Matt Damon on "The Bourne Identity"
N E W Y O R K, June 14, 2002 -- As his new movie, The Bourne Identity hits theaters, Matt Damon talked about how he got started in the business and why he feels compelled to make a difference outside of the entertainment world.
Below is an uncorrected, unedited transcript from the interview as it aired on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
DIANE SAWYER:: It's nice to remember that even the big stars had to get startedsome place. Matt Damon now and in his first movie back then.(Clip from Damon's first film Mystic Pizza)
MATT DAMON: That was my first line ever in a movie, and it was--I remember itvividly because everything seemed brighter, every you know, thecolors seemed I definitely had the rose-colored lenses on, you know,firmly affixed. And I remember just being in, literally in love withit and absolutely head-over-heels in love with the all thepeople, you know, everybody doing these different jobs. It just waslike fascinating to me, and I couldn't believe that you could make aliving doing that.
SAWYER: (Voice Over Tape) More than a living, if you consider $10 million a movie a living. In his new movie, a thriller, The Bourne Identity, he plays a secret agent with amnesia. Back in Good Will Hunting, (Clip from Good Will Hunting) he played a math genius. He was a con man, a killer, in The Talented Mr. Ripley. The Harvard-educated actor is known for his range and his daring. For instance, in Ripley, he proved he can sing. (Clip from The Talented Mr. Ripley)
SAWYER:(VO) And he's funny. This was the highest rated Will and Grace ever on TV.(Clip from Will and Grace)
SAWYER:(VO) What are the TV shows you never miss? DAMON:Well, yours. SAWYER:Well, you know, I assumed that. DAMON:Present company not included, let's see, I like to watch SaturdayNight Live. I like that show a lot, I'm a big fan of that show.And The Simpsons. SAWYER:Do you know what you just are? A classic male. No kidding. DAMON:Oh, really? Is that … SAWYER:I know this will reassure you in many ways. DAMON:OK, great. SAWYER:If you separate men and women out, those are the most popular showswith men. DAMON:Oh, is that right? SAWYER:Yeah. DAMON:I had no idea. SAWYER:So far you have just hit the gong on all the guy things. DAMON:OK. OK. Well, and then The View, of course. SAWYER:Yes, particularly when they talk about menopause, right? DAMON:Yeah, right. Exactly. Just think that, you know, it's a show for meabout me.
SAWYER: You threw out the first ball at Fenway Park?
DAMON:
Yeah. Yeah, and my knees were knocking. And I've done nothing in mylife, if not throw a baseball, so I've done that a lot and I'm usedto being in front of people and yet I went out there and my kneeswere literally knocking.
SAWYER: (Voice Over Tape:) His roots are in Boston, he's still best friends with hometownpals Ben and Casey Affleck. And after a couple of high-profileromances, Minnie Driver, Winona Ryder, this 31-year-old has learnedwhat few in Hollywood ever do, to keep what matters private. Likehis new relationship, Odessa Whitmire. (To Damon, On Camera: Finish this sentence, `What I've learned about love thisyear …')
DAMON:That it doesn't have to be hard work.
SAWYER:What I wish I knew about women.
DAMON:Where do I begin?
SAWYER:What's the right age to get married?
DAMON:
That is a tough question. I mean, because it's differentfor everybody. My parents got married too young for them,but then again, if they hadn't, they wouldn't have gotten married 10years later, so my brother and I are happy that they did. But theyalways told us to just take it easy and be patient and make sure, andthere's no rush.
SAWYER: (Voice Over Tape) And there's something else a parent taught him about those towhom much is given and the need to give back.
DAMON:My dad said to me, 'You know, if you don't do things with this namethat you've made for yourself, it'll be, you know, you'd be atremendously irresponsible human being.' So I think they both expect,and rightly so, that I always can use whatever it is Ihave to be a good human being and make adifference where I can.
SAWYER:Good parents. DAMON:Yeah, really good parents.