PLANET Q&A: Matt Damon Finds His Swing

Planet Hollywood.com Tuesday, October 31, 2000.
by Prairie Miller

Matt Damon stars as a despondent golf champ who gets rescued by an angelic Will Smith in The Legend Of Bagger Vance. But in real life, the Academy Award winning young actor, who got his start alongside Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza, appears to have little need of a guardian angel. He has shown himself to be at the top of his game in nearly every one of his movies, from Good Will Hunting and The Talented Mr. Ripley to The Rainmaker and Saving Private Ryan. Damon talked with PlanetHollywood.com about the rigors of mastering golf for the movie, and the thrill of working under director Robert Redford.

PLANET HOLLYWOOD: So, how do you feel about turning thirty?

MATT DAMON: I don't know how it is for anybody else, but for me, do I feel older? Of course not. I guess becoming thirty is significant somehow, but I don't think I've internalized that yet.

PH: Your character, Junuh, in this movie is somebody who is down and out, and struggles out of it against a lot of obstacles. Is that something remote from your own life that was difficult for you to identify with?

MD: Well, yes and no. I think there's a tendency to always assume what people in the spotlight are like, based on some vapid reporting about their lives. Like I don't feel that I know what anybody's life is like who I see in the news. But right now, I'm actually just musing about how inarticulate my answer is, so this is getting pretty... interesting!

PH: Do you identify with anything about this character?

MD: Well, yeah. There's a certain amount of disillusionment, which I think that we all have the older we get. You know, when we see kinda how things work, and we all become a little bit cynical, probably.
But yeah, Junuh is interesting in the sense that this is the guy who was like the golden child, and he had everything. But he thought that certain rules applied to life. And that when everybody else played by the rules, he was very successful.
But he realizes the fact that there is a reality that is chaotic, and that isn't governed by any rules and that is enough to just send him into a tailspin. So he's a victim of his success, once he realizes that life isn't all governed by a set of rules and then he just completely abandons life.

PH: Now you haven't been a victim of your success, whereas so many other young actors have. What's your secret?

MD: I don't know. I think it's having really great friends and a great family. The only thing that success has really done for me, is just make me feel more strongly about what I already thought before it happened. The only thing that matters is your deep relationships, that's what defines you. And the rest of it is bullshit.

PH: Was the chance to work with Robert Redford a big reason that you got involved in The Legend Of Bagger Vance?

MD: He's a director that obviously I knew I would love to work with. So yeah, I couldn't say no. The odds of working with directors that are this good are really slim, so I couldn't say no. I just feel pretty lucky.

PH: What was it about the story that got you hooked?

MD: That this was all about redemption, that was really fascinating. My character seemed to have it all and to be such a success in life, but his success is so dependent on this game.
And life was a breeze for him until he went off to fight in World War I. When he's confronted with his failure in that and with death, his whole notion of the way the world works falls apart. He comes back a broken man, until the game and this mysterious caddie Bagger Vance offer him hope again. And what's at stake is not just the game, but his soul.

PH: How many blisters did it take to get that 'authentic swing' for this movie? Didn't you really throw yourself into this role to get it right?

MD: Yeah, definitely. And it's a really hard thing it turns out, to learn how to play golf! I had to learn from scratch. But the one advantage of never having played before is that you don't bring any bad habits to it that you have to break first. My disadvantage was that I had played baseball, so I was all about bat speed. And that doesn't really help. So I ended up separating a rib during the whole thing.

PH: How did that happen?

MD: I was swinging so hard, and I swung once and just went right into the ground. My body kept going, and my arms stayed like that. It was really ugly. So for the last month of the movie, whenever I had to take a swing, there was a chiropractor there because sometimes when I would swing, my rib would fall out again. That is really painful, I would just crumple to the ground.
The crew would know the minute that rib was going to drop. So they'd shoot and go, 'Cut!', when they knew I was going to double over. Then I would lie down and the guy would come around and jam my rib back up. And they'd go, 'We need one more take!' That was pretty funny.

PH: Whew! Was there a moment when you hit the ball, and you knew you had that 'authentic swing?'

MD: Yeah, but it comes and it goes. I mean, sometimes you hit a really good shot, and sometimes you can't just for the life of you. But it's like what all golfers say, 'One good shot and you're hooked.' Like they know you're gonna come back because anybody can step up, just hit it once and hit it really well. And if you can do that, you're probably gonna end up being addicted to it.

PH: And you had that camera in your face, too.

MD: Yeah, exactly. Well, the one good thing is that I'm used to playing under pressure. So if I ever get in a big money game, I hopefully won't choke.

PH: Is golf easier than riding a horse, like you do in your next movie, All The Pretty Horses?

MD: It's just very different. The performance was more informed in All The Pretty Horses by riding horses, than with golf in The Legend Of Bagger Vance. Because I'd come right from Ripley to go to All The Pretty Horses. And if Tom Ripley were near a horse, he'd be kicked in the face in no time, because he was really nervous and kind of uptight. A horse really picks up on your energy.

PH: So will you be playing any more golf?

MD: Oh yeah. I'm a real golf addict now.

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