matters, and how you treat other people matters. It matters here and I’m hoping that it matters in the afterlife, too. It just comes down to accountability for your own behavior that’s important. So whenever I talk to my own kids or whenever they ask, I try and put the hereafter in kind of an ethical framework. If I had a bucket list, I’d say raising my four girls to be strong, good women would be number one.”

The family is big enough.
“My wife is about to have our fourth kid and we’ve drawn a line in the sand. This is it. Our lives are full and wonderful and we’re done having kids. Lucy is in her third trimester for the fourth time and I think that’s about enough to ask of any woman. I don’t want to turn her into Ethel Kennedy.”

The second time around with Clint.
“He called me and I was terrified at first that I wouldn’t be able to do it because I was doing another film. That was heartbreaking. But, it all worked out because he shot a lot of the movie without me and then I did my scenes at the end. He’s such an incredible person to work for because he’s just so calm and he creates a really nice atmosphere and everyone feels really privileged to be working with him. The amazing thing is how fast he works. He can knock off a bunch of shots in a couple of hours that would take another director a whole day.”

Passing the big four-oh.
“My birthday was just a few weeks ago. We had my family, a bunch of my friends and we rented the back room in a bowling alley and had a big party. It was fun. But I have to tell you, 40 feels a lot like 39.”

Farewell to Bourne.
“I found out they’re making another when somebody saw it on the Internet. Nobody bothered to call me. I’m not in it, but even so, they’ll work Bourne into the title I guess. Universal just wants to call everything the Bourne something. So I guess they are trying to make another franchise and as they say, ‘It isn’t over until it’s over.’”

[From Parade]

I love reading and seeing interviews with Damon because he’s such an interesting thoughtful guy that doesn’t pull any punches. Occasionally that gets him into trouble, but he’s really mellowed lately and seems to adore his wife and family. It’s been a pleasure to follow his career and I look forward to seeing what’s next for him.

Hereafter looks intense and somewhat manipulative in that it portrays the recent Tsunami and London bombing tragedies in a melodramatic way. The trailer got me all welled up, and then I read this account on Gawker, in which they mildly call out the film for toying with our emotions. We’ll have to see how it does with critics and at the box office, and if Damon’s role garners attention during awards season.

Here’s the trailer:

Matt Damon is shown outside the Late Show on 10/12/10. Credit: WENN.com

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