Author: Rose Lemon
"Matt Damon is not a star yet"-the reporter who interviewed him wrote at the beginning. It was one day at the end of 1997, and he met Matt Damon in the restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
Of course, the waitress did not recognize the future star. The reporter believes that this cannot be blamed on her, although in Los Angeles, almost all the waitresses have a "star radar" that can accurately identify those movie stars and legends. There are new stars in the city. However, even though Matt Damon just appeared on the cover of "Vanity Fair", just starred in Francis Coppola's new film "Rainmaker" and Gus Van Sant's "Mind Catcher", still Stephen Spielberg’s next movie "Saving Private Ryan" is the starring role-but in this breakfast interview, no movie has been released yet, and the freshly released "Vanity Fair" magazine has just been sent to the newspaper. Stall.
So it's normal that no one knows him. Not only reporters think so, Damon also thinks the same way. "No one has recognized me yet," he said. "No one has watched my movie, only you media professionals know me."
However, the reporter is very confident in him: Considering that his performances are all heavyweight works produced by major directors, Damon's position as a future superstar is quite solid.
The 27-year-old shrugged and said, "I still can't understand what anyone wants to understand me." "Seriously, I can't imagine why anyone would want to interview me."
Matt Damon grew up in the Cambridge community between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was raised by his university professor mother. His parents divorced when he was two years old. But his goal is Columbia University in New York.
He said he wanted to go to Columbia University to receive a "good liberal arts education" so that he could enter the Yale Graduate School of Drama. This is a plan he and Takema Ben Affleck made when they were in high school.
"We know that we want to be actors, and we think the best way to become a good actor is to go to Yale University for further studies," Damon said. "I thought at the time that the best way to get into Yale University is to go to Columbia University. I never even considered Harvard because it is so close to home."
"I applied to 11 schools and finally accepted admission to Harvard University. I think I am more homely."
Affleck not only collaborated with Damon in "Mind Catcher", but also starred in "Chasing Amy" and other movies. "This is our local star, he introduced me to his agent in New York," Damon said.
Soon after Damon entered Harvard University to major in English, his grand plan was disrupted. After graduating in the first year, he temporarily left school and starred in a TV movie called "The Rising Son". He returned to school in his sophomore year, but appeared for the second time in "School Situation", in which he played a spoiled preparatory school student.
When he left school for the third time to film "Gerónimo: An American Legend," he decided not to return to Harvard, even though he was only a year away from graduation. "I naively thought that it was time to focus all my energy on my career," he said. "When I realized that I had made the wrong decision, it was too late. I lived in this city with a group of unknown actors, and we were all struggling to make ends meet."
So he and Affleck began to create "Mind Catcher". (Omitted) "As actors, we feel very frustrated," Damon said. "We can't find a job, and we won't succeed. This frustration accumulates until we decide to write."
By November 1994, the script had been completed and handed over to an agent. Damon lives with another actor in a small apartment in West Hollywood. Affleck lived on the couch in their living room. All three live on the meager salary that Damon earned in a TV movie last summer.
Then, within a week, the lives of Damon and Affleck were turned upside down. In order to compete for the copyright of "Mind Catcher", a bidding war broke out among many film companies. Everyone wants a script, but no one wants two unknown actors to lead the lead.
They overcame many difficulties and starred in the movie. (slightly)
During this period, Damon had to make a living. He got a role in "Life and Death" as a former military doctor who was a drug addict. For this role, he lost 40 pounds.
Coppola said that he saw Damon's shining points in this movie, which made him play an idealistic young lawyer in "The Rainmaker." Spielberg also saw him and asked Damon to play against Tom Hanks in "Saving Private Ryan". "All this is very exciting for me," Damon said. "My friends and I used to watch "The Godfather" over and over again, and then suddenly I was standing in front of Francis Coppola and he knew my name. I always thought it was a misunderstanding, maybe there will be another one right away. A young actor walked in, and I was just a substitute actor..."
"Then I stood in front of Stephen Spielberg again. I'm glad he knows who I am." "I don't know if I am qualified to receive so much attention, I hope I can. No matter what happens, I will be from acting Have fun. I just want to keep acting, I don’t care if I can become famous."
——Of course, as the reporter expected, he succeeded.
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