Editing Matt Damon (section)

=== 2000–2008: Worldwide recognition ===
In 2000, Damon, Affleck, and producers [[Chris Moore (film producer)|Chris Moore]] and [[Sean Bailey]] founded the production company [[LivePlanet]] to create the [[Emmy]]-nominated documentary series ''[[Project Greenlight]],'' which aimed to find and fund worthwhile film projects from novice filmmakers.<ref name="PPGreenlight">{{cite news |date=August 12, 2002 |title='Greenlight' gets green light |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-greenlight-get/157909731/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |page=D-8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/project-greenlight | title=Project Greenlight | publisher=Emmys | access-date=October 4, 2014 | archive-date=October 6, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006210320/http://www.emmys.com/shows/project-greenlight | url-status=live }}</ref> Among the company's projects was the short-lived mystery-hybrid series ''[[Push, Nevada]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Push, Nevada' deserves a push |newspaper=Saint Paul Pioneer Press |location=St. Paul, Minnesota | publisher=McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |via=[[HighBeam Research]] | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-120209355.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323022034/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-120209355.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 23, 2015 |date=August 26, 2002 | access-date=October 4, 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:Matt Damon 2001.jpg|thumb|upright|Damon in 2001]]

Damon's attempts at leading characters in romantic dramas such as 2000's ''[[All the Pretty Horses (film)|All the Pretty Horses]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Bagger Vance]]'' were commercially and critically unsuccessful.<ref name="bomojo"/> ''Variety'' said of his work in ''All the Pretty Horses'': "[Damon] just doesn't quite seem like a young man who's spent his life amidst the dust and dung of a Texas cattle ranch. Nor does he strike any sparks with [[Penélope Cruz|[Penelope] Cruz]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/all-the-pretty-horses-2-1200465856/|title=All the Pretty Horses|access-date=March 1, 2020|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|first=Todd|last=McCarthy|date=December 13, 2000|archive-date=March 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301235345/https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/all-the-pretty-horses-2-1200465856/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was similarly deemed "uncomfortable being the center" of [[Robert Redford]]'s ''The Legend of Bagger Vance'' by Peter Rainer of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rainer, Peter|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/4029/|title=Par for the Course|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=November 13, 2000 |access-date=August 11, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163004/http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/4029/|url-status=live}}</ref>

During this period, Damon joined two lucrative film series—''[[Ocean's Trilogy]]'' (2001–2007) and ''[[Bourne (film series)|Bourne]]'' (2002–2016)—and produced the television series ''[[Project Greenlight]]'' (2001–2005, 2015). He co-starred as thief Linus Caldwell in the former's first installment, [[Steven Soderbergh]]'s 2001 ensemble film ''[[Ocean's Eleven]]'', a remake of the [[Rat Pack]]'s ''[[Ocean's 11]]'' (1960).<ref name="People - Bio"/> The role was originally meant for [[Mark Wahlberg]], who refused it in favor of other projects.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hines|first1=Ree|title=Wahlberg disses Clooney's 'Ocean's' films|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/wahlberg-disses-clooney-s-ocean-s-films-wbna25200092|access-date=May 13, 2018|work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]|date=June 17, 2008|archive-date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514065013/https://www.today.com/popculture/wahlberg-disses-clooney-s-ocean-s-films-wbna25200092|url-status=live}}</ref> The film grossed $450 million on a budget of $83 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ocean's Eleven (2001)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oceanseleven.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 13, 2018|archive-date=May 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520115811/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oceanseleven.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Damon, alongside Affleck and others, produced the documentary series ''Project Greenlight'', aired on [[HBO]] and later [[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]], which helped newcomers develop their first film. The series was nominated for the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program]] in 2002, 2004, and 2005.<ref>{{cite news|first=Louise A. |last=Barile |url=https://people.com/celebrity/ben-matt-to-give-second-greenlight/|title=Ben & Matt To Give Second 'Greenlight' |access-date=March 1, 2020|date=August 21, 2002 |work=People |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417034733/http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C624578%2C00.html |archive-date=April 17, 2008 }}</ref> Damon later said that he and Affleck felt proud that the show helped launch the careers of several directors; Damon later served as the executive producer of a number of projects directed by the winners of the show.<ref name="THR">{{cite news|last1=Ng|first1=Philiana|title=HBO Reviving 'Project Greenlight' With Ben Affleck, Matt Damon|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-reviving-project-greenlight-ben-700165|access-date=May 13, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 30, 2014|archive-date=October 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012072006/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-reviving-project-greenlight-ben-700165|url-status=live}}</ref>

