Mt. Rushmore- Matt Damon
I’ve gone back & forth on who my all-time favorite actor is. But right now my official answer would be Mr. Matt Damon. I absolutely love every movie he’s in, mostly because of him. I feel that he brings a charisma to every role that also has a hint of snarky-ness & cynicism that is a winning combination for me. All that being said, this was perhaps the hardest Mt. Rushmore thus far (which you may be thinking ‘wow out of 6 this is the hardest? Big whoop.’ But no, I have a spreadsheet with nearly 450 of these suckers so ha!) Anyways, I think eventually I will Matt Damon Part II, where some of these honorable mentions will be officially recognized, but here, they will only be honorably mentioned. They are: Private James F. Ryan in ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ Sgt. Colin Sullivan in ‘The Departed,’ Francois Pienaar in ‘Invictus,’ Tom Ripley in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley,’ Dr. Mann in ‘Interstellar,’ Leslie Groves in ‘Oppenheimer,’ Sonny Vaccaro in ‘Air,’ & Spirit in ‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.’
Linus Caldwell in the Ocean’s trilogy- First appearing in 2001’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ before appearing in the ‘04 & ‘07 sequels, Caldwell is a pickpocket who is scouted out by Danny Ocean (George Clooney) & Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) because they see the potential he has to be so much more. Well, more of a criminal. He plays a vital part in the elaborate scam & is definitely the #3 man in the plan behind Ocean & Ryan (at least in the first film). In the second film he takes on more of a leadership role & Damon brings that aforementioned cynicism to every scene. He had a cameo in ‘Ocean’s 8’ that was cut, meaning he’s played this role three times which puts it right behind…
Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise- This was personally my introduction to Matt Damon. He has played the role four times, making it his most reprised role. The first role elevated Damon to legit action star status and he continued on with that bringing more in each outing. Through Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum, and Jason Bourne, Damon created one of the all-time cinema spies.
Will Hunting in ‘Good Will Hunting’- The movie that made the man. I stand on the fact this is one of the greatest films ever made. It is highly emotional, extremely intelligent, & incredibly relatable. Will evolves drastically through the film & the bond he has with Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) is so heartwarming. The writing in this film is some of the best I’ve ever witnessed (which can also be credited to Damon & won him and his Benny boy their Oscars) & Damon’s line delivery hits every mark.
Dr. Mark Watney in ‘The Martian’- One of my top 5 favorite films of all-time and perhaps my favorite performance ever. Andy Weir’s book is my favorite novel & I think the film does it absolute justice. Damon has me hanging on every word he delivers as Watney and every one liner is perfect to a tee. The fact most of his scenes are between him and just him. Just sheer, utter brilliance.
