Matt Damon: I'd play Robin to Ben Affleck’s Batman
In a video interview, the Jason Bourne star tells RadioTimes.com he is open to the possibility of tights
Matt Damon is the man who’s done nearly everything. He can lead an Oscar-winning drama like Good Will Hunting, a cult comedy like Dogma, a family-friendly tale like We Bought a Zoo and a high-octane thriller like his Bourne films (the latest of which, Jason Bourne, hits cinemas next week).
But there’s one modern genre the actor has never dipped his toe in, the film choice du jour for a star to make their mark in a big blockbuster movie these days. Matt Damon hasn’t done a superhero movie – but why?
“I kind of feel like these are my superhero movies, you know, these Jason Bourne movies,” Damon told RadioTimes.com.
“For me, it’s always about the director. If the right thing came along, I’d certainly be open to it. But I think I’m getting a little long in the tooth to play a superhero.”
What, even if longtime friend and collaborator Ben Affleck, currently leading the DC movie universe as the new Batman, came asking Damon to be his Robin?
More like this
“Well if he’s directing the movie, and offers me the part,” Damon mused. “I’d do anything with Ben!”
You heard it here first – we’ll all be calling Robin The Man Wonder at some point soon. But of course, Affleck and Damon’s friendship isn’t always quite so supportive – just a few weeks ago the Argo director hijacked one of Damon’s promotional events with an embarrassing 1980s picture of him, which ended up more widely reported than the Q and A itself.
“Yeah, it got some pickup,” Damon said ruefully, before revealing that he was planning some appropriate revenge.
“I have pictures of that kid, from that same time period. Lemme tell you, the mid-80s… they were not great for hair. I’ve got some pretty sweet shots of him that I’m gonna have to bust out.
But for now, Damon is focusing on Jason Bourne, the new entry in a franchise that he hasn’t appeared in since 2007 (though a spin-off starring Jeremy Renner was released in 2012). Was it difficult to return after nearly a decade away?
“The role I find really easy, the mentality – I really feel connected to this guy and I love the character,” Damon told us. “The physical side of it was a BITCH.
“Because, I’m 45 years old now and it’s just really hard to get in that kind of shape.”
However, he seems confident that none of that will matter when people see the finished film.
“If you like the other movies that we made, then I think you’ll like this one too,” he concluded.
“It feels, hopefully, like a worthy chapter to the three that we made.”
Jason Bourne is released in UK cinemas from Wednesday 27 July
