Quarantined In Ireland, Matt Damon Spreads Good Cheer
Nine years ago, Matt Damon starred in the prescient thriller Contagion. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Jude Law, among others, the film imagines a world in which a deadly virus emerges in Hong Kong and rapidly becomes a worldwide pandemic. One might say that morbid curiosity has caused a resurgence in the popularity of Contagion in recent months. In March it became one of the top rentals on iTunes.
Matt Damon in Ireland
When the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep through Europe in early March, Damon was filming an epic medieval drama entitled The Last Duel. Damon, Ben Affleck, and Nicole Holofcener wrote the film, which is set in 14th Century France. Ridley Scott is directing. Damon stars alongside Affleck, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer. Production has since been suspended, and Damon has quarantined with his wife and three of his four children in Ireland. They have rented a home in an affluent seaside suburb of Dublin, called Dalkey.
In a recent videoconference with local radio station Spin 1038, the 49-year-old movie star talked about his love for Dalkey and his appreciation for its respectful and welcoming residents. Various members of the media have tried to reach Damon during lockdown, but the locals have been vigilant about protecting the megastar’s privacy. During the interview, Damon revealed that his college-aged daughter, who is in New York City, recently recovered from COVID-19. He also surprised a frontline nurse in Dublin who called into the show unaware that she would be meeting her celebrity hero-crush.
In mid-April Damon and Affleck promoted and participated in a charitable online poker tournament that raised $1.75 million for Feeding America. Adam Sandler, Tom Brady, Bryan Cranston, and Sarah Silverman also anted up.
