January 1, Matt Damon Sheds Pounds for Epic Movie Role

Wyatt’s Take

• Matt Damon dropped weight to play Odysseus in a new film.
• He followed a gluten-free diet and trained hard for the part.
• Damon says strong discipline made this transformation possible.

Matt Damon went back to his “high school” weight for his role as Odysseus in a big new movie. He worked with director Christopher Nolan on this adaptation of “The Odyssey.”

Damon stuck to a strict gluten-free diet with advice from his doctor and dropped down to 167 pounds. “I used to walk around between 185 and 200 pounds. And I did that whole movie at 167 pounds.”

He said, “He [Nolan] wanted me like lean but strong. It’s a weird thing.”

Matt credits his trainer and clear goals for helping him. “Trainers are like, ‘What are we doing?’ And they can kind of do anything. It’s just having kind of a clear goal and setting it.”

Damon explained that his daily routine for this transformation was a lot like what NFL athletes go through while training for a season. “When I do that or when I do the ‘Jason Bourne’ movies or whatever, it feels almost like a season. … You get really routinized about it and kind of build your day around all that stuff.”

Damon is still gluten-free after filming. “I’m done,” he said. “I’m gluten-free everything.”

He joked, “I found a gluten-free beer. It’s been so long since I’ve had gluten, I can’t tell if it’s good or not. So, that’s a good sign.”

Matt Damon also remembered dropping a dangerous amount of weight for “Courage Under Fire.” That time, a doctor warned him, “could have shrunk my heart permanently.” Damon said of that experience, “I went too far…I got sick, and I wouldn’t do that again because it was just too much.”

He also gained 30 pounds for another role and said, “It was very, very easy to gain the weight. Very, very fun. I just basically ate everything I could see for a few months.”

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This story’s about grit, tough choices, and never taking the easy way out. Folks here know sticking to a plan and working hard pays off, whether you’re on the job or tackling life’s big obstacles.

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