TRANSCRIPT: Matt Damon
ALEX CULLEN: We begin with the world's biggest action hero, who is also determined to ruin the plans of a man campaigning to be the next president of the United States. It sounds like the stuff of a Hollywood movie, but it's not. Matt Damon is back starring in his most famous and successful role as the CIA-trained agent Jason Bourne. But off-screen, Matt is also doing his best to thwart Donald Trump's White House ambitions. As Rahni Sadler discovers, he doesn't pull punches on Trump or the return to the role of his life.
(TENSE MUSIC)
RAHNI SADLER: Hey! Ready to walk and talk?
MATT DAMON: I am ready to walk and talL.. What are you wat... Oh, you're watching...
RAHNI SADLER: Ah! Yeah, I'm watching this film. Do you know what happens after this?
MATT DAMON: I do.
RAHNI SADLER: Really?
MATT DAMON: Oh, you're watching the old one?
RAHNI SADLER: Yeah, because, like, you're kinda... I thought you were dead.
MATT DAMON: No, look, look. (GASPS) Swim away.
RAHNI SADLER: Matt Damon swam away from that scene and the entire blockbuster Bourne franchise. The world's nicest actor said goodbye to its most brutally efficient action hero. But action is never too far away for Matt Damon.
RAHNI SADLER: Why is he doing the punching?
MATT DAMON: I don't know.
RAHNI SADLER: Do you think you can punch as good as him?
MATT DAMON: Uh... Yeah.
MAN: And action! (BOTH MEN GRUNT)
RAHNI SADLER: You do so many action scenes. Are you actually a good fighter? You say it's more like a dance.
MATT DAMON: It is a lot more like a dance, because, you know, in a real fight, you don't know what's gonna happen, and if you tried to do that, it would be just disastrous, you know, because it's got to be specifically choreographed.
MAN: That's kind of the profile. Camera's gotta be in exactly the right place.
RAHNI SADLER: How quickly could you take me down?
MATT DAMON: Oh, no. I'm... You know, I'm a terrible fighter.
RAHNI SADLER: Seriously?
MATT DAMON: Yeah. I'm a movie fighter. I fight fake karate. I'm, like, a black belt in fake karate.
(AS ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER) That was good. Good workout.
RAHNI SADLER: Can you show me just a little bit, like, how it works?
MATT DAMON: Yeah, alright. So, if we were playing to his camera...
RAHNI SADLER: OK.
MATT DAMON: So if you turn towards me, you need the hand to cross the... ..cross the face and you can't see space. So, this will be good, because from his camera and his camera, you're gonna have two different punches. If I were to throw a left hook, right...
RAHNI SADLER: Yeah.
MATT DAMON: OK, so if you just turn your head. Bam. Like that. That'll sell for that camera but it'll look terrible for that camera because you will see the space, right? I don't have to get that close to you. I can be a good foot or 18 inches away so you're never in any danger and it'll sell from that camera.
ACTOR: Jesus Christ. That's Jason Bourne.
RAHNI SADLER: At 45, Matt Damon is taking back the role of the unbreakable Jason Bourne for his fourth explosive outing.
WOMAN: He's seen things. He knows things. What if he's not coming for us? What if it's something else?
RAHNI SADLER: You started playing Bourne when you were, what, 29 turning 30?
MATT DAMON: Yeah.
RAHNI SADLER: How much harder is it to get into shape?
MATT DAMON: It's a lot harder.
RAHNI SADLER: To make all the blokes at home feel better, how much work do you have to put into it?
MATT DAMON: It's a lot harder. 45. I mean, everything is harder. I mean, I remember, you know, at 29, I thought... I'd boxed for six months, I was lifting weights, I was running. I mean, I was really working out. A lot of it's the diet. That's the worst part too, is just, like... I love going out and eating. I love going out and drinking good wine and eating good food with my wife. Like, it's one of my favourite things to do. So that part was... That was my sacrifice. But that's not a lot to sacrifice, ultimately, to make a movie that you really want to make.
RAHNI SADLER: Damon's first mission as Jason Bourne in 2002 was a box office hit and set the scene for the high-octane thrillers to follow
ACTOR: It's about to really kick off now.
RAHNI SADLER: With director Paul Greengrass...
DIRECTOR: I was trying to see, like, the camera get ahead even before you started.
RAHNI SADLER: ..Matt made another two hugely successful Bourne films and then, to the surprise of fans, walked away.
RAHNI SADLER: You did say you weren't gonna do another Bourne film. What brought you back?
MATT DAMON: Well, I said I wouldn't do it without Paul, and so it was always something that, you know, he and I would talk about. We were always looking for stuff to do together, and I think after a while, we kind of felt like, "We really... .."We're kinda dicks if we don't do another one."
(BOTH LAUGH)
MATT DAMON: So we knew we wanted to, but then it was a question of, well, what would the movie be and what's the story? And so it took a few more years to figure it out.
ACTOR: Why would he come back now?
ACTRESS: There's a demonstration in front of the Greek parliament building. I think she'll use it as cover.
JASON BOURNE: They tracked you. We've gotta move.
