Summary
- Matt Damon takes pride in being portrayed as unintelligent in Team America: World Police.
- The portrayal was a result of an issue with the production of Damon's puppet, and the script was changed as a result.
- Damon acknowledges the genius of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of Team America, but expresses confusion about his portrayal.
Unlike most movie stars, Matt Damon has always seemed like he was willing to look foolish. After all, most actors would never admit that they once hired fake friends or that they refused to take Tom Cruise's acting advice.
Fortunately for Damon, it certainly seems like things are still working out for him as he has starred in many wildly successful films. As it turns out, Damon is so strong-willed that after being viciously mocked in the movie Team America: World Police, he actually takes pride in his inclusion in the movie.
Inside Team America's Parody Of Matt Damon
When Team America: World Police was released in 2004, there were many elements of the film that blew fans away. Still, one of the elements that people talked about the most was the portrayal of Matt Damon in the film as someone who was so unintelligent that he could only say his own name.
While most viewers found the portrayal of Damon in Team America: World Police funny, they were still left with a question. What was it about Damon that made Matt Stone and Trey Parker portray him that way in the film?
In the past, Parker has expressed how miserable he found it to make Team America: World Police. According to Parker at one point, if he had to choose between his mother passing away and making another puppet movie, he would say goodbye to his mom.
As it turns out, one of the problems with making a puppet movie explains why Damon was portrayed the way he was in the film.
Originally, Team America: World Police's script called for Damon to be an articulate character. However, something went wrong with the production of Damon's puppet and when Parker and Stone saw it, they believed it looked unintelligent. As a result, they decided to rewrite the script to make Damon's character unintelligent.
During an interview, Matt Stone was even asked what Damon did to warrant his portrayal in the film. After explaining that the puppet didn't look the way it was supposed to, Stone went on to speak about Damon very positively.
"I think Matt Damon's a really talented actor and I've met him before, he's a great guy. And I'm sure he has a sense of humor about it because it's obviously so stupid. He can't really be offended."
What Did Matt Damon Say About Team America: World Police?
Throughout Matt Damon's career, he has starred in a long list of highly successful movies that also were critically acclaimed. Between Damon's roles in movies like Good Will Hunting, The Departed, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Contagion, and Courage Under Fire, he has built a reputation as a dramatic actor. Damon has also notably starred in several action movies like the Bourne series.
As a result of Damon's most famous roles, many people may think that he is very serious. In reality, however, Damon seems to have a sense of humor. Several pieces of evidence show Damon's sense of humor including the fact that he starred in light fare like Dogma and the Ocean's movies.
There also is the fact that Damon appeared in a hilarious scene in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. In the scene, Damon portrays a fictional version of himself who is starring in a movie titled Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season. It also is worth noting that Damon has engaged in a fake feud with Jimmy Kimmel for many years.
Even if someone has a sense of humor about themself, as Damon does, it can still be hurtful to be mocked in front of people you care about. With that in mind, it is easy to understand that Damon easily could be deeply hurt and outraged by his portrayal in Team America: World Police.
When Team America: World Police was released, Damon had to deal with being portrayed negatively in front of the entire world. On top of that, it isn't even like Damon was being made fun of by someone he knew and had that kind of relationship with.
Of course, given Matt Stone and Trey Parker's history, Damon had to know that protesting his portrayal in Team America: World Police could only make things worse. If Damon put out a statement calling Parker and Stone out or professing that he was offended, that would only invite more mockery from the comedy duo.
All things considered, it makes sense that Matt Damon didn't make much of a fuss about his portrayal in Team America: World Police. However, Damon would go on to comment on how he was portrayed in the puppet comedy more than a decade later.
In 2016, Damon was making the rounds to promote his movie, Jason Bourne. Like several celebrities before him, Damon agreed to take part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session to bring attention to the film.
During the AMA, Damon was asked about interesting things like what skills did he learn from his roles and whether he would write a film with Ben Affleck again. However, it could be argued that the most fascinating question Damon was asked was about how he reacted to his portrayal in Team America: World Police.
Instead of complaining about the movie, Damon began by expressing his confusion. Then Damon went on to explain why he believes that he got the last laugh on Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
"I was always kind of bewildered by Team America, I think because it's hard for us to understand what our images are in public, I think we're not good judges of that, and when I saw myself on screen just only able to say my own name and not really that well, I kind of wondered 'Wow, is that how people perceive me?'
Damon continued, "At that point, I just kind of was like, I'm a screenwriter and an actor, and like really? I can barely say my own name? So I was always bewildered by that, and I never talked to Trey and Matt about that."
"And Incidentally, I believe those two are geniuses, and I don't use that word lightly. I think they are absolute geniuses, and what they've done is awesome and I'm a big fan of theirs, but I never quite understood that one. But I will say this." Damon wrote, "Those of us who were parodied in that video were parodied because we were against the Iraq war, and we went on the record against that war, and so history is on my side not theirs."
