MattDamonHollywood’sUltimate Everyman馬特·達蒙：好萊塢的終極“普通人”

By+Elizabeth+Day++蔡蕓菲

Hes just so grounded. Hes so intelligent. He makes these smart choices， as an actor， as a producer， as a writer. Hes so composed. You never hear a bad word said about him. Everybody loves him. （他腳踏實地，機智聰明。無論是當演員，做制片人還是成為編劇，他做的這些決定都很明智。他沉著冷靜。你根本聽不到任何一句關(guān)于他的壞話。所有人都愛他。）

—Benedict Cumberbatch （本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇）

I am sitting opposite Matt Damon and he is saying hes sorry for being a bad movie star. He cant help it， he says. Hes simply too dull.

“I think people just leave a room Im in and theyre like： Well that guy wasnt a movie star，” he explains. “Jesus！ Anybody could do that.”

We are sitting in a gloomy hotel room， at a large round conference table which is too big for the two of us. Damon is dressed like a father on the school run1）： sensible2） navy blue polo shirt， trousers with practical pockets down the side. He has a smattering3） of facial hair. The most film-starry thing about him is his muscle tone4）： He has arms that look like theyve been drawn by a Popeye5） animator.

Other than this， Damon insists hes entirely normal. He has a wife， Luciana， whom he met while filming in Miami in 2003 when she was working behind a bar， and the couple have four daughters ranging in age from four to 16—Alexia， from Lucianas previous relationship， Isabella， Gia and Stella. Damon is a self-confessed family man. He has a rule that they will never be apart for more than two weeks while hes filming. His daily life is so average even the paparazzi6） have decamped from outside his home in Los Angeles because he never does anything that merits a photograph.

“You know， a guy whos married happily with four kids is not quite a story，” Damon says with a sorry-but-what-can-you-do smile. “ And so theyll come back and theyll take an occasional picture … but its kind of just updating the file.”

Im not entirely buying this. At 44， Damon is smart enough to know that his supposed “normality” is his stock in trade7）. His approachability8） on-screen， combined with a sense of nuance9） and depth， has lent his performances a likeable， everyman-ish quality that has proved to be box-office catnip10）.

In 2007， Forbes magazine named Damon as Hollywoods most bankable actor， averaging $29 in takings for every dollar he earned in a movie. From Good Will Hunting （which Damon co-wrote with Ben Affleck， winning the 1997 Oscar for best screenplay） and Saving Private Ryan to the big-budget Bourne movie franchise or the dystopian sci-fi fantasy Elysium， he has a capacity to hint at a characters inner complexity without ever veering11） into pretension. According to Manohla Dargis of the New York Times， Damons power lies in his ability “to recede into a film while also being fully present.”

His latest project is no exception. In The Martian， directed by Ridley Scott， Damon plays Mark Watney， a NASA astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars after he is injured in a fierce storm and presumed dead by his crew.

Admittedly， an astronaut is hardly your average kind of Joe12）， but Damon manages to imbue13） the role with his classic down-to-earth sensibility. When Watney is confronted with a problem， he solves it through the power of science and logical thinking. Despite forever teetering on the verge of14） an existential crisis， Watney remains quick-witted and optimistic. When he runs out of food， he simply starts growing potatoes in his own vacuum-packed faecal15） matter.

I wonder if filming The Martian made Damon contemplate his own resourcefulness16）. Would he be good in a similar situation？

“Probably not， no. I have too many connections that matter to me. It might be fun for a day， you know， but no. Id probably go a little bonkers17）.”

Even as a small boy， he never wanted to be an astronaut， preferring instead the world of superheroes. When he was growing up in Cambridge， Massachusetts， with his older brother Kyle， his mother would put out a dressing-up box and he would choose either a red or blue floral towel， safety-pinning it round his neck like a cape. The red towel was for Superman. Blue was for Shazam18）， the teenage hero of a 1970s TV series who could transform into Captain Marvel.

“That was how I broke my ankle，” Damon recalls. “When I was three， I climbed to the top of the jungle gym19） in my Shazam cape and I shouted， ‘Shazam！ And I tried to fly and I fell.”

He remembers his stockbroker father， Kent， running across from the other side of the playground to come to his aid and what stuck in Damons mind was not the pain in his ankle but the way his father was running—like an athlete， with pumping arms and a long， fluid pace.

“I remember afterwards， when I healed， months later， trying to jog [like him]. So I would jog pumping my fists to the ground20）. I was trying to ape the movement， but I wasnt quite pulling it off21）.” He shakes his head， laughs.

