Matt’s comments come after he and Andrew Scott — who both portrayed Tom Ripley — had a surprise moment at the Met Gala with Jude Law.
Matt Damon has mixed emotions about the latest Ripley adaptation.
Back in 1999, Matt starred as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel of the same name.
The Oscar-nominated movie also starred Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Because the original film is so beloved, anticipation was high earlier this year when Netflix released Ripley, another adaptation of the 1955 novel, starring Andrew Scott as the titular character.
After Ripley premiered in April, the eight-episode series — shot in black and white — received predominantly positive reviews, with many praising Andrew’s “spellbinding” performance in the lead role.
But despite the critical acclaim for Netflix’s Ripley, Matt explained in a new interview that it wasn’t all that easy for him to watch — but not for the reasons you might expect.
In an interview with IndieWire, Matt was asked if he’d ever revisit the iconic role. In his response, the Good Will Hunting star revealed his mixed emotions about the new adaptation following the death of Anthony Minghella, who directed him in The Talented Mr. Ripley 25 years ago.
“I don’t know,” Matt said. “You know, I associate the one that we did so much with Anthony Minghella, who’s passed away now, that I don’t know.”
“I even had trouble watching the new one, as beautiful as it was and as great as everybody was,” he continued. “It was hard at first for me to sink back into it just because I have so many great memories, but they’re all wrapped up in these personal feelings about the experience.”
Back in May, Matt enjoyed a Ripley reunion at the Met Gala, where he was seated at the same table as Jude Law, who starred alongside him as Dickie Greenleaf in the 1999 movie. Andrew was also at the same table.
“I got to meet Andrew Scott, an actor who played the same character I played 25 years ago, so that was really fun,” Matt told Entertainment Tonight in May while discussing the Met Gala. “He was actually there with Jude Law, who I did the movie with… It was very funny, we were all seated at the same table so that was definitely a highlight.”
Recalling the memorable night, he added: “It was fantastic. It was beautiful… A lot of people, no kind of pressure in there ’cause there’s no cameras or anything, so everybody’s pretty relaxed.”