Damon was born on Oct. 8, 1970 in Cambridge, MA and raised in nearby Newton. His father, Kent, was a stockbroker and his mother, Nancy, a professor of early-childhood education at Lesley College. When Damon was 2-years old, his parents divorced, leaving him to be reared by his mother in a commune-style home back in Cambridge. Because of the open and creative environment, Damon developed a taste for artistic endeavors at an early age. Although he acted onstage in school plays and declared his intention to pursue that career when he enrolled at Harvard University, Damon found it difficult at first. He made his feature debut screen with a one-line role of Adam Storke's younger brother in "Mystic Pizza" (1988). In 1991, Damon ditched Harvard 12 credits shy of his bachelor’s degree in English, choosing instead to co-star opposite Brian Dennehy as a medical school dropout in the made-for-cable movie, "Rising Son" (TNT, 1990).

With his acting career on the rise, he excelled as an anti-Semitic preppie in "School Ties" (1992), but later stated that the competition for the roles in his age range was fierce. Nearly all the young men in "School Ties" had auditioned for the co-starring role in "Scent of a Woman" (also 1992), but that plum role opposite an Oscar-winning Al Pacino went to Chris O'Donnell. In fact, Damon and O'Donnell often competed for roles, with the latter generally winning out. Meanwhile, Damon proved adequate as the narrator of Walter Hill's revisionist Western "Geronimo: An American Legend" (1993), only to be overshadowed by more seasoned actors, notably Gene Hackman and Wes Studi. On the other hand, he all but pulled the rug out from under Denzel Washington in "Courage Under Fire" (1996), offering a vivid turn as a guilt-ridden veteran of the Persian Gulf War tormented by an incident in battle. He even lost 40 pounds to achieve the gaunt, haunted look of the character.

When he was at Harvard, Damon began writing a script about a troubled mathematics genius with childhood buddy, Affleck. They fashioned a screenplay that soon became the talk of Hollywood, with studios bidding competitively for the project. Old friend and director Kevin Smith did his best to get it noticed by the Weinstein’s at Miramax, going to bat for his two buddies. In 1994, Castle Rock initially purchased the rights for over a half-million dollars in a pay-or-play deal. The story then focused on Will, a South Boston resident with superior intelligence whom the government attempts to recruit. A year later, with the project in turnaround, Miramax purchased the rights and the script evolved to focus more strongly on the emotional difficulties of the leading character. Before "Good Will Hunting" went before the cameras, however, Damon landed his first screen lead as a newly-minted crusading attorney in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of "John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker'" (1997). The one-two punch of the two leading roles – undoubtedly assisted by the resulting mythology building for Damon and Affleck as writers and actors – solidified the actor's status as the so-called “It” boy of 1997, along with Affleck. Earning a Best Actor Academy Award nomination and sharing an Oscar win for Best Screenplay with Affleck only upped his profile and provided Academy Award history with one of its most fairy-tale like moments come to life when, as their respective mothers sat in the audience, the two young bucks ran cheering to the stage, breathlessly thanking everyone in funny, quick succession. The twosome were, in fact, guys struggling to make it in the biz that everyone could relate to; thus, making their win that much sweeter.

Director Stephen Spielberg tapped Damon to play the title role in the World War II epic "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), a film worthy of critical praise for its showy camerawork and impressively staged battle set pieces. As the soldier whose three brothers have been killed in action, the All-American looking Damon was in only the last third of the film, but still managed to make a significant impression. He fared less well as the poker hustler-turned-law student who agrees to help his ex-con best friend in "Rounders" (1998). In this redux of Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" (1974), Damon relied on his winning personality, warm smile and good looks than on his acting ability, giving more of a movie star portrayal than a real performance.

Repaying writer-producer-director Kevin Smith for his assistance on "Good Will Hunting,” he joined Affleck to play a pair of fallen angels trying to get back into heaven in the oddly dark comedy, "Dogma" (1999). Damon followed by undertaking the more challenging title role of an American who decides to murder his traveling companion (Jude Law) and assume his identity in Anthony Minghella's well-crafted "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999), resulting in one of the actor's most intense performance – though the film largely built its reputation and devoted admirers after its initial release. And it was newcomer Law, in a winningly charming performance, who received the lion’s share of the spotlight. But it was Damon’s obsessive, bespectacled killer who was the glue that held the beautifully shot film together.

