14 DAY TRIAL // Matt Damon cut an impressive figure in all his “Bourne” films, with his chiseled pecs, well-defined abs and strong arms, but his fans will see another side of him when his latest film, “The Informant!,” comes out. For it, the actor had to gain about 30 pounds and he did so with the help of the ever-reliable junk food and beer, as he tells the Daily Mail at the Venice Film Festival.
The star arrived in Venice for the premiere of the film and agreed to answer a couple of questions, the Mail says. Inevitably, someone also asked him whether he had any trouble gaining weight for the part and then, once the movie was done, shake it all off in order to return to normalcy. According to Damon, gaining the weight by gorging on junk food and having as many beers as a man can take is the hardest part, and not losing the weight and getting back in shape again, he jokes.
Either way, Damon admits to having a lot of fun eating as much as he could. “It was very, very easy to gain the weight. It was very, very fun, probably the funnest time I had working, because I didn’t have to go to the gym after work and I just ate everything I could see. I definitely got doughy. I started eating like crazy and drinking dark beer.” Damon explains. He also ate a lot while on set, so that he made sure his weight didn’t drop while shooting for the film. “Between meals on set, I’d eat a No. 1 Value Meal at McDonald’s and then Doritos on top of it. It was absolute heaven.” the actor adds.
The great challenge began only when he wrapped production for the film and had to get back to his previous shape, a thing he no longer enjoyed, since it meant cutting back on food (especially the high-fat kind, junk food) and starting going to the gym again. He can still joke about it, though. “If you put it on, it's easier to get it back off. I’m just boxing. I figure if you get hit enough times, it will fall off!” Damon says, adding that he’s now the Hottest Man Alive’s “chunky cousin.”
“The Informant!” premiered yesterday at the Venice Film Festival, will arrive at Canada’s Toronto Film Festival on September 11, and will finally open in US theaters on the 18 of the same month.