RAHNI SADLER: Could you tell me five ways Matt Damon's not like Jason Bourne?
MATT DAMON: (LAUGHS) I can give you more than five. (LAUGHS) We can start with all the languages that he speaks that I wish I spoke.
JASON BOURNE: (SPEAKS FRENCH)
MATT DAMON: I hope there's an app for that some day that... ..they can just download that. Uh, let's see. I mean, well, the way he fights. I mean, I certainly can't fight like that. He's a lot more tortured than I am. You know, I think I... I've got a great wife. He definitely doesn't. And I've got kids.
RAHNI SADLER: Matt is raising four daughters - Alexia, Isabella, Gia and Stella. He's been married to Argentinean-born Luciana Barroso for 11 years.
RAHNI SADLER: Five women in the house.
MATT DAMON: It's a lot of oestrogen. I've got to...you know, occasionally need to leave to take my walk around, you know, the park by myself. But it's really wonderful.
RAHNI SADLER: What is it like to go from a set, being, like, the $1 million super soldier, to go home and, you know, help with the homework, put the trash out?
MATT DAMON: Yeah, my dad called me years ago laughing, with my brother, and I knew something was up, 'cause the two of them conference-called me. And I was like, "Alright, what's going on?" And my dad goes, "You..." He goes, "Matthew, your brother and I just realised something. "You remember the show we used to watch as kids, The Honeymooners?"
ANNOUNCER: Jackie Gleason. The Honeymooners.
MATT DAMON: And I said, "Yeah, of course." And he said, "Well, in that show, Jackie Gleason drove a bus, "the world just kinda crapped on him, "but when he came home, he was the king of his castle." And I go, "Yeah, right."
JACKIE GLEESON: This is MY home, and when you come in here, treat me with respect and address me with a civil tongue!
ACTRESS: Oh, why don't you shut up?
MATT DAMON: And I go, "Yeah, right, great."And he goes, "We realised," and I go, "What?" He goes, "You're the exact opposite. "Because everybody thinks you're a big deal and then you get home "and you don't run shit." (LAUGHS) "Those girls run you." And I went, "Yeah, that's true."
RAHNI SADLER: There were no sisters, just one brother, in Matt's childhood home. He grew up in Boston, his mum a professor, his dad a stockbroker. At 10 , he found his best friend. Ben Affleck grew up two streets away. Both shared the dream of one day having a career in movies.
JIMMY KIMMEL: It's moving!
BEN AFFLECK: No, it's not.
JIMMY KIMMEL: What the hell is going on here?
BEN AFFLECK: Hey, hey! What is this? Why are you touching me?
JIMMY KIMMEL: I'm not touching you... Oh!
(AUDIENCE CHEERS WILDLY)
RAHNI SADLER: That dream came true. In 1997, the virtual unknowns wrote Good Will Hunting and somehow convinced studios to let them star in it as well.
MATT DAMON: Let's let the healing begin. Would you excuse us?
RAHNI SADLER: Could you describe the very first day of shooting? You and Ben waited so long for that moment. You finally saw Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgard acting out your words. At the end of the scene, he put his hands on his head and said, "You really did this." Can you describe that moment?
MATT DAMON: Yeah, I remember realising that tears were coming down my face. It was such a... It was such a long process, or at least what felt to us like a long process because we were so young. I started writing it... you know, I was 22 and Ben was 20, so we were...you know, we didn't feel young, but we were young. And by the time we were shooting it, I was 26 and he was 24, so to go to...on that first day neither of us were working and we went to watch these two great actors, these heavyweights, these people that we really admired...
ROBIN WILLIAMS: I've got a full schedule. I'm very busy.
ACTOR: This boy is incredible. I've never seen anything like him.
ROBIN WILLIAMS: What makes him so incredible, Gerry?
MATT DAMON: ..saying the things that we'd written and it just was incredible. That was one of the m... I mean, more than winning the Academy Award or anything. That moment was a bigger deal.
ANNOUNCER: And the Oscar goes to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon! (WILD CHEERING) Yeah! Yahoo!
ANNOUNCER: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are childhood friends. They appeared together in Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting, for which Damon received a Best Actor nomination. This is their first Academy Award.
RAHNI SADLER: Al Pacino said the secret to success...
MATT DAMON: But what does he know? I mean, really.
RAHNI SADLER: Yeah. Exactly. Well, yeah. Well, I was gonna say, he said the secret to success is learning his lines, or learning your lines. What do you reckon the secret to success is?
MATT DAMON: That's a good... I never heard that. That's great. That is definitely one of the secrets to success. Yeah. Having something to say and knowing what it is, yeah.
TOM HANKS: James Francis Ryan of Iowa?
MATT DAMON: Yes, sir. Paton, Iowa. That's correct. What... What is this about?
TOM HANKS: Your brothers were killed in combat.
RAHNI SADLER: In a career that spans almost three decades, Matt has built a diverse body of work...
MATT DAMON: Which ones? All of them.
RAHNI SADLER: ..alongside some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
MATT DAMON: Frank. Do they know about me?
JACK NICHOLSON: I know about you, Colin.
