Matt Damon reveals 'ruthless' side of Hollywood

Matt Damon opened up about Hollywood's demanding and uncertain nature, which has affected his role as a father.

​The 55-year-old actor and director, who is a dad to four daughters, said that working in the film industry has affected his time with his children as it often pulls him away from home more than he would like.

​"I think about it a lot, especially as my kids are getting older: really trying to be here now," Damon told GQ magazine.

​"And it’s hard for me to do that. And I think maybe that has to do with my own nature," he continued. ​"It also has to do with this career where you’re always trying to figure out what’s ahead because it’s such an uncertain business and a pretty ruthless one."

The Good Will Hunting actor explained that the unpredictability of Hollywood often takes him away from family life.

​"Those kinds of things have conspired to, I think, maybe take me out of where I am, more than I’d like."

​Now, after spending almost three decades in the industry, Damon said he is more careful about choosing roles because he doesn't have a "young person's engine of needing to prove something".

​He recalled, "I know Clint Eastwood said it, 'You get tired of seeing yourself on camera. You’re like, 'It’s somebody else’s turn.'

​"I think that’s another way of saying you want to be really intentional about what you take and do."

​Damon also reflected on George Clooney's two cents on stepping back and waiting for the right roles instead of constantly working.

​He shared, "And I remember George Clooney saying to me years ago, I think he was talking about Paul Newman - in those years, Paul Newman would take a role like The Verdict and then he wouldn’t work for three or four years, and then he’d do another one and really wait for those great roles. There’s less of that kind of young person’s engine of needing to prove something and more about, like, accepting work and doing it on your terms and doing it as precisely and as well as you can."

​It is pertinent to mention that Damon shares Alexia, 26, Gia, 17, Stella, 15, and Isabella, 19, with his wife Luciana Barroso.