Oscar winner Matt Damon has been one of Hollywood’s most reliable leading men for over two decades. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 23 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Though Damon and his childhood friend Ben Affleck became famous by writing their own ticket to fame and fortune with “Good Will Hunting” (1997), the pair had been acting for years before that film became an art house hit, even appearing together in “School Ties” (1992). But it was by returning to their native Boston to tell the inspirational story about a secret math genius (Damon) that put them on the map, winning them an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and bringing Damon his first Best Actor nomination.
Damon has returned to the Oscar race three times in three different categories: Best Supporting Actor for “Invictus” (2009), Best Actor for “The Martian” (2015) and Best Picture for “Manchester by the Sea” (2016). He won Golden Globes for writing “Good Will Hunting” and for starring in “The Martian,” competing again for acting in “Hunting,” “Invictus,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999), “The Informant!” (2009) and the TV movie “Behind the Candelabra” (2013). He earned SAG Awards bid as part of the ensembles for “GWH,” “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) and “The Departed” (2006), plus individual acting noms for “Hunting,” “Invictus” and “Candelabra.” “Candelabra,” “The Martian” and “Manchester” all brought him BAFTA bids. On the TV side, he contended at the Emmys for “Candelabra,” “30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live” and for producing the reality series “Project Greenlight” (four times).
Tour our photo gallery of Damon’s 23 greatest films, including some of the titles listed above, as well as “Oppenheimer,” the Jason Bourne series and the “Oceans” trilogy.
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23. DOWNSIZING (2017)
Image Credit: Paramount Directed by Alexander Payne. Written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. Starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis.
You gotta give points to Alexander Payne for originality when it comes to “Downsizing.” Unfortunately, this ambitious sci-fi satire never fully explores the implications of its premise, making for a rare misfire from the Oscar-winning filmmaker. Damon stars as Paul Safranek, an ordinary man who decides to improve his social standing by shrinking himself to five inches tall, a global warming response that’s rewarded with vast wealth and luxury. But when his wife (Kristen Wigg) refuses to go through with the procedure, he’s forced to start his tiny new life on his own. Hong Chau is a standout as a housekeeper who becomes his love interest.
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22. DOGMA (1999)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Kevin Smith. Starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette.
Given the enormous controversy surrounding its release, you’d think “Dogma” would be the most irreverent movie ever made. The Catholic church protested it incessantly before it hit screens, offended by the very idea of Kevin Smith taking satirical aim at their faith. And yes, the film is certainly filled with naughty language and gross-out humor, but it’s surprisingly respectful when it comes to the actual tenets of religion. Damon and Ben Affleck star as two fallen angels wandering around New Jersey, trying to find a way to trick God (played by Alanis Morissette) into letting them back into Heaven without triggering the apocalypse.
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21. SCHOOL TIES (1992)
Image Credit: John Seakwood/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Robert Mandel. Screenplay by Darryl Ponicsan and Dick Wolf, story by Wolf. Starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp.
Robert Mandel’s “School Ties” might as well be called “The Movie That Launched a Thousand Movie Stars,” as Damon, his Boston buddy Ben Affleck, Brendan Fraser, Chris O’Donnell and Anthony Rapp all snagged prominent early roles in it. Fraser is front-and-center as David Greene, a Jewish student who earns a football scholarship to an elite prep school in the 1950s. Unfortunately, his classmates are highly anti-Semitic, so he takes great pains to hide his faith. Damon is particularly good as Charlie Dillon, a young man who learns David’s true identity and uses it against him to devastating effect.
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20. ROUNDERS (1998)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Directed by John Dahl. Written by David Levien and Brian Koppelman. Starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, Martin Landau.
John Dahl’s “Rounders” views the seedy world of underground poker as if it were all a great lark, and in that way it avoids dealing with the tragic pitfalls of compulsive gambling. Damon stars as a talented card player desperate to leave that life behind for a career in law. He’s pulled back in by his ex-con buddy (Edward Norton), and pretty soon they need to enter a high-stakes game so they can pay off some nasty loan sharks. The supporting cast is packed with A-list character actors, including Martin Landau as Damon’s law school mentor, John Malkovich as a Russian mobster and John Turturro as a gambler who wins by playing it safe.
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19. INTERSTELLAR (2014)
Image Credit: Paramount/Warner Brothers/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Christopher Nolan. Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, John Lithgow, Casey Affleck, Mackenzie Foy, Timothee Chalamet.
Who’d have guessed that Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic would turn into a sort of “Saving Private Ryan” in space? Up until Damon shows up, the premise of “Interstellar” involves Matthew McConaughey’s search for a new home for the citizens of Earth when the planet becomes uninhabitable. The mission leads him to an icy rock where another astronaut (Damon) has been stranded, deceptively sending positive data back to ensure his rescue. This detour keeps McConaughey from fulfilling his true objective: returning home to his daughter, Murphy (played at various points by Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain and Ellen Burstyn).