Damon began 2002 with writing and starring in ''[[Gerry (2002 film)|Gerry]]'', a drama about two friends who forget to bring water and food when they go hiking in a desert. The reviews for the film were generally positive, but it was a box-office failure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gerry (2002)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gerry/|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=February 14, 2003 |access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-date=November 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129211537/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gerry/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bourne">{{cite news|last=Hiscock|first=John|title=Matt Damon on marriage, gun control, and why Hollywood thought The Bourne Identity would flop|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/07/25/matt-damon-on-marriage-gun-control-and-why-hollywood-thought-the/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/07/25/matt-damon-on-marriage-gun-control-and-why-hollywood-thought-the/ |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=May 18, 2018|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=July 25, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He then played [[amnesia]]c assassin [[Jason Bourne]] in [[Doug Liman]]'s action thriller ''[[The Bourne Identity (2002 film)|The Bourne Identity]]'' (2002). Liman considered several actors for the role before he cast Damon.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hanrahan|first1=Denise|title=BBC - Films - interview - Doug Liman|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/09/05/doug_liman_the_bourne_identity_interview.shtml|access-date=May 18, 2018|work=BBC|archive-date=January 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109151909/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/09/05/doug_liman_the_bourne_identity_interview.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Damon insisted on performing many of the stunts himself, undergoing three months of extensive training in stunt work, the use of weapons, boxing, and [[eskrima]].<ref name="DVDDocumentary">'The Birth of the Bourne Identity' DVD Making of Documentary (2003).</ref> Damon said that before ''The Bourne Identity'' he was jobless for six months, and many of his films during that period under-performed at the box-office. He doubted the film's financial prospects, but it proved a commercial success.<ref name="bourne"/> Reviews for the film were also positive;<ref>{{cite web|title=The Bourne Identity (2002)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bourne_identity|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=June 14, 2002 |access-date=May 18, 2018|archive-date=May 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521040949/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bourne_identity|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] praised it for its ability to absorb the viewer in its "spycraft" and "Damon's ability to be focused and sincere".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ebert|first1=Roger|title=The Bourne Identity Movie Review (2002)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-bourne-identity-2002|access-date=May 18, 2018|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=June 17, 2002|archive-date=May 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519033039/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-bourne-identity-2002|url-status=live}}</ref> For his role, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' named Damon among "the decade's best mixer of brawn and brains."<ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Thom Geier |author2=Jeff Jensen |author3=Tina Jordan |display-authors=etal |date=December 11, 2009|title=The 100 Greatest Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music Videos, And Trends That Entertained Us Over The Past 10 Years|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|page=(1079/1080):74–84}}</ref>

[[File:MattDamonBU.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Damon attending an event for ''[[The Bourne Ultimatum (film)|The Bourne Ultimatum]]'' in 2007]]

Damon voiced the role of Spirit in the animated film ''[[Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]]'' (2002) and later played a [[conjoined twin]] in ''[[Stuck on You (film)|Stuck on You]]'' (2003), which received a mixed critical reception.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stuck_on_you/|title=Stuck on You reviews|access-date=April 21, 2010|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|date=December 12, 2003 |archive-date=April 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407230454/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stuck_on_you/|url-status=live}}</ref> His major releases in 2004 included starring roles in the sequels ''[[The Bourne Supremacy (film)|The Bourne Supremacy]]'' and ''[[Ocean's Twelve]]''. Both films earned more than $280 million at the box-office.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bourne Supremacy (2004) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bournesupremacy.htm |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-date=July 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706071530/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bournesupremacy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ocean's Twelve (2004) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Oceans-Twelve#tab=summary |publisher=The Numbers |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613015008/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Oceans-Twelve#tab=summary |url-status=live }}</ref> In a review for ''The Bourne Supremacy'', [[BBC]]'s Nev Pierce called the film "a brisk, engrossing and intelligent thriller", adding, "Damon is one hell of an action hero. He does a lot with very little, imbuing his limited dialogue with both rage and sorrow, looking harder and more haunted as the picture progresses".<ref>{{cite web |last=Pierce |first=Nev |title=BBC Gloucestershire Films - The Bourne Supremacy Review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/films/reviews/a_f/bourne_supremacy.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=August 17, 2018 |date=August 12, 2004 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818100942/http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/films/reviews/a_f/bourne_supremacy.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> For the film, he earned an [[Empire Award for Best Actor]]; the award's presenter ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' attributed Damon's win to his "astute, underplayed performance, through which he totally eschews movie star vanity".<ref>{{cite news |title=Winners Best Actor |url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2005/winners/actor.asp |access-date=August 17, 2018 |work=Empire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021031426/http://www.empireonline.com/awards2005/winners/actor.asp |archive-date=October 21, 2012}}</ref> He played a fictionalized version of [[Wilhelm Grimm]] alongside [[Heath Ledger]] in [[Terry Gilliam]]'s fantasy adventure ''[[The Brothers Grimm (film)|The Brothers Grimm]]'' (2005), which was a critically panned commercial failure;<ref name="bomojo"/> ''The Washington Post'' concluded, "Damon, constantly flashing his newscaster's teeth and flaunting a fake, '[[Masterpiece Theatre]]' dialect, comes across like someone who got lost on the way to an audition for a high school production of ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]''."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/08/26/a-disappointingly-grimm-tale/ebd09935-5802-4212-b474-1d3080405c7b/|title=A Disappointingly 'Grimm' Tale|access-date=March 1, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Michael|last=O'Sullivan|date=August 26, 2005|archive-date=March 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302001431/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/08/26/a-disappointingly-grimm-tale/ebd09935-5802-4212-b474-1d3080405c7b/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Later in 2005, he appeared as an [[Energy analysis|energy analyst]] in the geopolitical thriller ''[[Syriana]]'' alongside [[George Clooney]] and [[Jeffrey Wright]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Lisa|last=Schwarzbaum|url=https://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/23/ew.mov.syriana/index.html|title=EW review: 'Syriana' lacks humanity|access-date=March 1, 2020|date=November 23, 2005|work=CNN|archive-date=March 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301235347/https://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/23/ew.mov.syriana/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The film focuses on [[petroleum politics]] and the global influence of the oil industry. Damon says starring in the film broadened his understanding of the oil industry and that he hoped the people would talk about the film afterward.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=September 16, 2012 |title='Syriana' {{!}} Unscripted {{!}} Matt Damon, George Clooney|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7hSCA0Jh98 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211027/G7hSCA0Jh98| archive-date=October 27, 2021|access-date=August 18, 2018|publisher=[[Moviefone]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' was mainly impressed with Clooney's acting, but also found Damon's performance "whiplash".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Travers |first1=Peter |title=Syriana |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/syriana-90496/ |access-date=August 17, 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=November 17, 2005 |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817161506/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/syriana-90496/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, Damon joined [[Robert De Niro]] in ''[[The Good Shepherd (film)|The Good Shepherd]]'' as a career [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] agent, and played an undercover [[mobster]] working for the [[Massachusetts State Police]] in [[Martin Scorsese]]'s ''[[The Departed]]'', a remake of the Hong Kong police thriller ''[[Infernal Affairs]]''.<ref name="People - Bio"/> Assessing his work in the two films, [[Manohla Dargis]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that Damon has the unique "ability to recede into a film while also being fully present, a recessed intensity, that distinguishes how he holds the screen."<ref name="NYT06">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/movies/moviesspecial/10darg.html |url-access=subscription |title=The Boyish Mr. Damon, Not So Boyish After All|access-date=April 21, 2010|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Manohla|last=Dargis|date=September 10, 2006|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006124231/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/movies/moviesspecial/10darg.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Departed'' received critical acclaim and won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/departed/|title=The Departed reviews|access-date=April 21, 2010|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|date=October 6, 2006 |archive-date=November 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118005417/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/departed/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|[[Box Office Mojo]] ranked it seventh amongst his films.<ref name="bomojo">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=mattdamon.htm|title=Box Office Mojo – Matt Damon|access-date=April 21, 2010|website=Box Office Mojo|archive-date=April 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405074109/http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=mattdamon.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group="nb"}}

