Matt Damon has opened up about the terrifying health scare that kept him and his wife away from the 2024 Oscars.
The actor, 56, revealed in a GQ cover story published Thursday that Luciana Barroso suffered a brain aneurysm just one week before the Academy Awards ceremony, where his film “Oppenheimer” took home seven trophies including Best Picture. The couple missed the main event entirely as Barroso recovered from the emergency.
Barroso’s condition was serious enough to require brain surgery, Damon said, describing the ordeal as “scary.” Yet she rallied in time for one of Hollywood’s biggest nights.
“It was first night she felt good enough to get up and had her energy back,” the “Good Will Hunting” star said about his wife. “And she surprised me and got a dress and we went out to the after-party.”
Damon explained that Barroso pushed herself to attend because she remembered a painful Hollywood memory of his. The actor had missed the 2007 Oscars, where “The Departed” dominated, because he was shooting “The Bourne Ultimatum” in Miami with an infant at home.
“She was like, ‘This time we’re going out,'” Damon recalled. “And it was pretty f–ing heroic of her to do that and really meaningful.”
The sacrifice clearly resonated with Damon, who admitted in the same interview that he still carries disappointment about missing Martin Scorsese’s Best Director win for “The Departed.” He and Barroso watched from bed, nervous for their longtime collaborator.
“I was living in Miami at the time, and I had an infant. Lucy and I were laying in bed watching it and so nervous for Marty,” Damon remembered. “And then when he won, I was jumping up and down in the bedroom and I remember being really excited.”
The actor said that when “The Departed” won Best Picture, the reality of his absence hit him suddenly.
“And I realized in that moment I hadn’t even considered that that could happen,” he said. “And I turned to Lucy and I was like, ‘s–t, we should be there!'”
Damon confirmed that Barroso has fully recovered from the aneurysm, stating she is “totally fine” now. The couple, married since 2005, share four daughters: Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 18, and Stella, 16.
The GQ interview also touched on Damon’s current filming schedule for “The Odyssey,” which forced the family to break their usual “two-week rule” about his work absences. He was away for three and a half weeks during the final stretch of production.
“I was away for three and a half weeks. The first half of the movie was the hardest because the kids were still in school,” he explained. “And then once the summer hit, they could come to set and we could be together.”
Damon noted that his wife and daughters “are huge Chris Nolan fans,” which made them supportive of the extended commitment despite the sacrifice. “They were really supportive about him being away for so long,” he said of their attitude toward the leading role. “It was a sacrifice for them, and they were awesome about it.”
The 2024 Oscars ceremony marked a major moment for “Oppenheimer,” which emerged as the night’s biggest winner. Damon’s absence from the red carpet went largely unexplained at the time, with the actor choosing to keep his wife’s medical emergency private until now.
Damon and Barroso have maintained a relatively low-profile marriage throughout his decades-long career, rarely discussing personal matters in public. The GQ cover story represents an unusual level of openness about their family life and the challenges they’ve faced together.
The actor’s upcoming project, “The Odyssey,” continues his collaboration with director Christopher Nolan following their work together on “Oppenheimer.”