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18. COURAGE UNDER FIRE (1996)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Edward Zwick. Written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. Starring Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty, Matt Damon, Seth Gilliam, Bronson Pinchot, Scott Glenn.
“Courage Under Fire” provided Damon with one of his best early roles, although its one that very nearly killed him. Directed by Edward Zwick, this “Rashomon”-esque Gulf War drama centers on a U.S. Army officer (Denzel Washington) investigating a deceased female chopper commander’s (Meg Ryan) worthiness for the Medal of Honor. Damon plays Specialist Andrew Ilario, who develops a heroin addiction after returning home from the mission Washington is looking into. The actor lost over 40 pounds for the role through food depravation, and had to go under medical supervision for months afterwards.
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17. THE RAINMAKER (1997)
Image Credit: Phillip Caruso/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel by John Grisham. Starring Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place, Mickey Rourke, Danny DeVito.
Although Damon shot to stardom by writing and starring in “Good Will Hunting,” that wasn’t the only prominent film he made in 1997. That same year, he headlined Francis Ford Coppola’s John Grisham adaptation “The Rainmaker,” playing a young lawyer who stumbles upon a lucrative insurance fraud case. Though Damon is front-and-center, it’s the rich supporting cast who steals the show, including Danny DeVito as an insurance assessor-turned-paralegal, Mickey Rourke as a sleazy ambulance chaser and Jon Voight as Damon’s rival attorney. No matter, because his steady presence helped launch his career as a movie star.
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16. CONTAGION (2011)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns. Starring Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet.
Few recent horror movies can hold a candle to “Contagion,” Steven Soderbergh’s terrifying pandemic drama. Like the director’s Oscar-winning “Traffic,” it assembles an all-star cast and cuts back-and-forth between several plot lines to tell a larger story. Damon stars as Mitch Emhoff, an ordinary man whose wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns home from a trip and dies suddenly from a brief illness. Soon the entire globe is suffering from the same disease, and scientists and government officials find themselves racing against time to find a cure. You’ll never be able to so much as sneeze again without calling a doctor after seeing this one.
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15. GERRY (2003)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Directed by Gus Van Sant. Written by Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Gus Van Sant. Starring Matt Damon, Casey Affleck.
Having achieved financial and Oscar success with “Good Will Hunting,” Damon and Gus Van Sant turned as far away from commercial filmmaking as they possibly could. “Gerry” is a deliberately slow, perversely non-narrative film about two men (Damon and Casey Affleck, who also co-wrote the script with the director) who take a hike in the desert and quickly get lost. As they wander for days without food or water, they soon realize they will die. And that’s it. Though maddening to some, others will give in to its meditative presentation of man’s hubristic desire to conquer nature and failing spectacularly.
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14. SYRIANA (2005)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, based on the book ‘See No Evil’ by Robert Baer. Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Mazhar Munir, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer, Alexander Siddig.
A sort of “Traffic” for the oil industry (from the same writer, no less), “Syriana” is a complex, ambitious look at the various players who get their hands dirty with the world’s biggest export. Director Stephen Gaghan juggles multiple storylines, focusing on a CIA agent (Best Supporting Actor winner George Clooney), an energy analyst (Damon), a Washington, D.C. lawyer (Jeffrey Wright) and a Pakistani migrant worker (Mazhar Munir). Gaghan’s Oscar-nominated screenplay creates no heroes or villains, particularly with Damon, who snags a lucrative contract from a Saudi prince as payback for the accidental death of his son, which he fully exploits.
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13. TRUE GRIT (2010)
Image Credit: Wilson Webb/Skydance Prods./Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, based on the novel by Charles Portis. Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Hailee Steinfeld.
“True Grit” is perhaps the most straightforward film the Coens have ever made, an old fashioned remake of a creaky John Wayne western that turned into a box office bonanza. Jeff Bridges takes on the Wayne role of grizzled U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn, who’s enlisted by a plucky young girl (Hailee Steinfeld) to track down her father’s murderer (Josh Brolin). Damon steps into Glen Campbell’s spurs as LaBoeuf, a motormouth Texas ranger who joins the two on their quest, losing half of his tongue in the process. The film earned 10 Oscar bids, including Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay for the Coens, plus acting for Bridges and Steinfeld.
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12. INVICTUS (2009)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Clint Eastwood. Screenplay by Anthony Peckham, based on the book ‘Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation’ by John Carlin. Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Adjoa Andoh.
