Our other favourite adopted Irishman named Matt is planning to take a caravan across Ireland with his family.
Hollywood star and recent temporary Dalkey resident Matt Damon has said he is planning a return trip to Ireland to travel around the country.
Spending March 2020 in lockdown in Dalkey in Dublin with his family, the Hollywood star was quickly adopted by the village in a matter of days and became a regular at coffee and book shops around the area.
Damon temporarily relocated to the tiny seaside village alongside his wife and daughters while filming Ridley Scott’s historical epic The Last Duel in 2020.
However, as global travel restrictions were put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the actor was forced to stay in Ireland for longer than expected and images of Damon carrying his togs down the Vico in a SuperValu bag firmly cemented him as the ultimate adopted Irishman.
Now, appearing virtually at the Dalkey Book Festival this weekend, Damon spoke of he and his family’s love for Ireland and about how they are planning a return to the Emerald Isle.
Speaking to the Irish Times, the actor said: “One of my daughters said to me just the other day, just out of the blue, she goes, ‘you know, I could live in Ireland.’
“We did make a deal [with his children] both times we left Ireland saying we’ll come back and finish the movie and then we’ll get to travel. We had a plan to take a caravan all around the country.
“We had all these plans and then the second time it was straight into lockdown again and then we had to leave again. So we made a bargain with the kids that when this all ends we’re going back and we’re going to do our trip.”
Also stating he hoped to attend the Dalkey Book Festival in person next year, Damon – who is currently in Australia filming Thor: Love and Thunder – reflected on becoming an honourary Dalkey man.
He said: “Hopefully, I don’t screw it up,” before adding: “I was so surprised by all of it. Listen, if any of us Hollywood types knew that, you’d see everybody turning up with those Supervalu bags wandering around trying to get their picture taken.
“It wasn’t even like a paparazzi shot or anything, because there weren’t any of those. It was just someone who I grabbed a picture with and I was holding the bag . . . I mean when you’re living there, that’s where you shop.”
Hopefully, Ireland’s other favourite adopted uncle Matt LeBlanc will be visiting us soon too. One can dream.
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