Actor's humble beginnings impress film class

After winning an Academy Award for co-writing "Good Will Hunting" and enjoying successful runs at the box office, Matt Damon said he still believes he has a lot to learn.

A student himself, he finds his experiences more meaningful when shared with other students.

At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the actor, producer and writer shared his frustration on getting into Hollywood, his admiration of good directors and his quest for knowledge with about 50 film and theater students April 17.

In town filming the Steven Soderbergh directed "Ocean's Eleven," Damon was making good on a promise made to associate theater professor Nate Bynum five years ago when they met in Memphis, Tenn., on the set of "The Rainmaker."

After a 90-minute question and answer session, Damon signed autographs for the students and posed for pictures, even though he was running late to the set.

"He's so accommodating," said Bynum. "He really loves talking to people interested in his craft and in this business. He wants them to know they can endure it and know they can achieve what he can achieve."

Co-writing "Good Will Hunting" with childhood friend Ben Affleck, filming the movie and winning the Academy Award for best original screenplay gave the actor plenty to talk about and a learning experience he was eager to share.

" 'Good Will Hunting' was born out of frustration," Damon said. "Trying to get an acting job is a full-time job. What we thought we'd do is make a movie that he and I thought was good."

While preparing for the shoot, the costumes for Will Hunting, Damon's character, were chosen. Being from Boston, where "Good Will Hunting" was set, Damon thought the clothes were wrong for the setting. Affleck, however, was allowed to purchase his character's wardrobe at a local mall.

"I'm going on record as saying it's an embarrassment," he told director Gus Van Sant. "I know the neighborhood he's from, and he would never wear what he wore in that movie."

Movies don't always turn out as well as "Good Will Hunting." In Damon's most recent release, "All the Pretty Horses," he said the final product was far from the film's potential.

"Sometimes the movie they see isn't the movie you made," Damon said. "You meet people, and they say 'I saw that,' but they didn't see it."

Whether a movie would bring in money or not, Damon won't do action films -- playfully poking fun at Affleck for "Armageddon" -- and sticks to the scripts with a driving story and strong dialogue, as well as good directors. So far, he hasn't worked with a director he wouldn't work with again.

Watching Steven Spielberg on the set of "Saving Private Ryan" gave him a lesson in decision making. Being around Soderbergh on the set of "Ocean's Eleven" gave him a sense of what it's like to be in love with your job.

"It's not only being able to tell a story," Damon said. "You have to know so much about so many different things. It's amazing how you can marshal the forces to make a movie."

Damon, 30, believes he has a lot to learn, especially from those who have been in business longer than he's been alive. As a Christmas present, Damon's assistant arranged a dinner with veteran actor Morgan Freeman, star of "Along Came a Spider." Damon fired questions at Freeman, much like the students were asking of him. During the discussion, he gave the students the same allowance.

Kareem Issaq, a graduate student in screen writing, worked in the entertainment business as a young man and was impressed with Damon's approachable demeanor and "humble beginning." Other audience members agreed.

"The best part of the experience was the fact that I could look at this guy and say to myself, 'he's just a guy like me,' " said Jason Martin, graduate student in theater arts. "He got to where he is through hard work and perseverance. I can do that."

Conducting research and delving into characters' lives gives experienced actors like Freeman, Marlon Brando and John Malkovich an arsenal of insight -- one Damon hopes to earn in the future.

Not knowing where to start to prepare for his role of Rudy Baylor in "The Rainmaker," Damon traveled to the character's home town of Knoxville, Tenn., to tend bar as the character did in the book by John Grisham. Taking three months to prepare for a role probably isn't the best way to research a character, but he's still learning, Damon said.

"(More experienced actors) work less than the young actor, because the young actor doesn't know how to streamline it yet," Damon said. "I throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks."

And he's learning what sticks as he goes.

Damon will next produce "The Third Wheel" -- where he will also star with Affleck -- and star in "The Bourne Identity," based on the book by Robert Ludlum. Damon will also make an appearance in Kevin Smith's "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."