Damon needs box office boost

2004-07-19 13:08

Boston - Matt Damon didn't plan to do a movie sequel - much less two back-to-back.

The actor, who has already begun work opposite Brad Pitt and George Clooney on Ocean's Twelve, also stars in The Bourne Supremacy.

Even while doing press for the 2002 smash The Bourne Identity, Damon couldn't anticipate playing the title character a second time.

"First, I was sceptical about a sequel," Damon told the Boston Herald. "Even when we promoted the first one and that question came up - would I sign up for the next one? - I said, 'No, there is no next one'."

The 33-year-old Academy Award winner hopes both new movies solidify his Hollywood stature.

"Right before The Bourne Identity came out, I hadn't been offered a movie in a year because The Legend of Bagger Vance had come out and bombed, and All The Pretty Horses had come out and bombed," he said.

"The performance at the box office at the end of the day is the controlling factor of whether you're working or not as a leading man in high-end movies," he said.

"But I always had the feeling that if all of it goes away, I can still write. I can still write for myself and I can still act."

- AP