“We’re crying but we’re laughing”: Matt Damon’s Most Heart-wrenching Real Life Moment Quickly Became Hilarious and Wholesome Thanks to a 1986 Steve Martin Film
- Matt Damon shared a touching story about his father and 'Three Amigos!'
- They found comfort in a joke from the film during his father’s illness.
- Damon's father died in 2017 after a long battle with cancer.
Matt Damon, famous for his tough-guy roles, recently opened up about a touching story involving his father’s passing. This heartfelt story shows a side of him that’s deeply caring and loving.
In an honest interview, the actor talked about a time when he felt both deep sadness and unexpected laughter, thanks to a classic comedy movie. The film—a silly adventure filled with slapstick humor—had become a family favorite for Damon, his father, and his brother.
A Father-Son Bond Through a 1986 Film
Matt Damon has always been open about his close relationship with his father. In the interview, he shared a touching anecdote about a shared love for the 1986 comedy, Three Amigos! A scene from the movie, where Steve Martin’s character gets shot and then realizes the danger, became a running joke for the trio. The 53-year-old went on to say in an interview with New York Live:
There’s a great movie in our family, that my father and brother and I went to together, called Three Amigos!, which is a very silly movie that we loved. And there’s a point where Steve Martin gets shot. The Three Amigos think it’s all fake. Then Steve Martin gets shot. And then he realizes that they are really these bandits that are gonna kill him. And he walks to the other guys and he goes, ‘It’s real.’ So we always laughed about that.
However, they didn’t realize that this shared laughter would offer comfort during one of the toughest times in their lives. Damon continued:
And my father, when he was dying—he had terminal cancer—and we were sitting there, he just turned to me, goes, ‘Matthew.’ And I go, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘It’s real.’ My brother and I are laughing with him. And we’re crying but we’re laughing. But it was just the fact that he referenced The Three Amigos.
Directed by John Landis, Three Amigos! tells the story of three silent film stars—Lucky Day (Steve Martin), Dusty Bottoms (Chevy Chase), and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short)—who are mistaken for real heroes and hired to rescue a small Mexican village from the villainous bandit, El Guapo (Alfonso Aráu). The film is a funny take on Westerns and silent movies, full of jokes, silly gags, and catchy songs.
Matt Damon’s Touching Dream of His Late Father
Matt Damon talked on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert about a touching dream he had after his father died. The dream helped him remember an important memory from his childhood. He said that after his father passed away in 2017, he “had this crazy dream” within that year.
Damon dreamed that he hugged his father. It felt like the first time he was held by him, filled with a deep sense of love and safety that he can’t fully describe. Kent Damon died on December 14, 2017, at the age of 74, after a long battle with cancer.
According to reports, he passed away due to complications from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that makes it hard for the body to fight infections (via Today).
Watch Three Amigos! on Amazon Prime Video!
