You know a story is legendary when it gets adapted into a TV series or a film not just once, but multiple times. Harry Potter is getting a TV series less than 15 years after the movies were massive hits. Dune has been adapted several times. It’s common when that happens for actors or filmmakers who were in an earlier version to be asked about a newer adaption, and so it was only a matter of time before The Talented Mr. Ripley star Matt Damon was asked about the Ripley TV series from Netflix, and his answer is quite surprising.
You might expect Matt Damon to reveal he hasn’t watched Ripley, either because he hasn’t had time or because he doesn’t want to be forced to compare the two. Or he might reveal that he has watched it, and say something nice about the new cast. However, instead, when IndieWire asked him about the Andrew Scott-led show, he revealed that he has seen Ripley, but had a hard time getting through it. However, it's not because of anything to do with the series itself, but because of his emotional connection to the film’s late director. Damon said…
You know, I associate the one that we did so much with Anthony Minghella, who’s passed away now, that I don’t know. I even had trouble watching the new one, as beautiful as it was and as great as everybody was. It was hard at first for me to sink back into it just because I have so many great memories, but they’re all wrapped up in these personal feelings about the experience.
You can stream Ripley with a Netflix subscription.
Anthony Minghella passed away in 2008 from a hemorrhage following surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1996 for The English Patient, and he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on The Talented Mr. Ripley.
His death was a shock, Minghella was an inspiration as a director to many, and clearly, Matt Damon had a strong connection to the director and the film.
Watching the new Netflix project and seeing Andrew Scott, who plays the role of Tom Ripley in the series, perform scenes very much like what Damon did, would probably bring up memories of his time making The Talented Mr. Ripley. It seems those memories then got in the way of watching and enjoying the show.
If you haven't seen The Talented Mr. Ripley movie, it's worth a watch. It's arguably Matt Damon's best film. He still calls the show on the 2024 TV schedule “beautiful,” though, and the cast “great,” so, he wasn’t so disconnected that he couldn’t appreciate the new series. However, I certainly didn’t realize what The Talented Mr. Ripley really meant to Damon. It will likely impact my viewing of the movie and the series in the future as well.