Though it’s ostensibly a biopic of Nelson Mandela (uncannily portrayed by Morgan Freeman), Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” is more focused on the outcome of the 1995 World Cup than on the tremendous accomplishments of the late South African President. The results are a well made, inspirational sports drama that tugs at our hearts by pushing a positive message of racial harmony in a post-Apartheid world. Damon costars as Francois Pienaar, leader of the country’s all-white rugby team, who teams up with Mandela to unite the people through victory. Both Freeman and Damon earned Oscar nominations in lead and supporting actor, respectively.
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11. FORD V FERRARI (2019)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Directed by James Mangold. Written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Heller. Starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe.
James Mangold’s high-octane racing drama might ostensibly be about the Ford Motor Company’s attempts to manufacture a car to compete at the 1966 Le Mans tournament, but it’s really about the relationship between the two men tasked with creating it. There’s Carroll Shelby (Damon), an ex-racer recruited by Ford to design the car. And there’s Ken Miles (Christian Bale), the British hotshot drafted to drive it. Through trial and error, they come up with a vehicle to rival Italian auto maestro Enzo Ferrari at the famous 24 hour racing championship, forging a friendship along the way. The film earned four Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning for its film editing and sound editing.
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10. The OCEANS trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Screenplays by Ted Griffin, George Nolfi, Brian Koppelman and David Levien, based on characters created by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell and a 1960 screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer. Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner.
When it comes to breezy, stylish fun, you can’t go wrong with Steven Soderberg’s star-studded “Oceans” trilogy. A remake of the 1960 Rat Pack vehicle, Soderbergh’s version and its sequels recreates the same devil-may-care attitude with a higher degree of technical precision and some juicier roles for women. In the first outing, ex-con Danny Ocean and his team of criminals (including Damon as pickpocket Linus Caldwell) plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. In the second, they move their operation to Europe and pull off a similar scheme. And in the third, they return to Vegas to rip off a criminal casino owner (Al Pacino).
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9. OPPENHEIMER (2023)
Image Credit: Universal Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan. Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh.
In his epic biopic “Oppenheimer,” director Christopher Nolan put Damon’s “everyman” persona to good use as U.S. Army Gen. Leslie Groves, the officer placed in charge of the Manhattan Project, the secret U.S. effort to develop an atomic bomb for use in World War II. Gen. Groves is a man conflicted — he is under enormous pressure to handle the project by the book but is convinced nonetheless that unconventional physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is the right man to see the project through to completion, despite his ties to the Communist Party. Damon makes Groves’ dilemma seem very grounded and very real, and in so doing, delivers one of the film’s best performances.
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8. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by Robert Rodat. Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Dennis Farina, Bryan Cranston.
Though his screen time is limited, Damon is the driving force behind Steven Spielberg’s WWII epic, playing the titular Private Ryan who needs saving. Tom Hanks stars as the platoon leader sent behind enemy lines to retrieve the missing paratrooper after his three brothers have been killed in combat. Damon comes into the movie late, and makes the most of his role with a deeply moving monologue about growing up with his late siblings. And Spielberg, who won his second Oscar as Best Director for the film, stuns us with his gritty, handheld realism, particularly in the opening sequence, a 40 minute recreation of the Normandy Landings.
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7. THE DEPARTED (2006)
Image Credit: Andrew Cooper/Warner Bros./REX/Shutterstock Directed by Martin Scorsese. Screenplay by William Monahan, based on the film ‘Infernal Affairs’ by Alan Mak and Felix Chong. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin.
You can feel Damon at ease with himself in “The Departed,” as Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning gangster epic returns the actor to his native Boston. In fact, everybody seems at ease with this American remake of the Hong Kong hit “Infernal Affairs,” which centers on two undercover men on opposite sides of the law: Colin (Damon), a protege of legendary mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) who has infiltrated the police force, and Billy (Leonardo DiCaprio), a cop who weasels his way into Costello’s gang. The results are electrifying, a supreme entertainment that brought Scorsese his long-overdue Best Director victory.
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6. The BOURNE series (2002, 2004, 2007, 2016)
Image Credit: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. Screenplays by Tony Gilroy, William Blake Herron, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi, Paul Greengrass and Christopher Rouse, based on the novels by Robert Ludlum. Starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Albert Finney, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Riz Ahmed.
Perhaps no other film series redefined the stylistic approach to high octane action filmmaking quite like the “Bourne” movies. Doug Liman’s “The Bourne Identity” and Paul Greengrass’s “The Bourne Supremacy,” “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Jason Bourne” set the standard for handheld, documentary-style intensity while staying grounded with a compelling central character. Damon stars as a man picked up by a fishing boat riddled with bullets and suffering from amnesia. He soon discovers that he’s Jason Bourne, a highly-trained CIA assassin wanted for dead by his own agency. And in film after film, he manages to outrun them.
