MattDamonHollywood’sUltimate Everyman马特·达蒙：好莱坞的终极“普通人”

By+Elizabeth+Day++蔡芸菲

Hes just so grounded. Hes so intelligent. He makes these smart choices， as an actor， as a producer， as a writer. Hes so composed. You never hear a bad word said about him. Everybody loves him. （他脚踏实地，机智聪明。无论是当演员，做制片人还是成为编剧，他做的这些决定都很明智。他沉着冷静。你根本听不到任何一句关于他的坏话。所有人都爱他。）

—Benedict Cumberbatch （本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇）

I am sitting opposite Matt Damon and he is saying hes sorry for being a bad movie star. He cant help it， he says. Hes simply too dull.

“I think people just leave a room Im in and theyre like： Well that guy wasnt a movie star，” he explains. “Jesus！ Anybody could do that.”

We are sitting in a gloomy hotel room， at a large round conference table which is too big for the two of us. Damon is dressed like a father on the school run1）： sensible2） navy blue polo shirt， trousers with practical pockets down the side. He has a smattering3） of facial hair. The most film-starry thing about him is his muscle tone4）： He has arms that look like theyve been drawn by a Popeye5） animator.

Other than this， Damon insists hes entirely normal. He has a wife， Luciana， whom he met while filming in Miami in 2003 when she was working behind a bar， and the couple have four daughters ranging in age from four to 16—Alexia， from Lucianas previous relationship， Isabella， Gia and Stella. Damon is a self-confessed family man. He has a rule that they will never be apart for more than two weeks while hes filming. His daily life is so average even the paparazzi6） have decamped from outside his home in Los Angeles because he never does anything that merits a photograph.

“You know， a guy whos married happily with four kids is not quite a story，” Damon says with a sorry-but-what-can-you-do smile. “ And so theyll come back and theyll take an occasional picture … but its kind of just updating the file.”

Im not entirely buying this. At 44， Damon is smart enough to know that his supposed “normality” is his stock in trade7）. His approachability8） on-screen， combined with a sense of nuance9） and depth， has lent his performances a likeable， everyman-ish quality that has proved to be box-office catnip10）.

In 2007， Forbes magazine named Damon as Hollywoods most bankable actor， averaging $29 in takings for every dollar he earned in a movie. From Good Will Hunting （which Damon co-wrote with Ben Affleck， winning the 1997 Oscar for best screenplay） and Saving Private Ryan to the big-budget Bourne movie franchise or the dystopian sci-fi fantasy Elysium， he has a capacity to hint at a characters inner complexity without ever veering11） into pretension. According to Manohla Dargis of the New York Times， Damons power lies in his ability “to recede into a film while also being fully present.”

His latest project is no exception. In The Martian， directed by Ridley Scott， Damon plays Mark Watney， a NASA astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars after he is injured in a fierce storm and presumed dead by his crew.

Admittedly， an astronaut is hardly your average kind of Joe12）， but Damon manages to imbue13） the role with his classic down-to-earth sensibility. When Watney is confronted with a problem， he solves it through the power of science and logical thinking. Despite forever teetering on the verge of14） an existential crisis， Watney remains quick-witted and optimistic. When he runs out of food， he simply starts growing potatoes in his own vacuum-packed faecal15） matter.

I wonder if filming The Martian made Damon contemplate his own resourcefulness16）. Would he be good in a similar situation？

“Probably not， no. I have too many connections that matter to me. It might be fun for a day， you know， but no. Id probably go a little bonkers17）.”

Even as a small boy， he never wanted to be an astronaut， preferring instead the world of superheroes. When he was growing up in Cambridge， Massachusetts， with his older brother Kyle， his mother would put out a dressing-up box and he would choose either a red or blue floral towel， safety-pinning it round his neck like a cape. The red towel was for Superman. Blue was for Shazam18）， the teenage hero of a 1970s TV series who could transform into Captain Marvel.

“That was how I broke my ankle，” Damon recalls. “When I was three， I climbed to the top of the jungle gym19） in my Shazam cape and I shouted， ‘Shazam！ And I tried to fly and I fell.”

He remembers his stockbroker father， Kent， running across from the other side of the playground to come to his aid and what stuck in Damons mind was not the pain in his ankle but the way his father was running—like an athlete， with pumping arms and a long， fluid pace.