RAHNI SADLER: But last year, in the stratospheric hit The Martian, he spent most of his time all alone. Now, this is a pretty frivolous question going into a pretty serious subject, but which would you prefer - to live in the US under a Donald Trump presidency or battle it out as the only human on Mars?
MATT DAMON: Let me just say, please save some property in Australia. (LAUGHS) Because... Just for my family. We're good people. We'll contribute. But yeah, no, the prospect of a Trump presidency is... It still feels like... It just feels... It still feels surreal.
DONALD TRUMP: (MIMICS SPEECH IMPEDIMENT) I don't know what I said. Uh... I don't remember! I'm really rich. I'll show you that in a second. The third group, I'll be a little more violent, and the fourth group, I'll say, "Get the hell outta here!"
RAHNI SADLER: You've called him xenophobic, disgusting and dehumanising.
MATT DAMON: Yeah. Yeah, look, I mean, he wants to build a wall around... You know, it's like... You know, my wife's family... You know, it's like... you want to keep out my own family. It's insane. It's totally insane. And ridiculous and impractical to boot.
DONALD TRUMP: We're going to build the wall. It's going to be built. (CROWD CHEERS) It's not even... Believe it or not, it's not even a difficult thing to do.
MATT DAMON: It's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard on a number of levels, but it's one of his main, kind of, selling points.
RAHNI SADLER: President Obama's made the point that it's a very serious job.
MATT DAMON: Yeah, it's THE MOST serious job. We need a serious person in that office. You know, the idea that it's gonna be this... ..this guy is just incredible.
RAHNI SADLER: When you see someone like Donald Trump have so much success in the political arena thus far, does that make you more or less likely to want to enter the mainstream political arena?
MATT DAMON: Oh, no. I would never... I'm not interested in politics. But no, I could run a good campaign. Look, if that clown can do it, I mean, I'm telling you, you know... Bad actors like Ronald Reagan can become president, you know what I mean, so... There are a lot of us, I think, who could... ..who could play a pretty convincing president. But that doesn't mean that we should. As our president has said, it is a very serious job.
TEAM AMERICA PUPPET 1: The time has come for us to start using our acting talents in a different way.
TEAM AMERICA PUPPER 2: Yes, we can use our powers to change the world. (ALL CHANT)
RAHNI SADLER: It was Matt's strong political views that resulted in one of his most often quoted roles - one he didn't actually play. Matt Damon.
MATT DAMON: I was kind of baffled when I saw the movie, and I loved that movie, and I'm glad that I was, you know, pilloried in the movie. (LAUGHS) Also because, you know, the actors who they kind of called out in that movie were all the ones who were vocal about their opposition to the Iraq War.
MAN: Helen Hunt, George Clooney, Liv Tyler, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Janeane Garofalo and Matt Damon. Matt Damon.
MATT DAMON: And I stand by that and... ..you know, and I wear it as a badge of honour that they made fun of me. But I still sign autographs, like, you know, the professional autograph people that come with pictures from all these different movies and I sign the puppet one more than any and they ask me to write 'Maaaatt Damon'.
RAHNI SADLER: (LAUGHS)
PUPPET: Matt Damon!
RAHNI SADLER: But Jason Bourne remains one of Matt's favourite characters, and one he is willing to bet on in an all-time Hollywood showdown.
RAHNI SADLER: If James Bond took on Jason Bourne, who would win?
MATT DAMON: Well, which one?
RAHNI SADLER: Uh, let's say the current one.
MATT DAMON: Daniel?
RAHNI SADLER: Let's say Daniel.
MATT DAMON: Daniel - he's a pretty fit guy. I think it looks tougher a lot of the times. You know, Bond is so slick that, you know, I don't think we've ever seen him kind of pushed to the edge of his abilities, so that worries me a little bit. That worries me a little bit. But Bourne is pretty resilient, so I don't know. I'd have a tough time betting against either of them.
RAHNI SADLER: (LAUGHS) So Bourne goes harder?
MATT DAMON: It's...yeah. Well, we always try to make our action kind of feel more real. You know, Bond, I mean... And then Bond... And Daniel's Bond, I think, has moved much more in that direction. Back when it was Roger Moore, it was kind of like, wink, wink, you know.
RAHNI SADLER: (LAUGHS) Everything was easy. "Let's have another martini."
MATT DAMON: Yeah, exactly. It's like, he was drunk the whole time. You know...
(JAMES BOND THEME PLAYS)
RAHNI SADLER: As much as Matt loves making Bourne films, it's just one part of the reason he's one of the most celebrated, loved and respected stars in the world.
MATT DAMON: Hey there. (EXPLOSION)
RAHNI SADLER: Is being a big international movie star as fun as it looks? Well, I don't kind of go around thinking of myself that way. I've spent my entire adult life and, really, my adolescence focusing on being an actor and making movies.
MATT DAMON: I'm a botanist. That's what I do.
RAHNI SADLER: You do it 'cause you absolutely love it and you're around 5 other people who love making movies and it's a really, really cool job.
ALEX CULLEN: The new Jason Bourne movie opens in cinemas on July 28.
