I went into this Matt Damon-GQ cover story partially annoyed and partially pleased. I was pleased because CB so rarely allows me to cover her Forever Bae, even though I totally love/adore him too. I was partially annoyed because GQ wrote the piece in a weird style, like just randomly assorted quotes from Matty D and his friends and coworkers (and all of his coworkers are friends). But once I sat down and read the whole thing – go here to read it – I was charmed. It’s not the most in-depth piece, but it’s light and funny and there are some really cool stories in there. Here are some highlights:

How Matty got the part on The Departed: “I was sitting at George Clooney’s pool in Lake Como, and Brad Pitt walked in, sat down next to me, and said, ‘Do you want to do a Martin Scorsese movie in Boston?” [Brad] was a producer on The Departed, and he felt like he had gotten too old for those roles. It’s one of the most absurd things that’s ever happened in my life. [Marty] said to me early on [in production], “I don’t know Boston. This is your town.” So I would show up with stuff that I’d write and give it to Bill [Monahan, the screenwriter]. and say, “Do you like any of this?” The first time I rehearsed with Jack Nicholson, he went over to get some coffee, and he turned around [and said], “You know, I never would have made it this long if I wasn’t a great f–king writer.”

Career goal: “I always thought the goal was William Holden. To just be in a lot of good movies.”

He’s glad he’s not too good-looking: “I don’t look like Marlon Brando. I remember Ben and I having a realization early on. Like, we were watching Brad [Pitt] in a movie, and one of us turned to the other and said, “I haven’t heard a thing that guy said in five minutes. I’m just looking at him.” And we realized there’s a good and a bad [that comes with that]. It’ll mask one of your lesser performances, but it also detracts from your best performances. Because Brad has been legitimately brilliant in some of the things he’s done, and he doesn’t get the credit as an actor that I think he deserves. I never had to carry that water.

On Heath Ledger: “He was too bright for this world. Coming off [The Brothers Grimm, I was] telling everybody that I just worked with the best actor I’ve ever seen. And people were like, ‘What are you talking about? The guy from A Knight’s Tale?’ And I was like, ‘You just wait. And wait until you see what kind of a director he’s gonna be.’ There were things that he did where I couldn’t have got there in three lifetimes. And there were ways in which he was like a puppy dog. You wanted to protect him. [His death was] just f–king pointless.”

30 Rock was his favorite show: “ucy and I started watching on the first episode and were like, “This is our favorite thing.” I literally went up to [Tina Fey] at the SAG Awards and said, “Look, your show is so great, and if you ever have anything on it, I would love to do a guest spot.”

[From GQ]

I love the William Holden name-check. People often compare Damon to Tom Hanks, something in the Jimmy Stewart-everyman-archetype. Handsome but not too handsome, a talented actor but he makes it look natural. But William Holden wasn’t an everyman – he was a handsome, charming actor who could do anything, from war movies to romantic comedies to epic dramas. Kind of like Matty D!

There are some great stories about the ups and downs of Matt’s career, and what’s nice is that at no point does it feel like Matt is throwing people under the bus for his own weird or bad career choices. He is still lamenting the fact that Billy Bob Thornton didn’t get to show his four-hour director’s cut of All the Pretty Horses. Like, that still KILLS Matt Damon. He also admits to being unsure of himself when he first walked onto the set of Ocean’s Eleven, etc. When Matty met Prince, Matt asked Prince “So you live in Minnesota? I hear you live in Minnesota.” And Prince said (according to Matt): “I live inside my own heart, Matt Damon.”

Photos courtesy of GQ.