“I remember afterwards， when I healed， months later， trying to jog [like him]. So I would jog pumping my fists to the ground20）. I was trying to ape the movement， but I wasnt quite pulling it off21）.” He shakes his head， laughs.

He was three， hed just broken his ankle， but Damons focus was already on how another person was behaving and how he could best mimic it.

His parents later divorced and the boys lived with their mother， Nancy Carlsson-Paige， a university professor specialising in early education. Apparently， she always knew he was going to be an actor because of his love of costume and role-playing， and his ability to entertain himself for long stretches of time.

But Damon found fame as one-half of a long-term collaboration. Ben Affleck was his childhood best friend—the two of them met when they were eight and attended the same high school. Damon went to Harvard， Affleck to the University of Vermont， but both dropped out before getting their degrees and worked together on the script for Good Will Hunting， which drew on their own experiences growing up in Cambridge. The script was bought by Castle Rock22） in 1994. Three years later it became a huge critical and commercial success starring Damon as undiscovered genius Will Hunting， with Affleck as his childhood friend， and Robin Williams23） as the psychologist who helps Hunting come to terms with his talent.

“I laughed the entire time we wrote，” Damon says now. “It was a really joyful experience.” He was less enamoured24） of his sudden celebrity. “You wake up one morning and the world is entirely the same and you know， actually， all the things that mattered yesterday are the same today， except the world is forever going to be a totally different place for you，” he says.

“Thats the mind-fuck and it takes a few years to even get your head around25） whats happening … I remember my brother said： ‘How are you doing？ And I was， like， ‘Im the fucking same， but everyone else is different.”

Its nice， talking to Damon. Unlike many actors， he answers questions with a reflective openness. There is a feeling that nothing is out of bounds. He is politically engaged—a Democrat， but also a critic of Barack Obama （he has spoken out about Obamas education policies and questioned the legality of drone strikes） and says hes deeply worried about the chasm26） between rich and poor in America in the aftermath of the economic crisis.

“That anger did not go away because none of these guys [the bankers] got prosecuted and they all have our money， and these houses in the Hamptons27） they live in—that they claim to have earned—are paid for with our money. I mean， thats what happened！ And so， I dont know what the consequences for that kind of thing are.”

He maintains a steady eye contact and has a dry sense of humour28）. When I ask， in the middle of a discussion about directors， whether he would ever consider being directed by Affleck， he replies deadpan29）： “Sure， if the right thing came along.” Pause. “I mean， he usually gives himself the main role in the thing hes directing， so it would need to probably be a two-hander.”

He says that when picking projects， he is entirely guided by the quality of the director： “Thats all that matters in film. The rest of it is utter bullshit. A mediocre30） director will ruin a great piece of material.” Has he worked with mediocre directors in the past？ “Yes.”

He wont name names. But for every big-budget blockbuster he has been attached to， Damon has put in a quieter， more complex performance in films like Anthony Minghellas The Talented Mr Ripley or The Good Shepherd， directed by Robert de Niro， or Martin Scorseses The Departed. In 2013， he starred as Liberaces lover， Scott Thorson， in the Steven Soderbergh television drama film Behind the Candelabra31）.

Damon was a straight man playing gay. Is it harder for actors to be openly gay in Hollywood？ “Im sure. I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly，” he says. “But in terms of actors， I think youre a better actor the less people know about you， period32）. And sexuality is a huge part of that. People shouldnt know anything about your sexuality because thats one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”

So is Matt Damon just a normal guy， adept at pretending to be mysterious？ I dont think so. Hes cleverer than that： Hes worked out that the appearance of averageness affords the greatest opportunity for privacy and creative space.

How would he describe himself as an actor？ There is a long pause. “I dont know，” he says. “Subtle， hopefully.”

The arms though. The arms give him away.

