Matt Damon says Hollywood career cost him time with his 4 daughters: 'A pretty ruthless business'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Matt Damon has said he hasn’t been able to spend as much time with his four daughters as he would have liked because of his Hollywood career.

He described the industry as "such an uncertain business and a pretty ruthless one," saying its constant demands often take him away from family time.

He also admitted that it’s not just the job, but his own personality and drive to keep building his career that have played a role. Damon said this has sometimes made it harder for him to focus on what he considers the most important role in his life, being a father.

Matt Damon reflects on fatherhood and fame

During an interview with GQ, the 'The Odyssey' actor spoke about balancing work and family life as he reflected on being a father to his four daughters, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, Stella, 15, and Alexia, 26.

"There’s less of that kind of young person’s engine of needing to prove something and more about, like, accepting work and doing it on your terms and doing it as precisely and as well as you can. I think about it a lot, especially as my kids are getting older: really trying to be here now," said Damon. "And it’s hard for me to do that."

"I think maybe that has to do with my own nature,” he added. "Those kinds of things have conspired to, I think, maybe take me out of where I am, more than I’d like."

Matt Damon recalls early Hollywood struggles

For those unfamiliar, Damon began his Hollywood journey at age 18 when he landed a small one-line role in the 1988 film 'Mystic Pizza'.

From there, he gradually built his career, eventually achieving a breakthrough in 1997 with 'Good Will Hunting', which he co-wrote and starred in alongside Ben Affleck, earning widespread recognition and critical acclaim.

Looking back on his early years in the industry, Damon recalled how intense the grind was, saying, “I mean, I think I worked five straight years, literally out of these two duffel bags that I had."

"And I traveled everywhere and just literally would go from set to set. And I loved it. It was great. I loved what I was doing. I didn’t want to stop. There’s that insecurity of actors of like, the phone’s going to stop ringing.”