Before yesterday’s Boston Marathon took a tragic turn when explosions near the finish line claimed the lives of at least three people and injured over 170 more, Matt Damon published an essay reminiscing about watching his father and his brother run the marathon.
The Massachusetts-born actor called the race “a sporting spectacle like no other, overwrought with nerves and excitement” in an excerpt of the essay, which was posted on the Boston Globe’s website on April 14, one day before the bombings in Boston. The full essay is in a book published earlier this month that marked the 125th anniversary of the Boston Athletic Association, which sponsors the marathon.
Damon called Boston a “sports town” and defended the city’s passion for its athletic teams. He went on to recall watching his father run the race with famed American runner Bill Rodgers when he was a child. and later watching his brother in the marathon “with me serving as water boy.”
“To this day both my father and brother have their bib numbers archived with their most prized possessions and describe their experiences as some of the most emotional moments of their lives,” Damon wrote.
Damon also noted in the essay that there would be runners in the 2013 race supporting his non-profit organization, Water.org. No one from TEAM.Water.org is reported to have been injured in the attack.
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Following the bombings, Damon responded to the tragedy in a statement released to EW on Tuesday: “My heart goes out to the people of the city of Boston. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones in such a senseless and heartless way.”
The Bourne Identity actor is among several celebrities who showed support for the victims of the explosions, many of them via Twitter, including Ben Affleck — a friend of Damon’s since childhood — who wrote, Such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston.
Interview Highlights
On why starring two Boston area locals, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, worked better than using the top actors at the time:
Miller: "I think it works because it seems so real. They seem so real in those roles, Affleck and Damon. Could somebody who isn't from Boston, who doesn't understand Boston, do the same thing? Maybe, but it's hard for me to imagine anybody else in those roles. You know, there's certain movies that are like that where these miracles happen. It just seemed like the perfect combination."
Guaraná: "The code switch that they do with their accents — when they're within the Harvard bar and Ben Affleck tries to tone down his accent to sound smarter. And you have Robin Williams not have the same accent that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck do. So all of these things are very subtle, but come across in regards to their class and their ethnicity in an effort to fit in, or to get the girl, or to be buddy-buddy with their male friends and present their masculinity.