American actor Matt Damon is well-known for his outstanding performance in a variety of films. His breakthrough role was in Good Will Hunting, and he has subsequently been in a number of big-budget movies. His most recent part was in Christopher Nolan’s gripping biographical film Oppenheimer. However, Damon played a very small part in another Nolan movie. And he and Nolan had a humorous phone call prior to him accepting the part.
Matt Damon always chooses quality over quantity
Matt Damon has had the honor of working with some of the best directors in the business. The list of talented directors includes the Coen Brothers and living giants Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. It is clear that Damon decides whether or not to take on a project based mostly on the director and not the size of the role he is getting. With the famous director Christopher Nolan, Damon most recently collaborated on Oppenheimer, one of the biggest films of the year. Despite playing a relatively little part in the film, he had a significant impact. And Damon has played small roles in Nolan’s films before, not just this one.
Damon had jumped at the chance to collaborate with Christopher Nolan on the space adventure Interstellar. Despite having a $165 million production budget, the movie Interstellar ended up being a massive hit, grossing $678 million. Even though Damon had a little part and wasn’t even mentioned in the movie’s promotion, his presence made an impact. He once shared a funny story about how Nolan pitched the movie to him.
Christopher Nolan offered Matt Damon a small role in a funny way
Matt Damon and the rest of the cast had the opportunity to talk with Fandango about Christopher Nolan‘s most recent biographical film, Oppenheimer. The actor, who is well-known for his captivating stories, provided insight into Nolan’s openness in dealing with actors. Damon recalled the funny time when Nolan approached him about playing the part in Interstellar. With his trademark directness, Nolan opened with the statement, “You know they say there are no small parts, there are only small actors?” Damon said with great enthusiasm, “Yeah!” The humorous and sincere punchline from Nolan was, “This is a small part.”
Despite the small size of the role, Damon’s presence in Interstellar gave the main character’s journey more complexity and struggle. Audiences who may not have known he was in the movie were pleasantly surprised by his appearance. His portrayal of a villain added a new depth to his resume. And it is definitely noteworthy how Nolan handles actors’ expectations before they sign on to his star-studded films.
Source: Fandango
Frequently asked questions
How did Christopher Nolan pitch Interstellar to Matt Damon?
Damon told Fandango that Nolan opened the call by asking whether he knew the saying that there are no small parts, only small actors, then delivered the punchline that this was a small part.
What role did Matt Damon play in Interstellar?
Damon played an antagonist in Nolan’s 2014 space film, an unbilled turn kept out of the marketing so his appearance would surprise audiences.
How did Interstellar perform at the box office?
Made on a production budget of about 165 million dollars, Interstellar grossed over 670 million dollars worldwide.
