Matt Damon Talks Working With Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben’s Third Child & Loving His Bald ‘Do

Matt Damon’s past list of co-stars includes some of Hollywood’s best, but Gwyneth Paltrow’s work on the upcoming plague movie “Contagion” impressed the actor in a completely new way.

“I was reminded of just how amazing she is, she’s a really special actress,” Matt told Access Hollywood at the movie’s junket on Sunday.

“More so than anybody I’ve ever worked with, she’s got an ability to turn it on and off. Like she can just be talking about anything and then when they say, ‘Rolling,’ it’s like she snaps, she just locks in, in a way that I don’t understand, ‘cause I can’t do it,” he explained. “I’ve worked with a lot of great actors and one thing that happens for me is that a great actor is so good that they pull me right in… that’s how I feel when I do a scene with her, I’m instantly brought in because she takes me there.”
Matt was happy to re-team with the actress he last co-starred with in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” in 1999, when they were both single and not yet parents.
“We were talked about kids a lot, it was nice to reconnect,” he told Access. “We were very young when we made that movie… It feels like a lifetime ago.”
Matt also joked during the interview that he has a gender picked out for Ben Affleck and Jen Garner’s upcoming third baby.
“I really hope it’s a boy,” the actor joked. “No, I think that you always cross your fingers for a healthy kid… Everybody would settle for a very healthy, beautiful baby.”

Speaking of beauty, the actor recently had to shave his head for the upcoming Neill Blomkamp sci-fi movie, “Elysium,” a look that he’s digging.

“I love it… I get to keep it until about Thanksgiving. That’s when the movie ends,” Matt said. “I’m actually really enjoying it. It’s real easy, real low maintenance and that I like.”

And despite a political call to action from filmmaker Michael Moore, Matt said he’s staying in Hollywood and not heading to Washington D.C.

“I would never give up this great job that I have; I love making movies; it is way more fun than being a politician,” he explained. “It’s what I’ve spent my adult life doing and it’s what I’m good at. It’s what I like, so I’ll hang here.”

“Contagion,” which also stars Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard and Bryan Cranston, opens in theaters on September 9.