Matthew Paige Damon (born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from five nominations, and two Golden Globe Awards. He also received three BAFTA Award nominations, seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and six Screen Actors Guild Awards. Damon made his professional acting debut in the film Mystic Pizza (1988). He came to prominence when he and Ben Affleck wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting (1997), which won them the Academy Award for Best Screenplay. He continued to garner praise for his roles in Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), the Ocean's trilogy (2001-2007), the Bourne franchise (2002-2016), The Departed (2006), Invictus (2009), True Grit (2010), Behind The Candelabra (2013), The Martian (2015), Ford v Ferrari (2019), and Air (2023). Damon has co-written the feature films Good Will Hunting (1997), Gerry (2002), Promised Land (2012) and The L