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5. THE INFORMANT! (2009)
Image Credit: Groundswell Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Screenplay by Scott Z. Burns, based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald. Starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Ann Dowd.
Though its plot would make you think of Michael Mann’s “The Insider,” Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” is more playful and humorous than you’d expect. Perhaps that’s because its central character, Mark Whitacre (Damon), is so absurd as to defy seriousness. A rising star at Illinois agricultural company Archer Daniels Midland, Whitacre turns whistleblower when the FBI starts investigating their shady price fixing. Yet he’s more unreliable than expected, driving agents mad with his erratic behavior, money laundering and corporate takeover schemes. The role brought Damon a Golden Globe nomination as Best Comedy/Musical Actor.
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4. THE MARTIAN (2015)
Image Credit: Giles Keyte/20th Century Fox/Genre/International Traders/Mid Atlantic/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Ridley Scott. Screenplay by Drew Goddard, based on the novel by Andy Weir. Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Benedict Wong, Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Though some would raise their eyebrows at its classification as a musical or comedy (which the Golden Globes had no trouble with), there’s no denying the high entertainment value of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi adventure. Damon stars as Mark Watney, an astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars when his team assumes he’s dead. Rather than give up, he relies on his ingenuity (including growing potatoes in his own waste) to stay alive long enough for NASA to send a rescue mission. Globe voters rewarded Damon’s endlessly charming performance with their Best Comedy/Musical Actor prize, while the Academy nominated him as Best Actor.
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3. AIR (2023)
Director: Ben Affleck. Writer: Alex Convery. Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis, Matthew Mayer.
“Air” marks the 11th time that Damon has appeared in a film with his buddy Ben Affleck but the first time acting under Affleck’s direction. The result is one of the very best performances of Damon’s long career. As the real-life Sonny Vaccaro, talent scout for Nike’s flailing basketball division in 1984, Damon may have a paunch in his belly but his eyes are laser-focused on signing hot high school prospect Michael Jordan, whose shoe endorsement could turn the company around. He just has to convince Michael’s skeptical mother (Viola Davis) first. Damon brings a relentless energy to his every moment as Sonny, and his climactic single-take plea to Davis may be the most moving and effective five minutes of Damon’s film career. -
2. GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997)
Image Credit: Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock Directed by Gus Van Sant. Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgard, Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser.
Damon hit the Oscar jackpot by penning this heart-tugging inspirational drama with his pal Ben Affleck. Directed by Gus Van Sant, “Good Will Hunting” centers on a South Boston janitor (Damon) working at MIT who’s secretly a math genius. It’s up to a university psychologist (Best Supporting Actor winner Robin Williams) to uncover the deep wounds in Will’s past so he can live a better life. There’s a wealth of wonderful supporting characters here, including Minnie Driver as Will’s girlfriend and Affleck as his best friend. In addition to his screenwriting victory, Damon also earned his first Best Actor nomination for his tender, nuanced performance.
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1. THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Anthony Minghella, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. Starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhord, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall.
Damon uses his everyman charm to chilling effect in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” making our skin crawl as an ordinary nobody who lies, cheats and murders his way into becoming a somebody. Adapted by Anthony Minghella from Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel, it finds lonely grifter Tom Ripley (Damon) finagling his way into the inner circle of rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who’s living in Italy with his girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). But when Ripley’s new social standing starts to crumble, he takes drastic steps to cling on. Despite earning a Golden Globe bid, Damon was snubbed at the Oscars in Best Actor, which is downright criminal.
1- Saving Private Ryan
2- Good Will Hunting
3- The Talented Mr. Ripley
4- The Departed
5- True Grit
6- Invictus
7- Gerry
8- Interstellar
9- Rounders
10- School ties
11- The Martinan
12 The Bourbe series
13- The Rainmakers
14- The Ocean’s Trilogy
15- Courage under Fire
16- Contagion
17-Dogma
18- Syriana
19- The Informant
20- Downsizing
Definitely my most favorite actor, alongside, Gene Hackman. Have they ever acted together ?
I am a 71 year old woman, so I may not see things like a younger woman. I was never a fan of Mister Damon, but I bought the movie The Great Wall, and I loved it. I watched it about 6 times in the first week. I was surprised to see that it didn’t make his top 15 or even his top 20 movies. So you should tell him I loved it
Ford Vs Ferrari is his best work next to Good Will Hunting. He’s a very talented actor for sure.
Sorry. Just noticed it’s on list. Misspelt as Bourbe
Jason bourne was a 10/10, minus nothing. Dectective movies are the best. Big up our guy for entertaining us . You earn all the credit. Your fjn from 🇺🇬 Uganda.