Matt Damon Biography
Matthew Paige Damon, simply referred to as Matt Damon, is the name and face behind the success of the Ocean’s trilogy and the Jason Bourne series, he forms part of the group with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Julia Roberts that were the lead acts in Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s and Ocean’s Thirteen. Originating from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Damon was born to Kent Telfer Damon and Nancy Carlsson-Paige on October 8 1970. Damon spent his childhood in Cambridge, UK under the guardianship of his mother after his parents went separate ways. He was schooled at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge where from the onset he was an excellent student, this trend was replicated at the prestigious Harvard University where he took up English as a major in 1988.
Nancy Carlsson-Paige was a school administrator with strong views on the power of education and so she ordered her son to follow the academic system with utmost concentration, to her Damon was expected to do nothing but excel and anything short of it was not acceptable. Growing up under such conditions was tough for young Damon as all he wanted to do was enjoy himself and express his talent in school plays and other theatre productions. Going against his mother Damon would take up acting roles at school where he was often a lead character as his gift was evident to his teachers, this continued until in college when Damon decided that he was old enough to take his own course and so he quit school before graduating in 1988 to focus on a career in acting.
A breakthrough did not come easy and Damon had to live in deplorable conditions as the only roles he got were in minor, low budget and un credited films, undeterred Damon kept on with the hope of success and in 1992 he got the much awaited success as he was set to feature in the film Geronimo: An American Legend, this was a well-received production and other bigger roles followed. In 1996 Damon appeared as Ilario in the film Courage Under Fire, during the premiere the film grossed millions of dollars in ticket sales and Damon was highly acclaimed for his dedication to the role.
In 1997 Damon took part in another major production that was titled Good Will, this was his first project as a scriptwriter, director and actor and with the help of a long-time friend and relative Ben Affleck Good Will became a success in the box office earning Damon a load of respect from fellow producers.
He closed the year with roles in the films Rounders, Rainmaker, Chasing Amy, Talented Mr. Ripley and Saving Private Ryan. Damon’s biggest success came in 2001 with the first of the Ocean’s films, Ocean’s Eleven. In the movie he played Linus Caldwell, a pro thief who robbed a casino with a group of close friends and high ranking thieves. Damon reprised his role in the following Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen in 2004 and 2007 respectively.
He is also popular for the role of Jason Bourne in Bourne Identity in 2002, Bourne Supremacy in 2004 and Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. Damon is set to reprise the role in 2012 with the release of Bourne Legacy.
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