Matt Damon

(http://www.celebrityhaircutstyles.com/men-celebrity/matt-damon-haircut-styles.htm)

The days were passing by, and things were going pretty well at Harvard for Matt Damon. Damon was majoring in English, and he was excelling as a student; he was, in fact, one of the top in his class. At this point, everyone figured that he’d graduate and focus on his career from there on. Everyone, that is; except Matt Damon himself. While at Harvard, Matt repeatedly skipped classes to pursue acting projects, “which included the TNT original film, Rising Sun, and prep-school drama, School Ties. It was until his film, Geronimo: An American Legend was expected to be a big success that he decided to drop out of university completely” (Lewis). Due to the fact that Damon was just 12 credits shy of graduating, his decision to drop out was questioned. However, when Damon put his mind to his acting career, he became quite successful and accomplished an impressive number of feats: when you star in the same movie as Brad Pitt and George Clooney, your decision to drop out of college doesn’t seem like such a bad move, now does it? Furthermore, Damon has taken part in philanthropy, ever since his days as a 12 year old; even using his $5 allowance on it. It is because he gives back to the environment and possesses dedication that Matt Damon is considered a hero.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Damon)

Matt Damon is considered heroic because he cares for something larger than himself; the environment. “Damon is a board member of Tonic Mailstopper; a company that seizes and exterminates junk mail” (Hemmings). Less junk mail means less trees cut down to use for the paper/envelopes. Fewer trees cut down mean more oxygen given off from the trees, helping our environment significantly. Damon became a part of this group, seeing how they could make such a big difference with such a simple plan; cutting down the useless junk mail. Not only does he focus on junk mail, the philanthropy covers more serious issues; “Damon, along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub, is one of the founders of Not on Our Watch”. Unlike the Tonic Mailstopper, this organization is complicated in that there isn’t a set of instructions (ex: cut down on the amount of junk mail); it “focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities” (Caro). Whether it’s seizing junk mail, or putting an end to inhumane acts, Matt Damon shows his heroic quality of selflessness by giving back towards the environment.

Matt Damon before his 40 lbs. weight loss

Matt Damon displays heroic qualities because he demonstrates perseverance in everything he does. And it doesn’t matter what he does; he’ll put his mind to it and accomplish it. “Despite his part being a measly two scenes, Damon dropped 40 pounds within 100 days for his role as a Gulf War vet in Courage under Fire” (Caro). Even though he had a minimal role in the film, Damon went ahead and accomplished the unlikely and dropped 40 pounds in 2 ½ months. Granted, he had health problems for a brief period of time afterwards; he still reached his goal and acted his two scenes in the movie. Not only does Damon possess dedication as far as exercise, but also with tasks that involve patience as well. “Damon began the story as a 40-page script for a theater class he took at Harvard, and he and Affleck, had to expand it to a full-length film, having Damon create 1,000 pages of script doing so” (Diamond). In this example, Damon and Affleck had to expand their script, as it was too short in the eyes of the professor. Hearing this, Damon got to work immediately; creating an unreal 1,000 page script with some help from Affleck. Obviously, the script was too long and Damon proceeded to shorten it, but it nevertheless shows the amount of dedication that Damon possesses to write something of that length. Matt Damon is worthy of heroic status because he is focused in anything and everything he does.

Last of all heroic traits of which Damon possesses is the ability to inspire. “Damon won multiple awards for Good Will Hunting, a film he co-wrote with Ben Affleck. He was nominated for the Academy Award as "Best Actor in a Leading Role" and won for "Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen" (Hemmings). We already know Damon can inspire people for his down-to-Earth, giving back attitude; now, as the multiple awards show, Damon can be looked up to because of his great acting skills. More kids could look up to him and try and be like him, considering he had to work hard in order to become what he is today: Matt Damon is the son of a stockbroker and a Kindergarten teacher. Matt Damon is just an average person who did above average things in his life that defy who he is today; a hero, in the eyes of many.