Matt Damon Says Oppenheimer Brought An Abrupt End To His Acting Break After Couples Therapy Vow

Matt Damon has revealed he had assured his wife he would take a career break, before Oppenheimer came along.

In a candid interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar winner shared that he’d assured his wife, Luciana, during a couple’s therapy session that he’d be taking time out from acting.

However, there was one condition.

“I had – not to get too personal – negotiated extensively with my wife that I was taking time off,” he explained.

“I had been in Interstellar, and then [director Christopher Nolan] put me on ice for a couple of movies, so I wasn’t in the rotation, but I actually negotiated in couples therapy ­— this is a true story — the one caveat to my taking time off was if Chris Nolan called.

“This is without knowing whether or not he was working on anything, because he never tells you. He just calls you out of the blue. And so, it was a moment in my household.”

When co-star Robert Downey Jr joked that “even modern psychology has a caveat”, Matt responded: “For Chris!”

Matt first worked with the British filmmaker on Interstellar in 2015, but had previously been considered for the role of Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan’s Batman film The Dark Knight.

However, he was unable to appear in the movie due to prior scheduling conflicts.

Oppenheimer – which hits cinemas on Friday 21 July – marks the pair’s second collaboration, with Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh also among the film’s all-star cast.

Last week, the film’s cast walked out of its London premiere midway through after the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA announced strike action in the middle of the event.