Matt Damon fell into ‘depression’ while filming movie that was less than he ‘hoped’

Matt Damon is opening up about having to fuel productions knowing a movie isn’t good.

The ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ actor revealed on an episode of the YouTube series ‘Jake’s Takes’ that he fell into a ‘depression’ while filming a film he saw as doomed to disaster.

“Without naming any particular movie… sometimes you find yourself in a movie that you know, maybe, might not be what you had hoped it would be, and you’re still making it,” Damon said. “And I remember halfway through production you still have months to go and you take your family somewhere, you know, and you disturb them, and I remember my wife (Luciana Barroso) cheering me up because I had fallen into a depression like, what did I do?

Damon continued, “He just said, ‘We’re here now.’ You know, and it was like… I’m proud, largely because of her, to be a professional actor and what it means to be a professional actor is you go and do the 15 hour day and give absolutely everything, even that. which you know will be a losing effort. And if you can do that with the best possible attitude then you are a pro and she really helped me with that.

Maybe that’s why Damon is trying to get things back on track. Last year, Damon founded the production company Artists Equity with longtime collaborator and fellow Academy Award winner Ben Affleck. The duo’s film “Air,” directed by Affleck and starring Damon, debuted earlier this year. Damon also appeared in Ethan Coen’s “Drive-Away Dolls” with Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein and Pedro Pascal.

Damon’s ‘Oppenheimer’ co-star Robert Downey Jr. similarly reflected on his past flops, calling the critically panned ‘Dolittle’ a turning point in his post-MCU career during a Interview with the New York Times Magazine.

“I ended my contract with Marvel and then rushed into what had all the promise of being another potential big, fun, well-crafted franchise in ‘Dolittle,’” said Downey. “I had reservations. My team and I seemed a little too enthusiastic about the deal and not enthusiastic enough about the merits of the execution. But by then I was bulletproof. I was the guru of all genre films.

He continued: “The stress it put on my lady (producer Susan Downey) as she rolled up her sleeves up to her armpits to make him worthwhile enough to bring to market was shocking. After that point, what is that sentence? Never let a good crisis go to waste? – we reset priorities and made some changes to who our closest business advisers were.