He was three， hed just broken his ankle， but Damons focus was already on how another person was behaving and how he could best mimic it.

His parents later divorced and the boys lived with their mother， Nancy Carlsson-Paige， a university professor specialising in early education. Apparently， she always knew he was going to be an actor because of his love of costume and role-playing， and his ability to entertain himself for long stretches of time.

But Damon found fame as one-half of a long-term collaboration. Ben Affleck was his childhood best friend—the two of them met when they were eight and attended the same high school. Damon went to Harvard， Affleck to the University of Vermont， but both dropped out before getting their degrees and worked together on the script for Good Will Hunting， which drew on their own experiences growing up in Cambridge. The script was bought by Castle Rock22） in 1994. Three years later it became a huge critical and commercial success starring Damon as undiscovered genius Will Hunting， with Affleck as his childhood friend， and Robin Williams23） as the psychologist who helps Hunting come to terms with his talent.

“I laughed the entire time we wrote，” Damon says now. “It was a really joyful experience.” He was less enamoured24） of his sudden celebrity. “You wake up one morning and the world is entirely the same and you know， actually， all the things that mattered yesterday are the same today， except the world is forever going to be a totally different place for you，” he says.

“Thats the mind-fuck and it takes a few years to even get your head around25） whats happening … I remember my brother said： ‘How are you doing？ And I was， like， ‘Im the fucking same， but everyone else is different.”

Its nice， talking to Damon. Unlike many actors， he answers questions with a reflective openness. There is a feeling that nothing is out of bounds. He is politically engaged—a Democrat， but also a critic of Barack Obama （he has spoken out about Obamas education policies and questioned the legality of drone strikes） and says hes deeply worried about the chasm26） between rich and poor in America in the aftermath of the economic crisis.

“That anger did not go away because none of these guys [the bankers] got prosecuted and they all have our money， and these houses in the Hamptons27） they live in—that they claim to have earned—are paid for with our money. I mean， thats what happened！ And so， I dont know what the consequences for that kind of thing are.”

He maintains a steady eye contact and has a dry sense of humour28）. When I ask， in the middle of a discussion about directors， whether he would ever consider being directed by Affleck， he replies deadpan29）： “Sure， if the right thing came along.” Pause. “I mean， he usually gives himself the main role in the thing hes directing， so it would need to probably be a two-hander.”

He says that when picking projects， he is entirely guided by the quality of the director： “Thats all that matters in film. The rest of it is utter bullshit. A mediocre30） director will ruin a great piece of material.” Has he worked with mediocre directors in the past？ “Yes.”

He wont name names. But for every big-budget blockbuster he has been attached to， Damon has put in a quieter， more complex performance in films like Anthony Minghellas The Talented Mr Ripley or The Good Shepherd， directed by Robert de Niro， or Martin Scorseses The Departed. In 2013， he starred as Liberaces lover， Scott Thorson， in the Steven Soderbergh television drama film Behind the Candelabra31）.

Damon was a straight man playing gay. Is it harder for actors to be openly gay in Hollywood？ “Im sure. I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly，” he says. “But in terms of actors， I think youre a better actor the less people know about you， period32）. And sexuality is a huge part of that. People shouldnt know anything about your sexuality because thats one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”

So is Matt Damon just a normal guy， adept at pretending to be mysterious？ I dont think so. Hes cleverer than that： Hes worked out that the appearance of averageness affords the greatest opportunity for privacy and creative space.

How would he describe himself as an actor？ There is a long pause. “I dont know，” he says. “Subtle， hopefully.”

The arms though. The arms give him away.

我坐在馬特·達蒙的對面，他說自己不是個稱職的影星，為此感到抱歉。他說對此他也沒辦法。他就是個很無趣的人。

“我想，和我共處一室的人在離開時都會這么說：好吧，那家伙不是個電影明星吧，”他這樣解釋道，“天哪！就他這樣兒誰都能當明星了 。”

我們在一間幽暗的酒店房間里見面，坐在圓形大會議桌旁，那張桌子對于我們兩個人而言簡直太大了。達蒙的穿著就像是一位接送孩子上學(xué)的父親：上著樸素耐穿的海軍藍馬球衫，下穿兩側(cè)帶有實用口袋的褲子。他的臉上有少許胡須。他身上最有電影明星氣質(zhì)的地方當屬他那緊實的肌肉：他的手臂看上去就像是大力水手的動畫制作者畫出來的一樣。

