Matt Damon on the paparazzi: Brad Pitt threw a burger and Ben Affleck drove for hours


Matt Damon is on the cover of Parade Magazine this week to promote the new Cameron Crowe film, We Bought a Zoo. I keep seeing ads for it and I’m hoping that the film is a success. There’s been some buzz that it will suffer due to the exotic zoo tragedy in Ohio, and probably as a result they’ve focused some public service ads on raising awareness of large cat conservation. In Parade, Damon discusses fame, privacy and his family, which are common themes for his interviews. He also compares his situation to Brad Pitt’s, which he’s done before, and says that as opposed to Pitt the paparazzi leave him and his family alone. Parade has some outtakes (we’ve excerpted some below and there’s more here) in which tells a couple of awesome stories about Pitt and Ben Affleck. He also drops an interesting new tidbit here, especially for a Bourne fan like me. Damon reveals that he deliberately didn’t go shirtless in even the first Bourne movie when he was in the best shape of his life. (I disagree, he was too thin there and needed to gain a few.) The way I read it, he realized that it was a slippery slope and that if he started going beefcake in the first movie, he’d have to do it for years to come. That sucks for us. Here’s more:

Despite his movie star status, Damon keeps his life private, especially compared to some of his famous friends.
“Brad and Angie, there’s much more pressure on them than there is on me. He [Pitt] asked me what my everyday is like. I said, ‘Well, I grab the kids from school, and then we go over to the park.’ And he was just looking at me, like, ‘How can you do that?’ Because he can’t.”

Damon’s theory on why he can keep a low profile:
“I’ve been left alone, even by the paparazzi, because what sells is sex and scandal. Absent that, they really don’t have much interest in you. I’m still married, still working, still happy.”

On being the father of four girls, ranging in age from 13 months to 13 years:
“I jumped into the deep end with Lucy. I mean, Alexia was already 4. I was an extra dad…The only way I can describe it – it sounds stupid, but – at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows, like, five times its size? Everything is full; it’s just full all the time.”

On staying away from shirtless scenes:
“On the first Bourne movie, I was in the best shape of my life, and we purposely never did a shot of me with my shirt off. There’s one scene where [Bourne’s lover] is pulling the shirt over my head, but what the camera sees are the two bullet holes in my back. It’s not gratuitous; there’s a point to it. I try to stay away from the beefcake shots.”

On the paparazzi plaguing his famous friends.
“Brad [Pitt] has told me stories. . . . He threw a cheeseburger at somebody. The guy had followed him to the drive-thru and Brad was like, ‘Can I just eat my cheeseburger?’ The guy pulled up next to him and Brad ended up throwing it at him, and they both looked at each other in total shock for a long moment. Neither of them could believe that it happened, you know? And then the guy went to raise his camera, and Brad sped off. So he did not get the picture. Brad left that experience feeling like, ‘Well, I didn’t get to eat my cheeseburger. I really wanted it.'”

“At the height of the whole thing with Jennifer Lopez, I remember Ben [Affleck] telling me about one of his days off. It was a Sunday, and I think he’d been shooting, like, six-day weeks. The gas tank in his car was full, and he pulled out of the driveway where they were living, and there were 20 cars there waiting. He just drove toward San Francisco, checking the gas gauge. When it was halfway full, he turned around and drove all the way back– driving for five, six hours. He never got out of the car. I saw him after that, and it was a circus, people taking pictures. I said, ‘How are you doing this?’ And he told me that story. He said, ‘I was so angry at these guys for invading my life, that I was taking the very little free time I had and wasting it, in order to get back at them.’ I think he kind of broke through to this other place. He said, ‘I just can’t give it any more energy.'”

[From Parade]

That story about Affleck driving around for hours reminds me of when Britney used to do the same thing just to get some peace. Damon also talks about working with John Krasinski and Dave Eggers on writing a screenplay, and about how he doesn’t tie his identity to his fame or movies. I love reading his interviews, he’s wise and has a lot to say. The print edition of Parade will have even more on Sunday, and I’ll be sure to pick it up. I’m also really looking forward to We Bought a Zoo. It looks cheesy, but if anyone can pull that movie off without making it too schmaltzy, it’s Damon.

Also, he looks so much better with hair than he does bald, but I’ll take him either way.

Here’s Damon outside the Late Show on 12/6/11. You can watch his interview here. He comes on at 24:00 in. Photo credit: Fame

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63 Responses to “Matt Damon on the paparazzi: Brad Pitt threw a burger and Ben Affleck drove for hours”

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  1. atlantapug says:

    Maybe his friends can learn from him that marrying/hooking up with famous women will also bring on the paps.

