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Matt Damon reflects on life now and his latest movie, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, in his PEOPLE cover story
Upon turning 50, he reflects, “I really started feeling like time is the most precious commodity there is”
Being “intentional” about how he spends his time, the dad of four says, involves his family, work and nonprofit Water.org
Matt Damon is reflecting on his priorities amid one of the most notable moments in his career.
The 55-year-old star of The Odyssey (in theaters now), Christopher Nolan‘s adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek poem, says in his PEOPLE cover story interview that his priorities have sharpened upon celebrating a milestone birthday.
“You get on the other side of 50, and at least for me, I really started feeling like time is the most precious commodity there is,” says the Oscar winner. “I just want to be intentional with what I do with it and make sure that I’m spending it exactly where I want to spend it.”
There are “three things,” Damon shares, he’s prioritizing with his time: “my family and work and then Water.org.” The latter is the actor-filmmaker’s nonprofit providing safe water access to those living in poverty, which he co-founded in 2009.
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On the family side, the Brooklyn-based Damon is in a “new phase of life,” he says, as an empty nest approaches. He and wife Luciana, 50, his wife since 2005, share daughters Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15. “Having two older kids who are out of the nest and knowing how fast these final years go, we’re trying to be mindful of holding onto what we can,” he says.
“In terms of work,” he continues, his goal with longtime collaborator and friend Ben Affleck is to grow their production company Artist’s Equity “and make the kind of movies that we started the company so that we could make.”
Water.org’s Gary White and Matt Damon in 2018Credit: Courtesy
As Damon says, “That’s a very full life.” Being in his 50s, he adds, “I feel like I’ve calmed down a little bit and I’m not chasing something. I just want to do work that I think is really stellar on my own terms and on things that I really believe in.”
The Odyssey, also starring Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page, and Samantha Morton, features the muscular Damon as Odysseus — who often rails against the gods in his decades-long quest to return home from the Trojan War.
The actor reflects on how he’s grappled with the idea of mastering his fate through the years. “I just try to think about what I can control and what I can’t,” Damon says, “instead of railing against the gods about things that I can’t control.”
(Left-right:) Alexia Barroso, Isabella Damon, Gia Damon, Matt Damon, Luciana Barroso and Stella Damon in July 2024Credit: Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
He adds, “You live long enough and things happen and tragedy comes and visits you no matter who you are. And you have to just accept what happens. I think starting out as an actor, you have to feel that way a little bit. You have to because the odds are so long against you.”
The Odyssey is in theaters as of July 17.
For more on The Odyssey, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, available everywhere Friday.
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