Matt Damon ‘Never Quite Understood’ That Team America Parody

2 minute read

In 2004’s raunchy, ridiculous, and ultimately iconic Team America: World Police, the depiction of Matt Damon is pretty one-dimensional: the character (in marionette form) only says one line, repeatedly, and that’s his own name.

It may not have been a flattering portrayal, but it did give Damon a pop culture boost. And it seems to have stuck; Damon, everyone’s favorite celebrity, says the puppet headshot is the one he’s most commonly asked to autograph for fans. So in a Reddit Ask Me Anything forum on Tuesday night, Damon addressed a question about his ongoing Team America legacy.

“I was always kind of bewildered by Team America, I think because it’s hard for us to understand what our images are in public, I think we’re not good judges of that, and when I saw myself on screen just only able to say my own name and not really that well, I kind of wondered ‘Wow, is that how people perceive me?'” Damon wrote on the digital forum. “At that point I just kind of was like, I’m a screenwriter and an actor, and like really? I can barely say my own name?”

Damon adds that he sees Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators of both Team America and South Park) as “absolute geniuses,” and that he’s a fan of theirs.

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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com