According to ''[[Forbes]]'' in August 2007, Damon was the most bankable star of the actors reviewed, his last three films at that time averaged US$29 at the box office for every dollar he earned.<ref name="ForbesPayback">{{cite news|last=Pomerantz|first=Dorothy|work=[[Forbes]]|title=Ultimate Star Payback|url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/08/03/celebrities-hollywood-movies-biz-cz_dp_0806starpayback.html|date=August 6, 2007|access-date=October 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006093033/http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/03/celebrities-hollywood-movies-biz-cz_dp_0806starpayback.html|url-status=live|archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref> Two of his major releases in 2007 were the films ''[[Ocean's Thirteen]]'' and [[The Bourne Ultimatum (film)|''The Bourne Ultimatum'']], which were the third installments of their respective film series. Both films earned more than $300 million at the box-office.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ocean's Thirteen(2007) - Financial Information |url=https://www.https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Oceans-Thirteen#tab=summary |publisher=The Numbers |access-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021122315/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Oceans-Thirteen#tab=summary |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bourneultimatum.htm |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 16, 2022|archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707110915/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bourneultimatum.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Damon had an uncredited cameo in [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s ''[[Youth Without Youth (film)|Youth Without Youth]]'' (2007) and another [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] in the 2008 [[Che Guevara]] biopic ''[[Che (2008 film)|Che]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weissberg|first=Jay|title=Review: 'Youth Without Youth'|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/awards/youth-without-youth-2-1200555232/|access-date=August 7, 2016|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 20, 2007|archive-date=June 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604135957/http://variety.com/2007/film/awards/youth-without-youth-2-1200555232/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Salto|first=Stephen|title=The Curious Camerography of Matt Damon|work=IFC |url=http://www.ifc.com/2009/01/the-curious-cameography-of-mat|publisher=[[IFC (American TV network)|IFC]]|access-date=August 7, 2016|date=January 8, 2009|archive-date=April 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427001257/http://www.ifc.com/2009/01/the-curious-cameography-of-mat|url-status=live}}</ref> While he was working on the ''Bourne'' films, Damon declined an offer from [[James Cameron]] to star in his upcoming film ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]'', as he did not want to break his ''Bourne'' contract. Cameron offered Damon 10% of the profits for the film, which went on to become the most successful of all time. Damon said later: "I will go down in history… you will never meet an actor who turned down more money."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kemp |first=Sam |date=February 25, 2023 |title=Matt Damon names the biggest mistake of his career |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/matt-damon-biggest-mistake-of-career/ |access-date=February 26, 2023 |website=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out]] |archive-date=February 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226160234/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/matt-damon-biggest-mistake-of-career/ |url-status=live }}</ref>