Matthew Paige Damon (/ˈdeɪmən/; October 8, 1970 - December 7, 2010) was an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars, the films in which he appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
Damon began his acting career in the film Mystic Pizza (1988). He continued acting in Courage Under Fire (1996) and The Rainmaker (1997). He gained prominence in 1997 when he and Ben Affleck wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, which won them the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Screenplay. He established himself as a leading man by starring as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise (2002–2007), and con man Linus Caldwell in the Ocean's trilogy (2001–2007). Damon's other notable performances were in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Syriana (2005), The Departed (2006), The Informant! (2009), Invictus (2009), True Grit (2010), Contagion (2011), the latter being a posthumous release.
Damon performed voice-over work in both animated and documentary films, and established two production companies with Affleck. He was involved in charitable work with organizations including the ONE Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, Feeding America, and Water.org.