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Matt Damon has reflected on the new priorities he has since turning 50.
The 55-year-old Hollywood star has entered a new era in his acting career, as he portrays Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek poem, The Odyssey, which hit theaters on Friday, July 17. Damon's latest success could be attributed to the priorities he's maintained since his milestone birthday.
Damon — who also recently opened up about the "non-negotiable" rule he has with his wife, Luciana Barroso — revealed that as he has gotten older, he's had to be "intentional" about how he spends his time because it is "the most precious commodity."
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"You get on the other side of 50, and at least for me, I really started feeling like time is the most precious commodity there is," the Oscar winner told People. "I just want to be intentional with what I do with it and make sure that I'm spending it exactly where I want to spend it."
There are "three things," Damon prioritizes with his time: his family, work, and Water.org, the actor-filmmaker's nonprofit, which he co-founded in 2009, that focuses on providing access to safe water for those living in poverty.
Speaking of family, Damon and his wife of 20 years, Luciana Barroso, 49, who are among the most enduring celebrity couples, have one unbroken rule. They have a family dinner every night
They have been married since December 2005. Since then, the couple has welcomed four daughters, Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15. However, the actor admitted that, despite never breaking the rule, he and his family sometimes struggle to stay present with each other.
"We have family dinner every night, and that's non-negotiable, and it's always been that way," Damon told People, but sometimes the family struggles to connect during those meals.
The star divulged, "One of my daughters said, 'Well, family dinner, last night we didn’t talk.' And we realized, 'Oh my gosh, you're right.' We sat down for dinner, and you can get lost in that routine a little bit and not appreciate why you established the routine in the first place."
Damon, who met Barroso at a Miami bar in 2003, added, "That's the kind of family mindfulness we're all working on." Now, two of the couple's daughters have left home, while the younger two remain at home.
"I feel like we are facing it and embracing the fact that it's happening," the Boston native said about him and his wife becoming empty nesters soon. "We've been talking a lot about presence and about really trying to be in the moment, and because you can't slow time down, the only way to really do it is to really be there and be in it."
Damon said he is in a "new phase of life," ahead of becoming an empty nester. "Having two older kids who are out of the nest and knowing how fast these final years go, we're trying to be mindful of holding onto what we can," he said.
Meanwhile, at work, Damon's goal with longtime collaborator and friend Ben Affleck is to grow their production company, Artist's Equity, "and make the kind of movies that we started the company so that we could make."
Damon added, "That's a very full life." Being in his 50s, the star feels like he's "calmed down a little bit" and he's not "chasing something." He said, "I just want to do work that I think is really stellar on my own terms and on things that I really believe in."
Ultimately, Damon tries to think about what he can control and what he can't, instead of "railing against the gods" about things that he can't control.
He concluded, "You live long enough and things happen and tragedy comes and visits you no matter who you are. And you have to just accept what happens. I think starting out as an actor, you have to feel that way a little bit. You have to because the odds are so long against you."
