Matt Damon tells THR: "Everybody took their jobs so seriously. We respected the lives that we were portraying."
VIDEO: Live From Cannes: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Jerry Weintraub 'Behind the Candelabra'
Fabrizio MalteseMatt Damon has explained for a few years now that he doesn’t consider himself a fan of the president. But, while promoting his new dystopian thriller Elysium, the actor had a new zinger aimed at Barack Obama.
STORY: Matt Damon Hopes ‘Elysium’ Pays Off for Sony
“He broke up with me,” quipped Damon in an interview with BET. “There are a lot of things that I really question: the legality of the drone strikes, these NSA revelations. … Jimmy Carter came out and said we don’t live in a democracy. … That’s a little intense when an ex-president says that.”
Damon was an early supporter who stumped for Obama during his 2008 presidential run but since has expressed cynicism about the political process.
In 2011, the actor explained on CNN that he “definitely wanted more” from Obama on policy issues and lamented to Elle that he’d prefer “a one-term president with some balls.”
He elaborated in a similar vein during an interview with Playboy last December while promoting the anti-fracking film Promised Land. “We’re at a point where politicians don’t really get any benefit from engaging with long-term issues,” Damon figured. “Instead, it’s all about the next election cycle.”
During his latest interview with BET, Damon added, “[Obama’s] got some explaining to do, particularly for a constitutional law professor.”
Elysium, the star’s sci-fi drama helmed by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, hit U.S. theaters Thursday night.
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