Matt Damon is recalling his first on-set experience with Clint Eastwood in the director’s chair.
During a recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, the Oscar winner said he quickly learned the legendary filmmaker’s directing style when he got shut down on his first day of filming 2009’s Invictus for asking to film another take. Eastwood is known for giving actors limited takes while filming.
“So I was playing a South African rugby player, and that’s a really tough accent to do,” Damon remembered, adding that he “spent six months” working with a dialect coach to perfect the accent of his character, Francois Pienaar. “[The coach] would come in from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, we would work on this accent. … It was a lot of work and fun and great.”
“And I showed up [on set] and I am ready and it’s my chance to work with one of my heroes,” The Odyssey actor continued. “The very first take, I did it… There are a number of ways I’m thinking of doing the scene and he just goes, ‘Cut, print, move on.’ I go, ‘Hang on, hang on, hang on, boss. I want to, you know, I want to do another one. That was the first one!’ He goes, ‘Why? You wanna waste everybody’s time?’ And I went, ‘No, I guess we’re moving on.’ And it was one take.”
Invictus was Damon’s first time working with Eastwood, and his performance ultimately earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. He collaborated with the director again on Eastwood’s 2010 film Hereafter.
Damon clarified that there was still “kindness” in Eastwood’s tone when he rejected his request for more takes, adding that he’s “a lovely guy.”
“His whole mentality was… your crew will go to the ends of the Earth for you as long as you’re not taxing them on every shot,” Damon explained. “When we need to get in there, we get in there. For the most part, professional actors are going to show up with something good and we keep the momentum.”
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