Matt Damon's life is like the vintage show "The Honeymooners." With a twist.
"My father called me and said, 'Matt, remember 'The Honeymooners? The great thing about Jackie Gleason is that his character drove a bus. He didn't have it so good at work, but he was the king of his castle when he got home.'
"My Dad went on to say, 'We realize that you are the exact opposite. Everyone kisses your butt because you're a movie star. But when you get home you're not in charge of anything.'"
Damon is a proud papa of four girls. He says this has lead to some interesting style twists.
"As for the girly stuff, there's a lot of dressing up and princess playing," Damon says with a laugh. "I talked to Jeff Bridges and his wife about it.
"Jeff has three daughters and said, 'You gotta dive in like me. I always end up with mascara on my face.' As for me, I just let myself go and be a guinea pig."
As for the logistics, he says with a laugh, "I never get a say. I never get closet space or bathroom time. But I love it."
WE BOUGHT A ZOO
These days Matt stars in the new movie "We Bought a Zoo" where he plays a midlifer who loses his wife and decides to make a major life changes. He moves away from home with his two kids and buys an old house that has an interesting twist. It comes with a zoo.
He has several scenes with a very large grizzly bear that might not be a Matt Damon fan. Was he nervous?
"The reality of being next to a 12 and a half foot tall grizzly is very humbling. I've never been that close to any large creature and this bear was so beyond massive. There's a scene where I'm in a car, literally six inches separating me, from a gigantic grizzly bear.
"They said the glass on the car was shatterproof, but you have to wonder. I kept thinking, 'If the glass blows because a bear is shaking the car then….what?'
Damon adds, "There's another scene where I run into a field when the bear runs away. I'm standing there with the bear and I'm the first one to admit, it was a split screen. It was movie magic. Otherwise, they couldn't really guarantee I would see be here when the scene was over."
LOVE, AGING, AND COURAGE
Damon says being in his 40s isn't daunting. He says, "I'm on the other side of the hill now, but I'm feeling great."
There's a beautiful line in his new film where he insists that "20 seconds of insane courage" will lead to amazing, life-altering results.
He mentions he felt that way when he met his wife Luciana.
"I was never somebody who believed in love at first sight, but I was really overwhelmed when I first saw her. It was this aura that was odd. I actually did see that there was this light around her. Maybe there was an actual light shining on her in the middle of this crowded room," Damon says.
"I saw it as this energy thing. Maybe I'm even retroactively imbuing it with some meaning although I really do remember it was an overwhelming feeling when I first saw her," Damon says.
He adds with a laugh, "Of course, whenever I tell her about it, she's like, 'Matt, shut up.'"