我坐在马特·达蒙的对面，他说自己不是个称职的影星，为此感到抱歉。他说对此他也没办法。他就是个很无趣的人。

“我想，和我共处一室的人在离开时都会这么说：好吧，那家伙不是个电影明星吧，”他这样解释道，“天哪！就他这样儿谁都能当明星了 。”

我们在一间幽暗的酒店房间里见面，坐在圆形大会议桌旁，那张桌子对于我们两个人而言简直太大了。达蒙的穿着就像是一位接送孩子上学的父亲：上着朴素耐穿的海军蓝马球衫，下穿两侧带有实用口袋的裤子。他的脸上有少许胡须。他身上最有电影明星气质的地方当属他那紧实的肌肉：他的手臂看上去就像是大力水手的动画制作者画出来的一样。

除此之外，达蒙坚称自己完全是个平常人。他的妻子名叫露茜安娜，是他2003年在迈阿密拍电影时认识的，当时她是一家酒吧的服务员。他们有四个女儿，年龄从4岁到16岁不等，分别是亚历克西亚（露茜安娜与前任的女儿）、伊莎贝拉、吉雅和斯特拉。达蒙自认是个顾家的男人。他有一个规矩，那就是他在拍摄电影期间与家人永远不能分开超过两个星期。他的日常生活太普通了，连守在他洛杉矶家门外的狗仔队都撤走了，因为他从来没做过一件值得拍照的事。

“你知道，一个婚姻幸福还有四个孩子的男人没有什么故事性可言，”达蒙说着露出了一种“抱歉但是你能怎样”的笑容，“他们还是会回来，偶尔拍张照片……不过也就是为了更新一下档案。”

我并不完全相信他说的话。44岁（编注：英文原文发表于2015年9月27日）的达蒙聪明得很，他知道自己所谓的“平常”是他的惯用手法。他在银幕上的亲和力，加上他身上的某种细腻感和深厚的底蕴，使他的表演有一种讨人喜欢的普通人的特质，事实证明，这种特质具有强大的票房吸引力。

2007年，《福布斯》杂志将达蒙列为好莱坞最卖座的演员，他在一部电影中每赚一美元，平均就能为电影带来29美元的票房进账。从《心灵捕手》（由达蒙和本·阿弗莱克共同创作，获得1997年奥斯卡最佳原创剧本奖）和《拯救大兵瑞恩》到大制作的《谍影重重》系列电影，再到反乌托邦题材的科幻电影《极乐世界》，他都有能力通过毫不做作的表演来暗示出角色的复杂心理。《纽约时报》的曼诺拉·达吉斯认为，达蒙的实力在于他可以“将自己隐匿于电影之中而同时还有十足的存在感”。

他的最新作品也不例外。在由雷德利·斯科特执导的《火星救援》中，达蒙饰演美国国家航空航天局的一名宇航员马克·瓦特尼，他在火星上的一场猛烈风暴中受了伤，队友以为他已牺牲，结果他就这样被滞留在了火星上。

不可否认，宇航员不能算是普通人，但是达蒙却设法将他经典的朴实的感觉渗透到了这个角色中。当瓦特尼遇到问题时，他用科学的力量和逻辑思维去解决。尽管一直面临生存危机，但是瓦特尼依然思维敏捷，乐观向上。当食物要耗尽时，他便开始利用真空包装的自己的排泄物来种植土豆。

我很想知道达蒙在拍摄《火星救援》之后是否也思量过自己随机应变的能力。在类似的情境下他也会表现得如此出色吗？

“大概不会，不会的。我有太多对我而言很重要的牵挂。要知道，那样生活一天可能很有趣，但不能一直那样。我可能会发疯。”

即便在小时候，他也从来没有想过要成为一名宇航员，相反，他更喜欢超级英雄的世界。他与哥哥科尔在马萨诸塞州的剑桥市一起长大。那时，他妈妈拿出玩化妆游戏的箱子时，他会选择红色或者蓝色的印花毛巾，然后围在脖子上，用安全别针别住，就像斗篷一样。红色毛巾是用来扮超人的，而蓝色毛巾是用来扮巫师沙赞的，沙赞是20世纪70年代一部电视剧里的少年英雄，可以变身为惊奇队长。

“我就是因为那个摔伤脚踝的，”达蒙回忆道，“三岁的时候，我穿着巫师沙赞的斗篷爬到儿童攀登架的顶部，然后大喊：‘沙赞！我试图飞起来，然后我就摔了下去。”

