Bono irked by Matt Damon's popularity in Ireland
Bono was taken aback by his pal Matt Damon's sudden popularity in Ireland after the Hollywood star holed up there during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bourne Identity actor stayed in the coastal town of Dalkey - near where Bono lives - in spring last year, utilising cottages that had been booked for the cast of his upcoming movie The Last Duel before production was suspended due to coronavirus restrictions.
After he was photographed at a beach with a bag from the local SuperValu convenience store, Matt became something of a sensation in Ireland, with social media users adopting him as one of their own and newspapers celebrating their new resident.
Bono was shocked to discover he'd been replaced as Dalkey's favourite son, telling GQ: "I've lived in this village, or next to this village, for 30 years-this f**ker is there for three months and they make him the king of Dalkey! I mean, it's unbelievable.
"He's caught in some kind of local photoshoot with a SuperValu plastic bag, and the rumour that he's carrying cans (of beer), and suddenly he's got all this credibility that some of us just are incapable of ever achieving. He's beloved! I mean, there'll be a statue of him there. I don't know what it was, and what he did. But I'm very annoyed about it. I'm not happy at all."
Theorising about why locals took to Matt so fondly, the singer said it's because his friend doesn't act at all like a celebrity.
"He's free from self-consciousness," Bono added. "For a man who looks in the mirror for a living, he's not even a little bit self-conscious, I've found. I mean, I think I've got freedom, but I'm self-conscious. When I walk into the newsagent's, I can see myself walking into the newsagent's, do you know what I mean? He's really himself."
For his part, Matt loved his time in Ireland, even utilising the rented houses that lay vacant due to the majority of The Last Duel's cast and crew not travelling to Ireland to set up his own makeshift school for his daughters.
"There was like a quiet," the 50-year-old recalled. "There weren't scripts being sent, or work to do, or people who needed answers for anything. It was just: Take the kids to school and then go train, or go for a walk. It was very simple. That part of it was eye-opening, going forward, in terms of how I'd like to spend my days."
