If Oscars were oxygen, Matt Damon could afford to hold his breath. He has won one for co-writing Good Will Hunting, another as a producer on Argo, and been nominated for his performances in Invictus and The Martian, a career’s worth of validation, gathered with conspicuous calm.

Damon has long taken on challenging and ambitious projects without chasing validation. Yet despite his accolades and stature in the industry, there is one aspect of Hollywood he has never been keen to embrace. The actor recently opened up about his views on awards shows, admitting that the campaigning behind them has always felt unnecessary.

Matt Damon recently shared his blunt take on awards culture while appearing on Netflix’s Skip Intro podcast during the press tour for his crime thriller The Rip, which is releasing right in the middle of Oscar season. Despite being a veteran of the process with three acting Oscar nominations, several wins, and a recent Best Picture campaign for Oppenheimer, Damon admitted that awards season is what he least enjoys about Hollywood. What he truly dislikes is the idea of the campaign.

“What I don’t like is this idea of campaigning. It seems completely backwards to me and odd,” Damon told podcast host Krista Smith. “Maybe it’s good for movies, just having it all out there, and gets the culture thinking and talking about movies.”

The actor was last involved in the 2024 awards season for his role in Oppenheimer. Ironically, Damon may soon find himself back on the awards trail as the star of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey during the 2025–2026 Oscar season. So, even though the tradition of campaigning has not changed much, Damon was quite clear about his opinion or wish to miss it.

He was also quite candid while speaking about his insights on the struggles of filming in his latest Netflix movie, The Rip.

During their recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Matt Damon and his co-star Ben Affleck in The Rip spoke about how Netflix is changing the way films are made. Damon pointed out that at-home viewing often comes with distractions like children or phones, which can shift audience attention. He noted that this shift is starting to influence how movies are structured, with streaming platforms sometimes encouraging early action scenes or repeated exposition to keep viewers engaged. 

"It also ends up having an effect, or is starting to have an effect, on how you make movies," he said. 

Damon also explained that theatrical releases often require massive marketing budgets and tend to favor sequels or superhero films to guarantee profit, while streaming services allow filmmakers more creative freedom. Affleck further added how convenience and cost make streaming appealing to modern audiences. Clearly, there are changes in filmmaking, and though there are some downsides, these shifts also bring new opportunities, just like. 

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 What do you think about his opinion on award shows? Let us know in the comments section below.