While Tom Hanks and the others endured six brutal days of boot camp – running, drilling, and barely sleeping – Matt Damon stayed fresh and rested. By the time cameras rolled, the cast was exhausted, bonded, and, as Spielberg intended, totally resentful of Damon.
Spielberg’s reasoning? He wanted the other actors to resent Damon, genuinely mirroring their characters’ emotions. In the film, the platoon is sent on a near-impossible mission to save Private Ryan, a soldier who, unlike them, gets to go home. The underlying question: why does his life matter more than theirs? That frustration needed to be palpable. So, when Damon finally arrived on set, the cold shoulders were actual. As he later put it, his co-stars were “totally resentful.”
Damon, then a relatively unknown actor, had been eager to join the training. He wanted to earn his place. But Spielberg shut it down, knowing the disconnect would pay off on screen. And it did. The tension between Damon and the rest of the cast made the film’s emotional weight even heavier.
Ironically, Damon’s status as an unknown was a key reason Spielberg cast him in the first place. He had seen him in Courage Under Fire and thought his “All-American” look was perfect for Ryan. The fact that audiences wouldn’t immediately recognize him was a bonus – it made Ryan feel like an everyman. But then Good Will Hunting happened. Before Saving Private Ryan hit theaters, Damon skyrocketed to fame, winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with Ben Affleck, so much for being an unknown.
Even though Spielberg lost that anonymity factor, his decision to isolate Damon still worked. The moment when the exhausted, battle-worn soldiers finally find Ryan – only to realize he doesn’t want to leave – hits even harder. They had lost their brothers-in-arms and suffered through unimaginable horrors, and yet, this kid refused to come home.
The actors didn’t need to fake their frustration thanks to Spielberg’s psychological approach. They felt it. That authenticity helped make Saving Private Ryan one of the most powerful war films ever. Damon may not have endured boot camp, but he certainly endured his co-stars’ genuine irritation, just as Spielberg intended.
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