Matt Damon’s coronavirus secret: “We feel guilty”
Matt Damon has admitted his oldest daughter had been diagnosed with coronavirus in New York City while he, his wife and three other children were quarantining in Ireland.
The 49-year-old actor admitted he had been shooting Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel when the country had begun to close down due to COVID-19 concerns.
He, along with wife Luciana Barroso, and children Isabella, 13, Gia, 12, and Stella, 9, stayed in Ireland while 20-year-old college student, Alexia, stayed stateside.
"She's in New York City and she had COVID really early on along with her roommates and got through it fine," Damon told Dublin radio station Spin 1038 in an interview shared Wednesday.
"We'll reunite with her at the end of the month. But everybody's OK, obviously Lucy's mom and my mom – it's scary for that generation."
The star admitted that although filming has shut down for the time being, he and his family are well-equipped to deal with quarantine-life in a foreign country.
The kids have teachers there, because they were originally planning to miss about eight weeks of school while their dad worked.
"We've got what nobody else has, which is actual, live human beings teaching our kids," he said. "We feel guilty: We've got this kind of incredible setup in this place that's absolutely gorgeous."
The actor also spoke on his role in Contagion, which is a film that has drawn comparison to the coronavirus pandemic.
Damon said he reflected on the movie with screenwriter Scott Burns and some of the real-life epidemiologists who consulted for the film.
"Anybody who says you couldn't predict this – I mean, just look at 'Contagion,'" Damon said.
“Ten years ago, we made a movie just by talking to experts and asking them 'How would this look? And how would it go down?' So it's upsetting.
“The whole thing is tragic and sad... I think at least now, we know what to do and we won't look at people like they're crazy when they tell us to go sit at home and wash our hands and socially distance."