The Understandable Reason Why Matt Damon Calls Himself The 'Anti-Tom Cruise'

While I’ve never really compared Tom Cruise and Matt Damon, I do recognize the commonalities, specifically seeing as they’re both known for starring in action franchises. However, their approach to the action is so different that the Good Will Hunting actor called himself the “anti-Tom Cruise.” And I have to say, I get why he calls himself that.

You know it, and I know it, Tom Cruise does his own stunts, and he loves it. Meanwhile, Matt Damon made it very clear that he’d rather have stuntmen do the action for him. In fact, ahead of the premiere of his new movie, The Rip, on Netflix’s 2026 schedule, he made it very clear to Ben Affleck during an interview with Still Watching Netflix that he’s the “anti-Tom Cruise” when it comes to stunts, saying:

Of course, I love that Cruise does his own stunts and pulls off wild moments like the bi-plane sequence in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. I also appreciate when other actors, like Glen Powell, commit to doing stunts themselves.

However, I also greatly appreciate the other side of this coin. Sunt people are incredible artists, and they put their lives on the line to do this remarkable work. In some cases, the actors can pull it off (like Cruise can). However, in many others, it's best to let the stunt double take over. That’s the mentality Damon clearly has when it comes to action, and he made that clear in the following back-and-forth with Ben Affleck:

• Ben Affleck: Your stuntman has done more interesting stuff.
• Matt Damon: My stuntman has done fantastic work.
• Ben Affleck: On the Bourne movies...the action in those movies is so good. There's a great shot where the camera is behind you when you jump into a window or something? That was amazing.
• Matt Damon: Yeah, that's a guy named Kai [Martin].

This is all reminding me of a story Matt Damon told a while back about a conversation he had with Cruise. They were discussing meetings they've had with safety people on sets and trying to get things approved by them. The Mission: Impossible actor said that if the safety person tells him “no,” he’ll “get a new safety guy.” If the Bourne Identity star got that response, he would just walk away from the stunt and move on.

Both mentalities have their merits; however, there’s no denying that they are totally different. So, I see why Damon calls himself the “anti-Tom Cruise.” The Odyssey actor will transform physically for a role, and he’s very committed to his performances; however, when it comes to stunts, he’ll leave that to his stuntman.

Now, to see Matt Damon (and probably his stuntman) in action, his next movie, The Rip, will be available for those with a Netflix subscription on January 16, and then you can see him on the big screen this summer in The Odyssey. And to see his action opposite, Tom Cruise, you can catch his project on the 2026 movie schedule, Digger, in theaters on October 2.