Matt Damon called the Oscar race "unnatural."

The star of Odyssey shared his insights on the current awards season and Hollywood's campaigning culture. While promoting the Netflix crime thriller The Tender Cut, Matt Damon offered his honest thoughts on the Oscar race. During an appearance on the Skip Intro podcast, the actor—who is a three-time Oscar nominee and an Oscar winner for co-writing Good Will Hunting—criticized the modern approach to film promotion during awards season. Matt Damon’s Views on Awards Season When asked about what aspects of Hollywood he would prefer to avoid, Damon responded: "Awards season. Absolutely." He explained that he finds the concept of campaigning to be "completely unnatural and strange." Damon added, "Maybe it’s beneficial for movies—when everything is publicly showcased and society begins to discuss and reflect on films. I hope that’s the main purpose…" Experience with Odyssey Despite his skepticism about awards campaigns, Damon is preparing for such efforts next year with Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic, Odyssey. He revealed that working on this large-scale project was profoundly impactful for him: "Last year, working on Odyssey felt like my one shot to be part of a David Lean-style film. I felt like I was involved in the final major film shot on traditional film stock in my career." Netflix Success of The Tender Cut The Tender Cut, which premiered on Netflix on January 16, 2026, achieved remarkable success with 41.6 million views within its first three days. This made it the most-watched streaming film since Happy Gilmore 2 in July 2025, which drew 46.7 million viewers. The action-packed thriller directed by Joe Carnahan topped Netflix’s chart of most-watched films from January 12 to 19, 2026.