Matt Damon proved how committed he was to his role in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey with his striking appearance at the Netflix Tudum event in Los Angeles over the weekend.
The actor, who will play Odysseus in the mythological epic, sported a grown-out gray beard with brown streaks peppered throughout, complete with a brown moustache.
His gray hair was artfully pushed back out of his face to further draw attention to his long beard, highlighting the difference from his usual clean-cut appearance.
The father of three went for a casual look with a white button-up shirt and khaki trousers on the red carpet.
He was accompanied by his best friend and longtime collaborator Ben Affleck, who donned a leather jacket and blue jeans for the event.
Matt showcased his rugged appearance at the Netflix event
Ben made sure to tease his friend about his surprising appearance while on stage at the event, where they spoke about their upcoming film, The Rip.
“I trusted Matt would shave the beard before Tudum – and here we are,” he joked to the crowd.
The duo, who won the Best Screenwriting Oscar for Good Will Hunting together in 1998, are currently working on the Netflix film Animals, which Ben will star in and Matt will produce.
The actor is growing out his beard for Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey
The synopsis for their latest film, The Rip, reads: “Upon discovering millions in cash in a derelict stash house, trust among a team of Miami cops begins to fray. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question – including whom they can rely on.”
After the event, Ben and Matt went out for dinner at Steak 48 with The Martian star’s wife, Luciana Barroso.
Matt’s incredible transformation has sent fans wild
Matt has been working hard on his chiselled physique since landing the role of Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s project, and has received an outpouring of love from impressed fans, much to Ben’s chagrin.
“I just went to the premiere [of The Accountant 2] and every interviewer, they were like they found the secret of life,” the father of three said on Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, adding that reporters would continually show him pictures of Matt’s muscular transformation.
“I was like, ‘The one time he got in shape!'” he quipped. “It looks good. It ain’t easy when you touch 50.”
Ben shared that he was proud of his friend’s transformation
Matt’s workout regime has largely been kept under wraps, but his previous trainer, Jason Walsh, revealed just how hard-working he is in the gym.
“He loves challenges,” Jason told Men’s Health at the time. “We got to the point where we were doing 100 pull-ups two or three times a week. We’d see how many sets it takes to get 100. Once you lose some of that excess weight, pull-ups get a lot easier. He was doing 30-some pull-ups per set.”
Matt and Ben won an Oscar for their film Good Will Hunting
Matt is currently filming The Odyssey in Italyand will star alongside A-listers like Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Robert Pattinson in the blockbuster flick.
Meanwhile, his friendship with Ben is still as strong as ever, decades after they first met in the schoolyard in Boston.
They run the Artists Equity with RedBird Capital Partners production company together, which Ben serves as CEO for and Matt as chief creative officer.
To learn more about Matt and Ben’s collaborations, see below…
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