Best of Matt Damon’s Reddit AMA

Matt Damon did a Reddit AMA to promote his new movie Monuments Men and his and Ben Affleck’s respective charities, the Eastern Congo Initiative and Water.org. Here are some of the better questions/answers. In one stunning reveal, he says he might actually make it onto the Jimmy Kimmel show after 10 years of waiting.

I heard George Clooney said that you guys all took pay cuts for monuments men. Why did you decide to do that and are there other films you’ve done that for?

For most films you take a pay cut, especially if you’re working with an ensemble. They just can’t pay what everyone’s quote is, because the movie would be too cumbersome and no one could make it. I’ve done that with all of the Ocean’s movies. You have an established quote, and the studio decides what percentage everyone takes. So everyone cuts the same percentage of their agreed upon salary. Actually, I think the only time I got my full quote was for the 3rd Bourne movie.

Hey Matt, what was the best prank George played on you?

He just did one literally last week. I got these giant fruit baskets in the mail from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. They had just made jokes at everyone’s expense at the Golden Globes that were really funny. George made up stationary with my name on it, and sent a really wounded letter to Tina and Amy saying my feelings were really hurt, how could they do this, etc. So they sent two fruit baskets. One had a letter with an apology. Another said “If this is part of some Clooney prank, please know that we’re grown-ass comedians, and you have to do a little better to fool us.” So I photographed the letters and emailed them to George with a caption that said “Go f**k yourself.” He’s honestly a child. I can just see his shoulders shaking when he laughs alone in his house.

Here’s the fake letter George sent as Matt:

Dear Tina,

Look, it sounds hypocritical because I laughed about jokes about George and Leo, but that’s sort of what people think about them…. But when you call me a garbage man it just seems like low-hanging fruit. It seems like an easy joke. I don’t want an apology or anything else. I just want you to know that my kid now calls me ‘the garbage man.’

Are you worried that Jimmy Kimmel might show up and ruin this for you Matt?

I’m actually Backstage at the Kimmel show. I’m hoping to be on tonight, I’m told I’m going to get on tonight for the first time in 10 years. Except when I tied him up and hosted the show… George Clooney made a deal to get all the Monuments Men on Kimmel, so after 10 years of waiting I’m actually going to make it on the show.

When you play monopoly, which piece do you choose to represent you on the board, and why?

Top hat. I think that’s an easy answer. It classes up the joint.

What did you think of Matt Stone and Trey Parkers portrayal of you in Team America World Police? (Maatt Daaaaamon)

I thought it was brilliant! I mean, I never understood it, and then I heard an interview with them and they said the puppet came in looking kind of mentally deficient and they didn’t have time to change it, so they just made me someone who could really only say his own name. All the comedy they’re doing is really next-level stuff. Also, I liked being included as a person who was against the Iraq war.

If I come hang out with you in Hollywood what are the chances that we’ll become best friends?

There’s a very good chance of that. I have 32 years of being Ben’s friend, I’m definitely ready for somebody new to hang out with. It’s gonna be a great time. We have a really fun night planned and we’ll probably be in some kind of competition to befriend the winner so they leave the experience saying that one of us is better than the other. I’m personally committed to making sure the winner likes me more than Ben. And if it means us starting a secret handshake or joining a bowling league, I’m in. Anyway, here’s the link: www.omaze.com/mattandben

How close were you to Hoffman? The Talented mr. Ripley is one of my favourites.

I mean, pretty close. We worked together a long time ago and I would see him here and there, all over the place. I’d go to his plays at the Labyrinth and I saw him just last year, we were working on Monuments Men and had dinner with him. The last time I saw him, I took my oldest daughter to The Hunger Games premiere in LA and we had a chat before the movie started. It’s just incredibly weird that he’s not around anymore.

Matt, for reasons I can’t tell you (but this goes back years), you would mean so much to my relationship with my sister if you tell me your feelings on ice cream cones.

My feelings about ice cream cones? I like ‘em. I’m all for ‘em. Do I prefer the sugar cone or the waffle cone? I like any cone that’s like wrapped in chocolate and nuts. That’s a pretty decadent cone. I’m all for that one.

How often are you confused with Tanning Tatum, and do you have any funny stories about it?

I don’t think I’ve ever been confused with Channing. I do get confused with Mark Wahlberg a lot, and we just have a deal that whenever we get mistaken for each other we have to be very polite. Can’t give the other a bad name.

This happened to me yesterday, I was walking down the street with my kids, and this guy screamed “MARK WAHLBERG!” I just kept walking, because I’m not Mark, and he kept screaming “MARK WAHLBERG! I SEE YOU! DON’T WALK AWAY! MARK WAHLBERG! WE KNOW IT’S YOU!” and then he runs up to me and he says, “I love your work!” And then this woman comes up, and says “I love your family, tell your brother I said Hi!” So I said “Yes, I’ll tell Donnie Wahlberg you said Hi.”

If people are insistent, theres no convincing them I’m not Mark, so I just become him and try to be nice to them. My kids were with me and there’s no easy way to explain that situation to them.