除此之外，達蒙堅稱自己完全是個平常人。他的妻子名叫露茜安娜，是他2003年在邁阿密拍電影時認識的，當時她是一家酒吧的服務(wù)員。他們有四個女兒，年齡從4歲到16歲不等，分別是亞歷克西亞（露茜安娜與前任的女兒）、伊莎貝拉、吉雅和斯特拉。達蒙自認是個顧家的男人。他有一個規(guī)矩，那就是他在拍攝電影期間與家人永遠不能分開超過兩個星期。他的日常生活太普通了，連守在他洛杉磯家門外的狗仔隊都撤走了，因為他從來沒做過一件值得拍照的事。

“你知道，一個婚姻幸福還有四個孩子的男人沒有什么故事性可言，”達蒙說著露出了一種“抱歉但是你能怎樣”的笑容，“他們還是會回來，偶爾拍張照片……不過也就是為了更新一下檔案。”

我并不完全相信他說的話。44歲（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2015年9月27日）的達蒙聰明得很，他知道自己所謂的“平常”是他的慣用手法。他在銀幕上的親和力，加上他身上的某種細膩感和深厚的底蘊，使他的表演有一種討人喜歡的普通人的特質(zhì)，事實證明，這種特質(zhì)具有強大的票房吸引力。

2007年，《福布斯》雜志將達蒙列為好萊塢最賣座的演員，他在一部電影中每賺一美元，平均就能為電影帶來29美元的票房進賬。從《心靈捕手》（由達蒙和本·阿弗萊克共同創(chuàng)作，獲得1997年奧斯卡最佳原創(chuàng)劇本獎）和《拯救大兵瑞恩》到大制作的《諜影重重》系列電影，再到反烏托邦題材的科幻電影《極樂世界》，他都有能力通過毫不做作的表演來暗示出角色的復(fù)雜心理。《紐約時報》的曼諾拉·達吉斯認為，達蒙的實力在于他可以“將自己隱匿于電影之中而同時還有十足的存在感”。

他的最新作品也不例外。在由雷德利·斯科特執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《火星救援》中，達蒙飾演美國國家航空航天局的一名宇航員馬克·瓦特尼，他在火星上的一場猛烈風(fēng)暴中受了傷，隊友以為他已犧牲，結(jié)果他就這樣被滯留在了火星上。

不可否認，宇航員不能算是普通人，但是達蒙卻設(shè)法將他經(jīng)典的樸實的感覺滲透到了這個角色中。當瓦特尼遇到問題時，他用科學(xué)的力量和邏輯思維去解決。盡管一直面臨生存危機，但是瓦特尼依然思維敏捷，樂觀向上。當食物要耗盡時，他便開始利用真空包裝的自己的排泄物來種植土豆。

我很想知道達蒙在拍攝《火星救援》之后是否也思量過自己隨機應(yīng)變的能力。在類似的情境下他也會表現(xiàn)得如此出色嗎？

“大概不會，不會的。我有太多對我而言很重要的牽掛。要知道，那樣生活一天可能很有趣，但不能一直那樣。我可能會發(fā)瘋。”

即便在小時候，他也從來沒有想過要成為一名宇航員，相反，他更喜歡超級英雄的世界。他與哥哥科爾在馬薩諸塞州的劍橋市一起長大。那時，他媽媽拿出玩化妝游戲的箱子時，他會選擇紅色或者藍色的印花毛巾，然后圍在脖子上，用安全別針別住，就像斗篷一樣。紅色毛巾是用來扮超人的，而藍色毛巾是用來扮巫師沙贊的，沙贊是20世紀70年代一部電視劇里的少年英雄，可以變身為驚奇隊長。

“我就是因為那個摔傷腳踝的，”達蒙回憶道，“三歲的時候，我穿著巫師沙贊的斗篷爬到兒童攀登架的頂部，然后大喊：‘沙贊！我試圖飛起來，然后我就摔了下去。”

他記得他那身為股票經(jīng)紀人的父親肯特從游戲場的另一邊跑過來救他。當時讓達蒙銘記在心的并不是腳踝的疼痛，而是他父親跑步的方式—他就像一名運動員，擺動雙臂，大步流星。

“我記得后來，等幾個月后我痊愈了，我還試圖[學(xué)他的樣子]慢跑。于是我在慢跑的時候充分揮拳。我試圖模仿他的動作，但是學(xué)得不像。”他搖了搖頭，笑了起來。

達蒙當時才三歲，又剛剛摔傷了腳踝，但他已經(jīng)在關(guān)注另一個人的行為舉止以及如何惟妙惟肖地模仿這一舉止了。

他的父母后來離婚了，兄弟倆就和母親南茜·卡爾森-佩吉生活在一起，她是研究早期教育的大學(xué)教授。顯然，她一直都知道達蒙會成為一名演員，因為他熱衷于戲服和角色扮演，而且他能自娛自樂玩好長時間。

