Matt Damon

MATT DAMON has been honored for his work on both sides of the camera, earning Academy Award ®, Screen Actors Guild Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of South African rugby hero François Pienaar, in Clint Eastwood's true-life drama Invictus. In addition, he garnered dual Golden Globe Award nominations one for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Invictus, and one for Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) for his starring role in Stephen Soderbergh's The Informant! Earlier in his career, Damon won an Academy Award ® for Best Original Screenplay and received an Oscar ® nomination for Best Actor, both for his breakthrough feature Good Will Hunting.

Damon also starred in the Coen brothers' remake of the classic Western True Grit. He lent his voice to Happy Feet 2 and reunited with Soderbergh to join the ensemble cast of the thriller Contagion. He starred in We Bought a Zoo, from director Cameron Crowe.

In 2002, Damon originated the role of Jason Bourne in the blockbuster actioner The Bourne Identity. He went on to reprise his role in the two hit sequels, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, both directed by Paul Greengrass. He also repeatedly teamed with Soderbergh as part of the all-star casts in the Ocean’s trilogy, and in a cameo role in the second part of the director's two-part biopic Che.

Damon's other film credits include the drama Hereafter, which reunited him with director Clint Eastwood; the action-thriller Green Zone, directed by Paul Greengrass; Martin Scorsese's Oscar ®-winning Best Picture The Departed, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg; Robert De Niro's dramatic thriller The Good Shepherd, with De Niro and Angelina Jolie; and Stephen Gaghan's geopolitical thriller Syriana, with George Clooney.

For the small screen, Damon both executive produced and appeared in the History Channel's The People Speak, based on a book co-written by famed historian Howard Zinn, which featured dramatic readings and performances from some of the most famous names in the entertainment industry.

Hailing from Boston, Damon attended Harvard University and gained his first acting experience with the American Repertory Theater. He made his feature film debut in Mystic Pizza, followed by roles in School Ties, Walter Hill's Geronimo: An American Legend and the cable projects Rising Son and Tommy Lee Jones The Good Old Boys. He first gained attention in 1996 with his portrayal of a guilt-ridden Gulf War veteran tormented by memories of a battlefield incident in Courage Under Fire.

Together with his lifelong friend Ben Affleck, Damon co-wrote the acclaimed 1997 drama Good Will Hunting, for which they won an Academy Award ® and a Golden Globe Award, as well as several critics' groups awards, for Best Original Screenplay. Damon also garnered Oscar ®, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor. Also in 1997, Damon starred as an idealistic young attorney in Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker and made a cameo appearance in Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy.

The following year, Damon played the title role in Steven Spielberg's award- winning World War II-drama Saving Private Ryan and also starred in John Dahl's drama Rounders, with Edward Norton. In 1999, Damon earned his third Golden Globe nomination for his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley, under the direction of Anthony Minghella. He also reunited with Ben Affleck and director Kevin Smith to star in the controversial comedy Dogma.

Damon's subsequent film credits include starring roles in Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance ; Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses; the Farrelly brothers' comedy Stuck on You, opposite Greg Kinnear; and Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm, with Heath Ledger; and a cameo appearance in George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Damon and Affleck formed the production company LivePlanet to produce film, television and new-media projects. LivePlanet produced three Emmy-nominated seasons of Project Greenlight, chronicling the making of independent films by first-time writers and directors. The Project Greenlight films produced are Stolen Summer, The Battle of Shaker Heights and Feast. LivePlanet also produced the documentary Running the Sahara, directed by Oscar ® winner James Moll.

In addition, Damon cofounded H20 Africa, now known as Water.org, and is an ambassador for the children's foundation ONEXONE.

©2011 Universal Pictures