Matt Damon: Five Best Moments

As the Oscar-winner returns to cinemas playing the amnesiac spy Jason Bourne, heres a look back at his greatest performances

Jeremy Renner is no Matt Damon a point built painfully clear in 2012 after an attempt to revive the Bourne franchise with the spectacularly dull spinoff The Bourne Legacy. Damons dialogue as Bourne is often thin on the ground, and his work in the hitting trilogy is easy to underestimate. This week, he returns to play the nifty assassin in Jason Bourne, directed against Paul Greengrass. Reviews may be mixed, but Damon is still a capable and engaging action hero a amaze devoted how he started out.

The actor, producer and Oscar-winning screenwriters career has had many high points. And with forthcoming roles in Alexander Paynes Downsizing and Suburbicon, scripted by the Coen brethren, there may be many more to arrive. What have been his best performances?

Good Will Hunting

Damon was impressive in the 1996 movie Courage Under Fire( ticking the box for the role that involves extreme weight loss early in his career ). But it was his work as screenwriter and lead actor in Gus Van Sants Good Will Hunting that turned him into a starring. As an arrogant but distressed genius, he was an expertly controlled ball of frenzy and smarts.

The Talented Mr Ripley

Anthony Minghellas take on the dark thriller by Patricia Highsmith gave Damon his greatest challenge yet: playing a sociopathic chameleon who struggles with his sexuality and identity. He managed to turn Tom Ripley into a tragic lost-boy figure while also stimulating him a frighteningly devious antihero. The role was played by John Malkovich and Barry Pepper in subsequent film adaptations, but Damons performance remains the one to beat.

The Bourne Identity

His buddy Ben Affleck fell straight into action mode after Good Will Hunting. Damon, however, didnt seem like a fit for the genre. The troubled shoot and delayed release of Doug Limans snoop thriller, adapted from Robert Ludlums novel, hinted at a disaster. But audiences loved Damons action-ready amnesiac in this 2002 movie, and the role opened up new opportunities.

The Informant!

Damon wasnt solely focused on different ways to flex his acting muscles: he gained weight and an wholly unflattering new look for Steven Soderberghs underrated corporate comedy. His performance, as a real-life whistleblower whose staggering ineptitude causes a catalogue of unbelievable problems, is a minor comic masterpiece. The role showcased Damons total lack of vanity and, yet again, his ability to give depth to often pathetic characters.

Behind the Candelabra

Working for the sixth hour with Soderbergh, Damon again changed tack dramatically in this impeccably acted Liberace biopic. Starring with a career-best Michael Douglas, he was astonishing as the unravelling boyfriend of the famous entertainer.