他记得他那身为股票经纪人的父亲肯特从游戏场的另一边跑过来救他。当时让达蒙铭记在心的并不是脚踝的疼痛，而是他父亲跑步的方式—他就像一名运动员，摆动双臂，大步流星。

“我记得后来，等几个月后我痊愈了，我还试图[学他的样子]慢跑。于是我在慢跑的时候充分挥拳。我试图模仿他的动作，但是学得不像。”他摇了摇头，笑了起来。

达蒙当时才三岁，又刚刚摔伤了脚踝，但他已经在关注另一个人的行为举止以及如何惟妙惟肖地模仿这一举止了。

他的父母后来离婚了，兄弟俩就和母亲南茜·卡尔森-佩吉生活在一起，她是研究早期教育的大学教授。显然，她一直都知道达蒙会成为一名演员，因为他热衷于戏服和角色扮演，而且他能自娱自乐玩好长时间。

然而，达蒙却是因为和一位搭档的长期合作而成名的。本·阿弗莱克是他儿时最好的朋友，他们八岁相识，念同一所高中。后来达蒙上了哈佛大学，阿弗莱克去了佛蒙特大学，但是他们两个人还没获得学位就都退学了，然后根据他们自己在剑桥市的成长经历一起创作了剧本《心灵捕手》。这个剧本在1994年被城堡石娱乐公司买走，三年后在评论界和商业方面都获得了巨大的成功。在电影里，达蒙饰演主角—一个未被发现的天才威尔·亨廷，阿弗莱克饰演他儿时的朋友，罗宾·威廉姆斯饰演那位帮助亨廷接纳自己天赋的心理医生。

“在我们写剧本的整个过程中我都在笑，”达蒙说道，“那真是快乐的经历。”对于自己一夜成名这件事，他不太放在心上。“你某天早晨醒来，这个世界还和往常完全一样。你知道，昨天很重要的事事实上在今天依旧重要，只是世界对你而言永远成了与从前截然不同的地方了。”他说。

“那让人一下子懵了，哪怕只是搞清楚发生了什么都要花几年的时间……我记得我哥哥说：‘你还好吗？我说：‘我还是那个我呀，可是其他人都变了。”

跟达蒙聊天很愉快。与很多演员不同，他回答问题时经过思考，却很坦率，让人觉得什么都可以聊。他参与政治，是一位民主党人士，但是他也批判巴拉克·奥巴马。（他曾坦率地表达自己对于奥巴马的教育政策的看法，还质疑无人机袭击的合法性。）他说他很担心金融危机结束后美国的贫富差距鸿沟。

“那种愤怒还没有平息，因为这些人（银行家）没有一个被起诉。他们还拿着我们的钱。他们在汉普顿的那些房子—他们声称是自己挣钱买的—实际上是用我们的钱买的。我是说，就是这么回事！而我却不知道对于这样的事会有什么样的后果。”

他一直与我保持眼神交流，而且充满冷幽默。在有关导演的讨论中，我问他是否会考虑出演由阿弗莱克导演的电影，他故意板着脸回答：“当然了，如果有合适的作品的话。”他顿了一下说：“我的意思是，他通常都会在自己导演的电影中担任主角，所以可能需要一部双主角的电影。”

他说，在挑选作品的时候，他完全根据导演的水平进行选择：“那是电影中最关键的地方，其他的都纯粹是胡扯。一位平庸的导演会毁掉一部杰作。”他自己过去是否与平庸的导演合作过呢？“是的。”

他不会说出导演的名字。不过，虽然达蒙参演过很多高预算的轰动大片，他也在一些电影中有过更温和也更复杂的表演，比如安东尼·明格拉执导的《天才雷普利》、罗伯特·德尼罗执导的《特务风云》以及马丁·斯科赛斯执导的《无间行者》。在2013年，他还在史蒂文·索德伯格执导的剧情类的电视电影《烛台背后》中饰演过李伯拉斯的情人斯科特·索尔森。

达蒙是个直男，扮演的是同性恋的角色。演员在好莱坞公开承认同性恋身份是否更加艰难呢？“我想肯定是。我觉得演员公开出柜一定是非常艰难的，”他说，“但就演员而论，我觉得人们对你了解得越少，越说明你是个好演员，就是这么回事。而性倾向是其中非常重要的一部分。人们不应该知道你的性倾向，因为那是你应该能表现出来的神秘感之一。”

那么，马特·达蒙是否只是一个善于故作神秘的普通人呢？我并不这么认为。他比这更聪明：他早已发现，普通人的表象可以为演员的隐私和创作空间提供最好的机会。

他会怎样形容作为演员的自己呢？他沉默了许久，说：“我不知道。细腻—我希望是这样。”

然而，他的手臂，那紧实的手臂出卖了他。