Damon's career hit a brief but worrisome slump with the release of three creative and box-office duds in a row: director Robert Redford's lethargic "The Legend of Bagger Vance," with Damon as a washed up golf pro opposite wise caddy Will Smith; "All the Pretty Horses,” director Billy Bob Thornton's failed adaptation of novelist Cormac McCarthy's romantic Western; and a small supporting turn in Van Sant's by-the-numbers "Finding Forrester" (2000). The actor recaptured his A-list cachet when he joined the all-star cast of Steven Soderbergh's remake of "Ocean's Eleven,” playing pickpocket and aspiring big-time thief, Linus Caldwell, in the popular hit – a role he returned to for the sequels "Ocean's Twelve" (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007). His next film was a complete about-face from those slick, polished crowd-pleasers: Damon and Casey Affleck starred (and co-wrote) the largely improvised drama, "Gerry" (2002), a little-seen effort directed by Van Sant about two men named Gerry who are stranded in the desert during a hiking mishap – an intriguing experiment that proved to be unfit for mainstream audiences.

Over the years, Damon cultivated a reputation as one of the most affable movie actors in Hollywood and frequently collaborated with friends to give their projects a boost. His desire to help others get their careers off the ground led he and Affleck to create the HBO reality series, "Project: Greenlight" (2001- ), which documented and bankrolled untried aspiring filmmakers' attempts to create a motion picture to be released by Miramax – the show resulted in the films "Stolen Summer" (2002) and "The Battle of Shaker Heights" (2003), both executive produced by Affleck and Damon. The duo also created and produced the short-lived "Push, Nevada" (ABC, 2002-03), an interactive mystery show that gave viewers the chance to solve the crime and win $1 million. Damon also had a cameo in films by his friend, Kevin Smith, including "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001) and "Jersey Girl" (2004); and in films from his "Ocean's Eleven" collaborators, including "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002); and up-and-coming filmmaker pals, such as the creators of the comedy "Eurotrip" (2004). As a voice actor, Damon lend his distinctive vocals to the films "Titan A.E." (2000), "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron" (2002), "The Majestic" (2001), and "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (2004).

Demonstrating his increasing diversity and believability, Damon took on the role of the amnesiac über-spy Jason Bourne in the film adaptation of Robert Ludlum's sprawling espionage novel, "The Bourne Identity" (2002), a crackerjack thriller that did solid box office business and became a mega-hit on home video. The actor would reprise the role for the equally well-crafted, but ultimately unsatisfying sequel "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004). Demonstrating a flair for goofball comedy, Damon delivered a wickedly funny turn on the small screen as Jack's scheming rival to join the gay men's chorus in a 2002 episode of the hit NBC sitcom "Will & Grace;" a role he reprised the following season. Damon next joined – literally – Greg Kinnear to play one half of a pair of conjoined twins in the flawed but still winning comedy, "Stuck On You" (2003), a silly romp from the Farrelly Brothers that proved to be a rare miss for the filmmaking duo.

His next film cast him opposite Heath Ledger as a fictionalized version of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, the Bavarian fairy tale spinners known as "The Brothers Grimm" (2005), re-imagined by director Terry Gilliam as a pair of curse-removing con artists who are suddenly tasked with solving a genuine mystery that will ultimately inspire their famous stories. Damon showed a great deal of panache and charisma as practical scoundrel Wilhelm, but the story ultimately left him too little to do; the film itself lacked the spark and imagination expected of a Gilliam project. Behind the scenes, Damon was credited with frequently playing peacemaker between the embattled Gilliam and the films' producers, the Weinstein brothers. At the end of that year Damon delivered a fine turn in the complex potboiler, "Syriana" (2005), playing an oil industry analyst living a comfortable life in Geneva until the death of his son while visiting an oil-rich country, drives him to obsession with helping the country's benevolent prince (Alexander Siddig) raise his nation with sound business dealings.

Damon next joined an all-star cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson for “The Departed” (2006), playing a hardened criminal employed by a crime syndicate who infiltrates the police while his counterpart (DiCaprio) on the force goes undercover in the mob. Based on the excellent Hong Kong action thriller, “Infernal Affairs” (2002) and directed by Martin Scorsese, “The Departed” earned a huge helping critical kudos prior to its early October release – as well as several Academy Award wins. In “The Good Shepherd” (2006), a historical look at the beginnings of the CIA, Damon played Edward Wilson, a bright, idealistic Yale student recruited by the OSS to work intelligence during World War II. While later helping to form the CIA, he becomes disenfranchised during the heightened suspicions and deep-rooted paranoia of the Cold War. In 2007, Damon revived two favorite characters for a second time, appearing as Linus Caldwell in the much-improved “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007), and Jason Bourne for “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), who comes out of retirement to defeat arch rival, The Jackal, in a once-and-for-all showdown.