Let me tell you, hearing Matt Damon talk about working with Clint Eastwood was fascinating. He was on Conan O’Brien’s podcast and shared a story about Invictus that really stuck with me. Apparently, I tried out a South African accent on the very first take, and Eastwood immediately, and bluntly, told me it wasn’t working. Talk about a quick reality check from a true Hollywood icon! It sounds like Eastwood doesn’t mess around on set, and Damon definitely learned a lesson that day.
Damon said playing a South African rugby player presented a real challenge because of the difficult accent. He spent six months in Florida working with a coach to perfect it, but Clint Eastwood directed quickly on set, so it was a fast-paced performance.
Damon remembered doing the scene perfectly on the first try, but when he asked for another take, the director immediately said, ‘Cut, print, move on.’ Damon protested, asking for just one more attempt, but the director questioned why he’d want to make everyone waste time.
Damon explained that Eastwood wasn’t trying to be difficult. He said Eastwood’s approach was simply to inspire unwavering loyalty from his film crew, as long as he didn’t micromanage every single take.
Invictus is a 2009 film directed by Clint Eastwood, featuring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It’s based on the true story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, and how President Nelson Mandela (played by Freeman) worked with the Springboks rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar (played by Damon), to unite the country through sports.
As a movie fan, I learned this film is actually based on a fantastic book called Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin. It was really cool to see Clint Eastwood directing Morgan Freeman for the third time – they previously worked together on Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, both amazing films! This was also the first time Eastwood teamed up with Matt Damon, and thankfully, it wasn’t their last – they’d collaborate again on Hereafter.
Released in the United States on December 11, 2009, the film Invictus was well-received by critics and earned Academy Award nominations for both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Made with a budget of $50 to $60 million, it went on to earn $122.2 million worldwide. The movie’s title comes from the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, and the poem is central to the film’s plot.
In 2026, Matt Damon is making news thanks to his new project with Ben Affleck. The two friends recently launched their Netflix thriller, The Rip, at a premiere in New York City.
The movie features Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant JD Byrne, two Miami police officers caught in a dangerous chase when they stumble upon twenty million dollars in drug money.
Damon is getting a lot of attention for his incredible physical change for Christopher Nolan’s new movie, The Odyssey. He reportedly lost a lot of weight to play the role of the famous warrior Odysseus. The film, set to come out on July 17th, also stars Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, and Lupita Nyong’o, among others.
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2026-01-14 11:15