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HOLLYWOOD ACTOR MATT Damon has said the “one good thing” he hopes will be taken from Covid-19 pandemic is a greater appreciation of healthcare workers.
The Oscar-winner has been staying in Dalkey in Co. Dublin for the duration of the pandemic after filming he was doing here stopped due to the lockdown.
Damon’s presence in Dublin has been a bit of a curiosity during the Covid-19 outbreak and the New York Times reported that ‘A Seaside Irish Village Adopts Matt Damon’.
Damon was even pictured going to a local swimming spot with a Super Valu bag.
Speaking this morning on Fully Charged with Graham and Nathan on Spin 1038, Damon said that he has been here since early March and that it’s “one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been”.
The actor says he feels very lucky because he is here with his whole family and they even have teachers for their children.
“Obviously what’s going on in the world is horrible but for my family, I’ve got my kids and and we had teachers with us because we were planning on missing school for about eight weeks,” he told the programme.
So we’ve got what nobody else has, which is actual live human beings teaching our kids. All their friends, the schools are all shut down back home and all the kids are doing remote learning. So we feel guilty we’ve got this kind of incredible setup in this place which is, I mean, it’s just absolutely gorgeous. Even in the lockdown, you’ve got to stay within two kilometres of your house, I mean two kilometres of here there’s trees and forests and woods and ocean and I mean it’s just I can’t think of any place you’d rather want to be in a two kilometre radius of.
Damon told Graham and Nathan that he’d heard on the radio that they were looking to have him on the show and that he’d even tried to memorise the phone number to call .
He said was speaking to Bono who also told him the show was looking to get in touch.
No one’s allowed to hang out, but I FaceTimed with him In fact, you guys would love this. He said to me last week, ‘you know there’s a local radio station looking for you’. That was like the final impetus for me. I finally just thought I really got to call into that show. It’s gone on too long.
During the interview, Damon spoke to a French nurse living in Dublin called Annaice who also contacted the programme because she’s a fan of the actor.
The nurse, who said that she ‘couldn’t breathe’ when Damon came on the line, said her work has slowed today “so finally we can rest a bit”.
The actor thanked her for the work she’s been doing.
“Thank you so much for what you’re doing Annaice, I can’t even tell you. This has been so horrible for everybody but if there’s any silver lining it’s that hopefully people are finally understanding how awesome you frontline workers are and what you guys do,” he said.
“And the debt we owe you guys, I feel like that is the one thing to come out of this like we will never ever ever look at you guys the same and that’s a good thing. It’s really nice to meet you.”
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Seems like a top bloke.
@Bantersaurus Rex: yup very friendly
It was after this that the parents of Dalkey tired of home schooling dropped their kids to Matts place, rang the bell and ran away!
‘MATT DAMON’!!!!
Gent
What a nice man.Fair play.
Sounds like a nice fellah.
Imagine moving around with teachers for your kids. Different world.
@Hector Son: if you had his type of job, and kids to raise you would as well.
@Optimus Prime: yes, the nice thing is he understands how privileged he is and is grateful for how blessed he and his family are.
@Michael Burke: he lives in a normal semi detached house too not some big mansion. Cycles to work unless he has to travel far. Well like what the middle class here have and allways involved in his community
@Aaron92utd: “normal semi detached house” lmao!!
Ah that’s so nice!
Matt Damon is sound ! Shame the interviewers ruined the whole experience ,such a pity,massive opportunity lost to really engage with an “A” lister and iconic ,legendary actor. Of all the possible questions they could of asked Matt …such a lack of preparation and shocking unprofessionalism. Thank you to the journal for posting as I would and will never tune into Spin.
@Lorcan O’Neill: The presenters play the role of hyperactive wannabe comedian very well. It is common place of Irish radio.
@Peter Clancy: most irish djs suck with the exception of Marty Wheelan and Dave Fanning
@Pauline Gallagher: PJ and Jim on classic hits
@Peter Clancy: I wouldn’t know ,I’ve never listened to them …. I’m embarrassed for them ! Just my opinion,thanks Peter
@Lorcan O’Neill: good god will you lighten up.the last thing id say matt damon wants is a serious interview.
@Stan Kowalskis: I’m never said serious Stan !
@Lorcan O’Neill: at least it wasn’t Ray Darcy so be thankful
@Bazza ©️: hahahaha very true
@Lorcan O’Neill: I can imagine the Ray D’ Arsey interview already;
Ray: Hahahahhahah guess who we’ve got here? We’ve got Matt Damon hahahahahahahahahahahahaaha… Hello? Matt, are you there?