    There’s plenty of great, non-famous women out there to date and marry fellas.

    • JJ says:

      Great logic you have!
      So essentially, a famous person does not have the right to marry or date who they want? Unless, of course it is a non-famous woman. Seriously, Aplug, what the eff kind of mentality is this? Because a famous person dates another famous person they deserve the glare of the paparazzi and to be stalked 24/7? They’re ‘asking’ for it? Um, this isn’t quite sound to me. I don’t think someone famous deserved to be punished with constant paparazzi presence because they love someone else who is famous.

      • Me says:

        I don’t think that was exactly what the previous poster meant. Just if you make certain choices, certain events play out vice other events. That includes in HW who you choose for a mate can lower or heighten your profile in the media. Which is common knowledge to these stars. Some of them actively play the game, but some are bewildered that a Matt Damon (who has no drama and is a big star) can stay out of the tabs and they cannot. He’s just identifying the differences why.

      • Guesty says:

        Why are you so self-righteously offended by a different opinion? (You: “I’m not! I’m not!!” Me: “Re-read your post, particularly the first sentence.”)

        Matt Damon is not going to look up your IP address and try and become your BFF because you ‘defended’ him on a gossip blog.

    • semi says:

      paps don’t care if you marry rich,poor,fame,lame etc if there is anything scandalous better believe they’ll hunt you down to get it.

  2. sassenach says:

    Why does he always talk about Pitt and Angelina every time he does an interview? It’s starting to get creepy like Timberlake/Gosling. He has done it at least three times before this interview.

    • toto says:

      George clooney and Matt Damon always bring their friend (Brad)in their interview i noticed that too ,guess they reporters asks them about him.

      • sassenach says:

        I can’t speak for Clooney but in Matt’s case he definitely brings it up. He is usually asked about his privacy and then begins to talk about Brad and Angelina. He initiates talking about them all of the time.

    • Nan says:

      Well, if he’s talking about Brad/Angie, Ben, or George etc… then he’s NOT talking about himself. It’s a great smoke and mirrors trick if you ask me.

      • Veruca says:

        I think there’s that point, but also the fact that these people are his friends.

        I’m sure when Brange decided to choose fame as a lifestyle, they never anticipated that they’d never get a break. (The cheeseburger story is very sad.) I think Matt’s trying to show that Brad & Angie are people and not just enigmas.

        And if it helps promote his movie, then two birds just got whacked with one rock.

        No harm done (unless you’re a bird).

      • Sakyiwaa says:

        Lol! Thank goodness, I’m not a bird…
        U know. Paltrow gets called out for all her name-dropping… So this isnt exactly endearing in Damon…

  3. Samigirl says:

    He is one of the few actors I can say nothing bad about. He seems like a genuinely lovely person. And the thing about being a father? Swoon.

  4. mln76 says:

    I love Matt he’s such a gossip. That cheeseburger story cracks me up.

  5. ShanKat says:

    Hot guy Friday!!! Woop woop!

  6. Sara says:

    He gets better and better with age. Like him more now than I ever have!

  7. k says:

    I love Matt but he’s no saint. He didn’t treat Minnie Driver very well, from what I’ve read. I think she heard about their breakup from the media, not from him.

  8. lucy2 says:

    Whatever he’s doing is working, and others should learn from it. He’s a A list actor who works quite a lot and has a high profile, involved in many things, but for the most part gets to live privately. That’s awesome.

  9. elle says:

    Maybe he should realize most people don’t care about him!

  10. M says:

    “Brad left that experience feeling like, ‘Well, I didn’t get to eat my cheeseburger. I really wanted it.’””

    That made me laugh out loud. I would have been p*ssed too if someone came between me and my cheeseburger. I don’t how they deal with that on a daily basis.

  11. Julie says:

    In love….

  12. Happymom says:

    Brad and Angie (and I like them) absolutely use the papparazzi when they need to promote something. Matt Damon doesn’t-and he certainly could. So I take all of the “oh my poor famous friends with no privacy” with a large grain of salt.

    • Kit says:

      IA.
      I only empathize with the ‘poor me, these paps are making my life miserable’, when they haven’t used them to promote something or raise their PR profile. Once you’ve called the paps or told them where to find you, that ship has sailed IMO.
      Of course it is intrusive etc, but you can’t have it both ways or your way all the time.
      That Alec Baldwin sitch with AA has really shown me how spoiled some of these people are and how they need things to always work in their favor.
      Matt Damon seems like one of the reasonable ones – they’re rare in that world.

