My Brush with Matt Damon by Deb Eve

“Excuse me, Matt,” I said. “Do you see the guy over in that corner?” I pointed out St. John clear across the room, because he wanted nothing to do with his tactless wife pitching her book/movie to Matt Damon at his step-brother’s funeral. I wasn’t exactly pitching. I just happened to be getting a cup of coffee right when and where Matt Damon was getting a cup of coffee. Actually, Matt was getting three cups of coffee: one for him and one for his lovely wife who was nursing their infant and one for my crazy friend, Cindy – who in addition to being wacky enough to pen “Lesbians for Eve” on the back of my protest sign (now you remember her!) is ballsy enough to tell Matt Damon to go get her a cup of coffee! Sheesh, the nerve of some people. But that’s how nice Matt Damon is. He got her coffee, no problem. And wouldn’t even let me help carry it. “I used to be a waiter,” he told me.

Okay, before you label me totally crass, let me just say, this was a good several hours into the funeral reception. I’d already done the NOT gushing over Matt Damon thing, given my condolences and shared stories of my friend/Matt Damon’s step-brother, Gideon (who was a wonderful and very beautiful man). St. John had made me promise that I would NOT talk to Matt Damon about my possibly-to-be-made-into-a-movie book and whether or not he could play St. John and could my agent send him a copy. And I didn’t. But then I noticed a whole gaggle of people surrounding him and talking movie talk to him AND NOT ONE OF THEM EVEN HAD A BOOK THAT MIGHT BE MADE INTO A MOVIE, so really, I had no choice but to pounce on him at the coffee bar, even though I don’t drink coffee.

“Do you think you could play him in a movie?” I asked. I tried to look cool, like talking to a huge movie star about playing my husband in a movie and pouring myself coffee was something I did every day. And Matt Damon tried to look at me like I was not crazy (cause he is a really nice guy). “The film rights to my memoir are being represented by The Endeavor Talent Agency,” I added (which is code for See, I’m really not crazy OR Well, I might be crazy, but at least I wrote a book that someone thinks would make a great movie). And Matt’s face lit up (I might be editorializing here, I am a memoir writer, after all) and he said the sweetest words I’ve ever heard: “Endeavor! That’s my talent agency!” And then it was like we were best buddies, me and Matt – talking about agents, movies, and Africa . . . and swigging coffee.

When I got home and told my 14-year-old daughter, she actually smiled! “Did he touch you? she asked, all excited (something almost never seen in this household). Touch me? Hell yeah. He was the one who broke the news that Paul Newman had died that day. Matt honey, I think I said, it sure looks like you could use a hug!

And yes, he’s just as handsome in real life as he is on the screen – his wife and children are beautiful too! And he’s very, very nice. But of course he is. After all, he was related to my sweet friend, Gideon. And they don’t come much nicer than that.

Gideon
Gideon

~Deb Eve

21 Replies to “My Brush with Matt Damon by Deb Eve”

  1. AUGH! Eve, here you had me all lulled by this gorgeous picture of Matt Damon only to show me a spider the size of a softball!!! Before I’ve even had my coffee for the day! (Because I do drink coffee). I’m a bit arachnophobic, does this mean your book is going to scare me?

    But anyway, back to the point at hand… St. John is very handsome, so I guess Matt Damon would do him justice.

  2. I loved that you bonded over your agent… How Hollywood of you!

    I forgot to tell me quintessential NY story. I was heading to work at Lifetime one morning (one of my promo clients) and there were a bunch of guys dressed as firemen. For a minute I thought they really were firemen, but then I saw on the camera cases and lights. When I got into the building, I had to sign the visitor’s book at the guard’s desk, and someone was standing in front of it. “Excuse me,” I said politely and the man moved. I asked the guard what was going on and he said they were shooting a movie. Meanwhile, the video editor I was working with that day was laughing at me from the second floor atrium above me. I went up and asked him what was so funny, and he said I’d just asked Ben Affleck to move out of the way! Oh, well. He was a normal looking guy.

  3. Meredith, at least you said “Excuse me” and not “GET OUT OF THE WAY, I”M TRYING TO WORK ALREADY!”

    Out here in the sticks, there was a movie filming recently in our newspaper offices (off hours, in the middle of the night) with Armand Assante and one of the Baldwins I think? It got newspaper coverage and much local excitement. I guess in NYC it’s a fact of life, isn’t it?

  4. Um, that is the mother of all spiders. I don’t like them, either. And, Eve, I totally admire your ability to “network.” But I guess after Uganda and Uzbekistan (not spelled right I don’t think), you can probably do anything….

  5. I actually think it’s a tarantula. I have a picture of me holding one, somewhere around here. Guess I won’t put it on the blog anytime soon.

    Oh, Mel Gibson was filming a movie around here this past fall. And that was pretty funny. Folks were divided into three camps – those who lined up to play extras in the movie, those who thought the whole thing was a huge pain in the ass (they took over a local tourist attraction and the popular hiking trail that leads to it) and the small group of people who protested at the filming location!

    Oops, here comes the blizzard. Gotta go!

  6. Gosh, wouldn’t I LOVE to find out, Larramie. One of my (not-so-secret) dreams is that my book DOES get made into a movie and get filmed on location in Arua, Uganda (where they do have spiders THE SIZE OF YOUR HAND and somewhere I do have the video footage to prove it! Kristina, I’m guessing you’re not going to be up for that road trip!). And who knows? Maybe Matt will end up playing St. John after all . . .

    Tiffany, your spelling of Uganda and Uzbekistan is spot-on! Now spell the name of the country where I served as a Peace Corps volunteer. That’s the one that everyone gets wrong! Most memorably, it was misspelled on my going-away cake.

  7. For some reason, all the photos don’t come through…what spider…oh, I looked again and now that photo was covering Matt…he is so nice—Damon.

    Anyway…luckily none of you were there to hear Eve say…”But he’s so nice”, a million times, until I thought St. John would…well what would St. John do???

  8. Okay, but HE WAS SOOOO NICE! And I won’t say that again. And when it’s snowing like crazy where you are Meredith – you can only imagine what it’s like here. And may I point out . . . it’s not even officially winter yet!!!

  9. Yes, Tiffany! It’s Ecuador – NOT Ecaudor and I have to check myself half the time! But hey, you’re too busy to be chatting online, young lady!

  10. Okay so its be Cindy….Eves “crazy” lesbain friend. Yes i did tell matt to get me a cup of coffee and I even told him thats make you my coffee bitch matt! I told matt the he was not the biggest star I ever met ..it was scott baio in 1979 in the height of Chachiness! That had my new bff matt laughing. eve is right matt was a very nice guy. cute yes…but WOW his wife is GORGEOUS! and with all the straight ladies going gaga over my bff matt i had mrs matt all to myself>

  11. i’m fairly confident gideon would have laughed.

    at the reception i bumped bums with matt by accident which made me laugh, and cry, because no one would have appreciated that as much as gideon

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