Matt Damon is being honored with a lifetime achievement award at the tender age of 38. The American Cinematheque Award will be bestowed on the hot Bourne Identity star next March, with the ceremony to air on ABC. Julia Roberts, Al Pacino, Steve Martin, Samuel L. Jackson and Nicole Kidman are among the past honorees.

Matt Damon is adding to his mantle.

He’s only 38 years old, but the thespian has just been tapped to receive his first lifetime achievement honor, the American Cinematheque Award.
According to Variety, Damon has agreed to accept the award in person, leading ABC to schedule the kudoscast for prime time. AMC had hosted the event the past four years.

Not a bad draw, if we may say so.

The actor will have to wait a while, though—the Cinematheque folks have decided to push the ceremony from its usual October birth to March 27, 2010, so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of awards season. Consequently, the honor will technically be skipped in 2009.

Damon, who won an Oscar over a decade ago for penning Good Will Hunting (which he also starred in), has gone on to headline several Hollywood blockbusters, including Ocean’s Eleven and its sequels and the Bourne trilogy. His performances have also been heralded in such films as The Talented Mr. Ripley, Saving Private Ryan, All the Pretty Horses, Syriana, The Departed and The Good Shepherd.

The Cinematheque award is given out annually to artists who are “committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion pictures.”

[From E! Online]

Damon isn’t the youngest celebrity to receive the award. Nicole Kidman was just 36 when she was honored in 2006, Ron Howard was also 36 when he received the award in 1990, and Eddie Murphy was just 25 when he was given the first American Cinematheque Award in 1986. I would love to see another screenplay from Damon beyond Good Will Hunting. IMDB has him listed as the co-writer of a 2003 film with Ben Affleck’s younger brother, Casey, called Gerry, in which he also starred with Casey. I haven’t seen it but it’s also directed by Hunting’s Gus Van Sant and is said to be a kind of haunting film about two friends who decide to go explore the desert on a whim. It premiered at Sundance and was only out in limited release.

Damon is best known as an actor and screenwriter, but he’s also produced some films, including through his reality competition show with Ben Affleck, Project Greenlight, which ended in 2005. The guy is a subtle, strong actor and I can’t wait to see The Informant!. It’s out in three weeks and looks like a goofy rousing comedy. Some may say he’s too young to get a lifetime achievement award, and I can agree with that to some extent, especially because I’m waiting for another screenplay from Damon that rivals Good Will Hunting. Maybe it requires that unique collaboration between Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, but I get the feeling that Damon was the driving force behind that screenplay and that he can create another thoughtful, entertaining film that uses some of the wisdom he’s gained in the past 13 years. He’s got plenty of time left to write and to act and we’ll continue to follow his career with interest. There’s surely another Oscar out there waiting for him.

Matt Damon is shown on 7/29/09 and 7/2/09 and in stills from The Informant. Credit: WENN.com and AllMoviePhoto