Matt Damon and The Celebrity Game
Posted: Thursday, August 02, 2007 8:52 AM by Noah Oppenheim
We interviewed Matt Damon today (video). He was charming and entertaining, but to be honest, expectations for this one were modest. Damon has a reputation for being a “bad” celebrity interview. He doesn’t bring the requisite couch-jumping, finger-pointing, boiling-over-insanity that makes for good TV.
For those reasons, I’ve always liked Damon. He defies what we’ve come to expect of our movie stars. He appears to be sober, he doesn’t shill for a cult, and one gets the sense he could hold his own in a 6th grade spelling bee. He openly rejects the notion that everything he says is inherently interesting, because he happens to be a famous actor. And he refuses, as he puts it, to “pimp” his private life to sell movie tickets.
We interview a lot of celebrities around here. We ask them about their latest project, what it was like to work with their co-stars, what attracted them to the project, how much of themselves they brought to the role, what are they doing next… I’ll admit – I watch and listen. I also read US Weekly, People, and will even browse through OK! magazine if I have time to kill in the airport. I like the glossy photos.
Why? Celebrities are attractive people and I enjoy gawking at their splendor. Much like I enjoy gazing at a pretty sunset. And I certainly respect the creative chops of any fine performer. (I’m still not sure how they manage to cry on cue.) But there is a growing body of evidence that worshipping them as “personalities” and turning their private lives into spectacle is bad for actors. Just ask Lindsay Lohan. And it’s bad for us. It allows us to prolong our adolescent fascination with the “cool” kids and all their trappings.
Damon, in his classy reticence, is onto something. Being a “bad” celebrity interview might reflect good judgment.
