Matt Damon was getting ready to take a break from acting when writer-director Christopher Nolan called to offer him a role in the upcoming Oppenheimer.
The 52-year-old actor plays Leslie Groves, who served as director of The Manhattan Project, where the title character developed the atomic bomb, in Oppenheimer, which Damon’s co-star Robert Downey Jr. said was the ‘best film I’ve ever been in.’
Damon revealed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he was negotiating with his wife Luciana Barroso about taking a break from acting… but the one caveat was he would star in anything Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan called him about.
Damon was chatting with Nolan and his Oppenheimer co-stars Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, when he admitted, ‘This is going to sound made up, but it’s actually true.’
‘I had — not to get too personal — negotiated extensively with my wife that I was taking time off,’ Damon admits.
Break: Matt Damon was getting ready to take a break from acting when writer-director Christopher Nolan called to offer him a role in the upcoming Oppenheimer
Negotiating: Damon revealed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he was negotiating with his wife Luciana Barroso about taking a break from acting… but the one caveat was he would star in anything Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan called him about
Damon added that he starred in Nolan’s 2014 film Interstellar, ‘and then Chris put me on ice for a couple of movies, so I wasn’t in the rotation.’
‘I actually negotiated in couples therapy — this is a true story — the one caveat to my taking time off was if Chris Nolan called,’ Damon admitted.
He added that, when he negotiated this point, it was ,’without knowing whether or not he was working on anything, because he never tells you. He just calls you out of the blue. And so, it was a moment in my household.’
His co-star Murphy confirmed Damon’s assertion of how Nolan works, adding, ‘Chris’ way of operating is that he just calls you out of the blue.’
‘I genuinely had no idea. He said he was making a movie about Oppenheimer and he said, “I’d like you to play Oppenheimer.” I had to sit down. It was kind of overwhelming,’ Murphy admits.
Nolan added that calling potential co-stars out of the blue without any warning whatsoever is, ‘a fun way to do it,’ though there is a downside.
‘But it means that it’s very difficult to call you to go out to dinner or something. Because every time you answer the phone it’s like, what is it going to be?’ Nolan said.
Damon will next be seen in Ethan Coen’s Drive Away Dolls, in theaters September 22 and he also lends his voice to writer-director John Krasinski’s Imaginary Friends, in theaters May 24, 2024.
Co-stars: His co-star Cillian Murphy (right) confirmed Damon’s assertion of how Nolan works, adding, ‘Chris’ way of operating is that he just calls you out of the blue’
A moment: He added that, when he negotiated this point, it was ,’without knowing whether or not he was working on anything, because he never tells you. He just calls you out of the blue. And so, it was a moment in my household’
Coming soon: Damon will next be seen in Ethan Coen’s Drive Away Dolls, in theaters September 22 and he also lends his voice to writer-director John Krasinski’s Imaginary Friends, in theaters May 24, 2024
The actor also stars in The Instigators, with Ving Rhames, Casey Affleck, Ron Perlman and Jack Harlow, which is in post-production and doesn’t have a release date yet.
He is also attached to star in The King of Oil, which is currently in pre-production though it’s unclear when filming will begin.
Damon will play Marc Rich, a financier and commodity trader, who became a billionaire in the 1970s by using the spot market for oil.
The actor also has a number of different projects that he’s producing including Unstoppable with Jennifer Lopez and Small Things Like These with Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson.
