Matt Damon on turning 40 and facing his own mortality

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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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21 Responses to “Matt Damon on turning 40 and facing his own mortality”

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  1. MsLIb says:

    40! He looks better than ever. Love the new long hair look. Can’t wait to see this flick.

  2. kimmm says:

    Damn ! He looks amazing , I never understood the Matt Damon obsession but I’m getting it now .

    He was amazing last week on ” 30 Rock ” .
    So damn funny .

  3. NicoBico says:

    remember Jamal Damon? lmao

  4. Eleonor says:

    He always seems an amazing person, down earthed, succesfull, intelligent. I’ll go to see the movie.

  5. Samigirl says:

    I think Matt Damon is one of the few actors that we can’t say anything negative about. He is handsome, well spoken, has a great sense of humor, doesn’t mind making fun of himself, apparently worships his wife, and seems to be a fantastic father, hell, he doesn’t even refer to his step-daughter as such, she is one of “his girls.” I love that about him. Actually, love everything about him. And I will definitely see this movie!

  6. Maritza says:

    Now that he has gained some weight he looks so handsome!I like him, he seems to be such a sweet guy.

  7. zena says:

    boring as always

  8. frank franken says:

    40 is the new 30. Damon looks great and i’d love to see him in another Bourne movie.

  9. TQB says:

    @Samigirl, all that, and also very involved in philanthropy – in addition to his work in Africa, he’s the sponsor or involved with a dozen Boston things every year.

  10. Moi says:

    He is perfect, I love him. Can’t say a single bad thing about the guy, other than that he’s not MY husband.

  11. Bodhi says:

    Oh I LOVE Matt!! Good Will Hunting made me fall in love with the idea of a blue collar Boston boy & then I ended up marrying one! And for that, I will always love him! Both of them… 😀

  12. Jackson says:

    I used to like MD. Now, I definitely lurrrrve him. Not only does he get hotter with age, he seems like a great guy with his head on straight. If something nasty comes out about him I might just cry…

  13. wonderwoman21 says:

    He comes off as very thoughtful and intelligent, something these younger celebrities *megan fox* *taylor momsen* don’t know anything about and always blame the journalist for “putting words in their mouths.” If only someone could put actual thoughts in their heads that weren’t about themselves *sigh*

  14. MissyA says:

    I didn’t care for him as kid, but now that we’re both a little older. . . I love a lot about Matt Damon.

  15. Kim says:

    I had a problem with some of his Sarah Palin comments in 2008 but overall he seems like a good guy

  16. King says:

    He is starting to look ALOT like Robert Redford.

  17. Jeri says:

    I didn’t think he was good looking when he & Ben first hit it big but I do now.

  18. Kate says:

    He certainly is one of the few celebrities who seems to keep everything in perspective.

    I am a fan.

  19. db8ng1 says:

    Oh, Matt!!!! ***SWOON*** That Luciana is a lucky woman….

  20. Scout says:

    Like a fine wine, he gets better with age! Always adored him since I first noticed him in Good Will Hunting and I always will!

  21. Liana says:

    I used to loathe him, he always seemed like the smarmy frat boy type. But now that he’s older and the way he talks about his family and all… I like him.