Matt Damon MIT Commencement Speech June 3 2016

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• published: 03 Jun 2016
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Matt Damon is passing on to Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates a little bit of advice that he got from former President Bill Clinton. The actor spoke to more than 1,000 undergraduates and almost 1,800 graduate students at MIT's commencement Friday. After listing some of the world's greatest problems, he told them to "turn toward the problems you see, you have to engage." The actor and filmmaker grew up near the Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus and played a mathematically gifted custodian at the school in the 1997 movie "Good Will Hunting." Damon dropped out of Harvard so he could pursue his acting career."The Bourne Identity" star told MIT students that it was an honor to be part of their day, although it was an honor he didn't earn.Matt Damon Delivers MIT Commencement Speech June 3 2016 Matt Damon is returning to MIT, but this time he won't be mopping the floors. The 45-year-old actor will deliver his first-ever commencement address for MIT's graduating class of 2016 on Friday morning Matt famously won an Oscar for his role in the 1997 hit "Good Will Hunting," in which he played an MIT janitor, who also happened to be a mathematical genius "I am humbled and thrilled by this invitation," Damon, who is a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said last December. "I feel a deep affinity for MIT, having grown up in the neighborhood. It's quite an honor to be the commencement speaker at a school that I couldn't have gotten into." Matt attended Harvard University in the 90s but dropped out to pursue acting, which has clearly worked out. His most recent movie "The Martian," directed by Ridley Scott, grossed over $600 million worldwide in 2015. Matt wrote the first draft of "Good Will Hunting" with his childhood friend, Ben Affleck, when Matt was at Harvard. They both won an Academy Award in 1998. Matt went on to star in a slew of Hollywood blockbusters: "The Departed," "The Bourne Ultimatum," and of course, "Ocean's 11," and its sequels. This is MIT's 139th commencement, and Matt will be the first Hollywood star to give the address in 17 years.