Matt: Ummmmmmm, yea, are you all there?
Ray: Hahahahahahahahhahahahahhahaha yea, I’m all here in body and soul with my wife, actually, she’s pulling the strings – and pressing the knobs, I wouldn’t have gotten this job without her! hahahhahahahahahaha
Matt: Um, ok.
Ray: Hahahahaha, so how are you, Matt, Matt, Matty – can I call you Matty?
Matt: Um, sure, why not? *rolls eyes*
Ray: So Matt – or Matty – hahahhahahaha, lets get down to business! Do you like Ireland? You’re not in Kildare, why aren’t you in Kildare? Hahahahhahahhhahahaha
Matt: Um, ’cause I’m in Dalkey in Wicklow?
Ray: Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha of course you are! Damon sounds like a Kildare name, maybe you’ll come and visit – we could be related! I liked poetry in school, my favourite one was about some Kildare sheep having wool, bags full of it but I can’t remember the rest of it! Hahahahahahahah, but here in Kildare we have an army base and loads of soldiers who like poetry as well, but down here we say ‘Oh colonel My Colonel!’ Hahahahahahahahahah! (I’m feckin’ hilaroius lad – I could do your job in my sleep) Hahahahahahaha
Matt: …
Ray: So, how’re you gettin’ on? I loved you in The good will Deer Hunter, did you write the music yourself?
Matt: Actually, I wasn’t…
Ray: Hahahahahahahahah, I heard you can throw out a few bars of a song with a few pints in you? Did I tell you I know Christy Moore?
Matt: Sorry, what?
Ray: …and you were great in the one about being born again. was that about reincarnation? Hahahahahahahahahahahah – you wouldn’t want to be born again after your last one which was about a pandemic where people have to self-isolate on an island and some of them end up dying because the pubs are closed! (I’m so funny!) Hahahahahahahahhahahahah… Hello… Matt, are you still there? Hello? Hello?
Matt: *hangs up*
@Lao Tzu: That was funny I enjoyed that. You missed a few Ray staples though. There’s the “stand up there and we’ll see how tall you are compared to me”, “I’ve a set of chin-up bars here and if you want to come over we can see who can do the most” and the point in the interview where Ray either says you’re 62 i hope you don’t mind me telling everyone that or else because his researchers haven’t found out asks them their age straight out like a child would. They could say four hundred and Rat will still say jeez it’s fresh and well you’re looking you don’t look a day over three hundred and ninety nine. Can we get a big round of undeserved applause to fill up some airtime before I get to reading out a hotel giveaway – even though RTÉ get the license money they fill prime air with ad slots!
@Lao Tzu: hahahahahahaha that’s hilarious !
@Sean: and that’s where your TV license fee money is going ! But seriously the spin guys were disastrous in my opinion,thanks Sean
One of the lads….could he start playing junior hurling with Cuala when the restrictions ease?
@Insider at RTE: he’d need transfer papers from his club in New York and it’d get messy. Better just to turn up as a ringer, wig on under the helmet, call himself Datt Mamon Jr., good Dalkey name.
@Rochey77: lol
He’s a rugby player – won the World Cup captaining South Africa. I saw it in a documentary called Invictus.!!!!
Hope Dalkey has been good to him and his family while here, he seems like a genuinely nice guy. His 2015 Graham Norton appearance with Bill Murray and George Clooney was great craic, as he said himself “I’ve never had this much fun on a talks how before” while smiling from ear to ear after George got the two of them half cut before the show.
@Derek: It was Hugh Bonneville not George Clooney, although I would say he wouldn’t mind being mistaken for Clooney. It was a great episode though.
Nice one, fair play to him!
Why ask him if he’s been to cafes and restaurants during a lock down.
@Johnsinker: I know. They sounded like they were very nervous/star struck and just blurted out the first thing that came into their heads. They also asked him what he thought of the surrounds of Killiney Hill straight after he’d been talking for a while about how beautiful the place is.
That Mark Wahlberg lad is sound.
The presenters are god awful. Matt Damon is sound doh.
@Paulie Little Balls: Is that a Homer Simpson ‘doh’ or a lazy spelling of ‘though’?
They played a song before the interview and about 5 minutes in they played another song. Even though the names of the songs and artists of each were different, I’m 99% sure that they were the same songs.
If you had 15 minutes to chat to Matt Damon at this time ….what would you ask him ?
He’s very down to earth. Super nice fella.
Jesus, that presenter has some accent
Thank God the Film Actors Guild are here to save the day.
#Brave
Top man we have to take him on a beanie to all the pubs wen we open back up
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