Matt Damon is a highly acclaimed and versatile actor who has left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. With a career spanning several decades, he has proven himself to be a talented performer, capable of delivering captivating performances in a wide range of roles. But acting is not all that Damon got, the star has also shown his proficiency in screenwriting to the audiences.
Talking about Damon’s filmmaking and acting career, one can hardly forget the mention of Good Will Hunting. Damon co-wrote and starred in the film along with Ben Affleck. But The Martian star revealed how he and Affleck were desperate to cast a prominent celebrity of that time for the role of Dr. Sean Maguire, just to gain the necessary budget for the movie.
Matt Damon Revealed The Hunt For A Celebrity In Good Will Hunting To Get Funding
Good Will Hunting is a critically acclaimed film that has captured the hearts of audiences around the world. Released in 1997, the movie not only features a captivating storyline, but also showcases the remarkable talent of its cast, including Matt Damon and the late Robin Williams. Written by Damon and Ben Affleck, the film follows the journey of Will Hunting, a brilliant yet troubled young man with a unique gift for mathematics.
Damon and Affleck understood the importance of securing a renowned actor for their project, especially after witnessing the success stories of Quentin Tarantino’s first movie, Reservoir Dogs, which was able to onboard half a million dollars only because Harvey Keitel signed it. The Invictus star even shared that he and Affleck were looking desperately to find a superstar who could also bring money to them as they knew that their duo was of little worth back in the day.
“Ben and I wrote it because we wanted the parts as actors. At the time, there was a really popular movie that we all loved called Reservoir Dogs, Quintin Tarantino’s first movie. And The story we had heard was that because Harvey Keitel had signed up for the movie, Quintin got half a million dollars. That was his budget, he could make the movie. So we wrote that part that Robin eventually took, we called it the Harvey Keitel part – looking for an actor that could get us some money because Ben and I wanted to star in the movie, and we knew we were worth nothing. So we needed to get somebody.”
Matt Damon On The Flexible Writing Of Robin Williams’s Character In The Good Will Hunting
The Talented Mr. Ripley star shared how he and the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star were very flexible to any changes for the character of Dr. Sean Maguire, just to ensure the casting they wished for. Damon added that they could have made the entire movie on a mother and son relationship, only if Meryl Streep said yes to the movie.
“We write it really open-ended. We wrote it okay, they’re from the same neighborhood so they kinda understand each other. But We also knew we could adjust it if Morgan Freeman or somebody like Denzel Washington wanted to come in and play it. We could make that character from Roxbury [a historically Black neighborhood] and kind of explore the historic racial tension in Boston. If Meryl Streep took the part, instead of a father/son relationship, there would be a mother-son relationship. We really left it open because we wanted to cast as wide a net as possible because we were trying to get the movie made.”
The determination of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to bring their vision of the story to the big screen led them on a remarkable journey to cast the crucial role of Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. The film was able to deliver an everlasting impact on the audience with its storyline, garnering the necessary attention for Damon and Affleck.
Good Will Hunting is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: GQ