然而，達蒙卻是因為和一位搭檔的長期合作而成名的。本·阿弗萊克是他兒時最好的朋友，他們八歲相識，念同一所高中。后來達蒙上了哈佛大學(xué)，阿弗萊克去了佛蒙特大學(xué)，但是他們兩個人還沒獲得學(xué)位就都退學(xué)了，然后根據(jù)他們自己在劍橋市的成長經(jīng)歷一起創(chuàng)作了劇本《心靈捕手》。這個劇本在1994年被城堡石娛樂公司買走，三年后在評論界和商業(yè)方面都獲得了巨大的成功。在電影里，達蒙飾演主角—一個未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的天才威爾·亨廷，阿弗萊克飾演他兒時的朋友，羅賓·威廉姆斯飾演那位幫助亨廷接納自己天賦的心理醫(yī)生。

“在我們寫劇本的整個過程中我都在笑，”達蒙說道，“那真是快樂的經(jīng)歷。”對于自己一夜成名這件事，他不太放在心上。“你某天早晨醒來，這個世界還和往常完全一樣。你知道，昨天很重要的事事實上在今天依舊重要，只是世界對你而言永遠成了與從前截然不同的地方了。”他說。

“那讓人一下子懵了，哪怕只是搞清楚發(fā)生了什么都要花幾年的時間……我記得我哥哥說：‘你還好嗎？我說：‘我還是那個我呀，可是其他人都變了。”

跟達蒙聊天很愉快。與很多演員不同，他回答問題時經(jīng)過思考，卻很坦率，讓人覺得什么都可以聊。他參與政治，是一位民主黨人士，但是他也批判巴拉克·奧巴馬。（他曾坦率地表達自己對于奧巴馬的教育政策的看法，還質(zhì)疑無人機襲擊的合法性。）他說他很擔(dān)心金融危機結(jié)束后美國的貧富差距鴻溝。

“那種憤怒還沒有平息，因為這些人（銀行家）沒有一個被起訴。他們還拿著我們的錢。他們在漢普頓的那些房子—他們聲稱是自己掙錢買的—實際上是用我們的錢買的。我是說，就是這么回事！而我卻不知道對于這樣的事會有什么樣的后果。”

他一直與我保持眼神交流，而且充滿冷幽默。在有關(guān)導(dǎo)演的討論中，我問他是否會考慮出演由阿弗萊克導(dǎo)演的電影，他故意板著臉回答：“當然了，如果有合適的作品的話。”他頓了一下說：“我的意思是，他通常都會在自己導(dǎo)演的電影中擔(dān)任主角，所以可能需要一部雙主角的電影。”

他說，在挑選作品的時候，他完全根據(jù)導(dǎo)演的水平進行選擇：“那是電影中最關(guān)鍵的地方，其他的都純粹是胡扯。一位平庸的導(dǎo)演會毀掉一部杰作。”他自己過去是否與平庸的導(dǎo)演合作過呢？“是的。”

他不會說出導(dǎo)演的名字。不過，雖然達蒙參演過很多高預(yù)算的轟動大片，他也在一些電影中有過更溫和也更復(fù)雜的表演，比如安東尼·明格拉執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《天才雷普利》、羅伯特·德尼羅執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《特務(wù)風(fēng)云》以及馬丁·斯科賽斯執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《無間行者》。在2013年，他還在史蒂文·索德伯格執(zhí)導(dǎo)的劇情類的電視電影《燭臺背后》中飾演過李伯拉斯的情人斯科特·索爾森。

達蒙是個直男，扮演的是同性戀的角色。演員在好萊塢公開承認同性戀身份是否更加艱難呢？“我想肯定是。我覺得演員公開出柜一定是非常艱難的，”他說，“但就演員而論，我覺得人們對你了解得越少，越說明你是個好演員，就是這么回事。而性傾向是其中非常重要的一部分。人們不應(yīng)該知道你的性傾向，因為那是你應(yīng)該能表現(xiàn)出來的神秘感之一。”

那么，馬特·達蒙是否只是一個善于故作神秘的普通人呢？我并不這么認為。他比這更聰明：他早已發(fā)現(xiàn)，普通人的表象可以為演員的隱私和創(chuàng)作空間提供最好的機會。

他會怎樣形容作為演員的自己呢？他沉默了許久，說：“我不知道。細膩—我希望是這樣。”

然而，他的手臂，那緊實的手臂出賣了他。