    • Not Really says:

      I disagree- Matt couldn’t “use” the paps unless they followed him (they don’t) or he called them (can’t see him doing that). Brad and Angelina have the paps follow them EVERYWHERE, so their work and promotional events get documented the same way the intrusive backyard and leaving the movies shots get documented. I like all of the actors involved, but Brad & Angelina simply make better, more popular movies- they don’t need paps or tabloids to sell them and I don’t think Matt D would get better box office (it’s been a long while since Bourne)if the paps followed him constantly. I think I was one of the few people that liked Invictus.

      • Lucy says:

        and Hereafter was horrible…what a boring movie….

      • Emma says:

        Matt Damon signs on to most of his films because they’re personal for him, not because he sees big box office from them. He has said that many, many times. He said he is blessed to have done the Bourne films, and he owes the Jason Bourne character a lot, because it allows him to do the smaller, more indy type of films that he likes. Neither “Invictus,” “Hereafter,” or “The Adjustment Bureau” were ever intended to make a huge box office. He did “Invictus” because he wanted to work with Clint Eastwood and liked the idea of making a film about Nelson Mandella. He made “Hereafter” as a personal favor to Clint Eastwood, and he made “The Adjustment Bureau” as a personal favor to George Nolfi, who is one of the ‘Bourne’ writers.

        The bonus of filming “The Adjustment Bureau” in New York City was that while there, he and his family fell in love with the city. After they all survived the first winter there, they took a family vote and moved there. He has said how amazed he is to be able to hang out in the park with his family, walk his kids to school and do his daily run through Central Park without being hassled. In the two plus years they’ve now lived there, I think I’ve only seen two random Pap pictures of Matt taking is kids to school or walking down the street. That’s just too cool.

        Matt is in “We Bought a Zoo,” because Benjamin Mee (the guy whose real life story and memoir the film is based upon) told Fox that he wanted Matt Damon to play him in the film. Mr. Mee said in a video interview (you can google it) that he’s always admired Matt’s apparent humility and humor, and thought he would do a great job portraying him in the film.

        Hopefully, the next ‘blockbuster’ for Matty D will be “Elysium,” which has a $120 million production budget. The film is directed by Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”) and is due for release in March 2013. Incidentally, “Elysium” is why Matt Damon has been bald since late Spring.

  13. gg says:

    If it were me I’d fill up a supersoaker with boiling hot coffee and spray the fokkers with it.

    • Trillion says:

      I know! They are a pestilence. It’d be nice if they could stick with the ones who crave their attention (no need to name names) and leave the others alone.

  14. kelly says:

    Ben is lucky he had his good friend to lean on .I think this is why Ben has be so happy lately.Because he knows he could have been in Marc’s place .After being married with kids to be replaced by a vanilla ice looking wanna- be dancer and ugly to boot.Thank your lucky stars Ben you avoided a disaster

  15. Franny says:

    Its interesting to get glimpses of the celebrities lives. I never really think outside of “look at her cute shoes!” and “I want someone to do my makeup every day and get paid to make appearences (instead of sitting in a lab getting paid not a lot”

    but you can’t even go to the park with your kids? that sucks.

  16. P.J. says:

    How refreshing, that he deliberately avoided becoming a sex symbol! Matt was really taking a risk to do that, I respect that a lot. Compare him to all the actors & actresses who can’t wait to take their clothes off and flaunt their sexuality. Matt is such a class act.

  17. Kara Ann says:

    Love Matt Damon! That’s all.

  18. cmc says:

    Matt Damon was staying at the hotel I work this week and he is SO nice!! He took pictures with a bunch of the employees hanging out and smoking by the employee entrance (them, not him) while he waited for his car, and they said he just chatted with them and was super friendly and kind. What a cool guy.

  19. GoodCapon says:

    Wow, Ben spent almost all his gas tank in one drive?

  20. Cathy says:

    Matt’s a good actor, handsome to (nice butt) I’m glad that he get’s to have a private life. You couldn’t give me enough money to put up with what some of these “stars” deal with.

  21. Moi says:

    I love love love him.

  22. laylajanelovesgossip says:

    I love this guy<3

  23. Annaloo says:

    While I know that the paparazzi can be way too invasive, part of me really doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for ANY star griping about them … aside from the multi-million dollar paychecks, lavish lifestyles and all the benefits of being a Hollywood star, paps are also what many need to stay relevant for fame survival.

    I mean, Mr or Miss Movie Star could have chosen another career path, but they went to Hollywood and were one of the very lucky few who made it big. Suck it up & STFU.

  24. kieslowski says:

    I love this guy so much, he is a great actor and does not play the fame game not does he do the whole media / image manipulation. Really enjoy him as an actor.

    Everyone please rent see his movie The Green ZOne” so good.

  25. Original Chloe says:

    I really really really like Matt Damon.

  26. E says:

    Eh, this is my theory on brangelina. the paps were always going to follow them like crazy no matter what, so why not use them for their own advantage? I do feel the paps have gotten worse though. My friend works for a tabloid rag (she is humiliated by it and trying to find another job) and she said that the stories she has heard is that it has gotten way more invasive since the 90s.

  27. Reece says:

    Not going to be able to look at BP without thinking about flying cheeseburgers. HAHA!

  28. HadleyB says:

    I don’t find him sexy at all. He’s too frat boy looking, boy next door. Which I don’t find sexy.

    Like him in some movies, but Affleck is my sexy one for sure. He got better looking with age and I hated him when he was younger – so arrogant. Now he just has a casual confidence about him instead of arrogance.

    But I like Matt’s stories, his take on life, sometimes he’s humble – he knows his faults at times, his pay is crazy compared to everyone else and is lucky to have that life.

  29. hmm says:

    Wasn’t there a lainey blind about Matt?

  30. Susan says:

    I think Damon is a fame whore. The kind that seems like he isn’t. Always talking about other famous “friends”. He related something about Ben Affleck a month or so ago that, if I were BA, I would want to keep private. Just think MD is very full of himself. Especially related to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Seems he thinks he’s entitled to bring them up all the day. And, his situation is NOTHING like Brad Pitt’s. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the most famous couple in the world, as well as both being huge humanitarians, and both hugely successful and award-winning actors.
    Matt Damon needs to back off, and find some humility.

  31. wunder says:

    Just dont ever leave home w/o an extra cheese burger.

  32. stephanie says:

    i think i’d give my right arm for him to star in another bourne movie.

  33. Kim says:

    He is contradicting himself by saying paparrazzi doesnt follow him because they only follow sex & scandal. SO is he saying his pals Brad & Ben sell sex & scandal hence why the paps follow them??? Kind of back handed stab at his “friends.”

    And what grown man throws a hamburger at someone? Why didnt Brad just eat it and ignore the pap?

    They all sound like they have alot of growing up and maturing to do.

    • Emma says:

      Both Brad and Ben went the ‘sex symbol, studly man’ route early in their careers. There was also a little matter called ‘Bennifer’ and the whole media circus that went with it. As for Brad, I personally believe there are more PR shots of Brad Pitt shirtless or with open shirt per capita than nearly any other male celebrity that ever lived. I’m not complaining, mind you … it’s just a fact. To his credit, I think Brad made a conscious effect to change ‘sexy Brad’ after he hit 40, but it was way too late for that. There is also the scandal surrounding Brad’s divorce that seems to have a life of its own.

      Whereas, the hottest ‘Beef Cake’ PR shots of Matt Damon that you’ll ever find are of him in tight t-shirts. He’s said that after dating Winona Ryder, he decided not to date another actress, because of all the drama involved with it.

      I think ‘that’s’ what Matt Damon was talking about.

  34. Kim says:

    Ben Affleck are you kidding me?? A man who takes his family to highly known paparazzi spots every week? Farmers market, LA Playground paps frequent, etc etc. Plllleeaaasssee!!!!

  35. misspdx says:

    omgoodness! That Dr. Seuss quote was the best! How the heart just grows bigger?! I have compared that many times to how I feel about love! There is always room for more 😀 This interview solidified it for me. Matt Damon ( remember Team America?! ) is a class act in my humble opinion.

  36. sandy#1 says:

    i like matt, he seems normal.

  37. semi says:

    Matt bald looks like John Cena

  38. reg says:

    I read somewhere a blind item that he has a boyfriend on the side, then it totally makes sense why he would guard his privacy like a pit-bull.

  39. Shay Kay says:

    This man knows who he is and doesn’t need fame to define him and that is sexy as h@ll!Loved him since “Good Will Hunting” and he hasn’t done one single thing since then to change my mind!

  40. Mrs. Odie 2 says:

    Matt is so interesting. He tells great stories and does dead on impersonations. I love him so much.

  41. regina says:

    I have loved him for years! I still think his wife is one of the luckiest girls ever! To be a single mom working as a bartender in Miami, and to meet him and fall in love. He loved her daughter from a previous relationship and has treated her like gold ever since..so jealous!