Matt Damon Reveals Michael Douglas Is ‘A Wonderful Kisser’

If you ever ask Matt Damon about who the best kisser is beside his wife Luciana, you might hear the words Michael Douglas come out of his mouth. If that sounds a bit left field, it isn’t. The two recently wrapped on the much awaited HBO film, Behind the Candelabra. In the film Damon playes Scott Thorson to Douglas’ Liberace.

Damon sat down with Playboy to discuss the role and the relationship he played out opposite Douglas. “These two men were deeply in love and in a real relationship—a marriage—long before there was gay marriage. That’s not an insignificant thing,” said Damon. The Good Will Hunting actor added about his experience in getting into a character that happened to be gay, having said, “For one scene, I had to come out of a pool, go over to Michael, straddle him on a chaise lounge and start kissing him. And throughout the script, it’s not like I kiss him just once. We drew it up like a football plan.” Damon later added, “Michael was a wonderful kisser.”

Unsurprisingly, Damon attributed his advice from the late actor Heath Ledger as a big help to get him ready to play the character in Candelabra:

“I remember asking Heath Ledger after Brokeback Mountain, ‘How’d you do that scene with Jake?’—meaning the scene where they start ferociously kissing. He said, ‘Well, mate, I drank a half case of beer in my trailer.’ I started laughing, and he goes, ‘No, I’m serious. I needed to just go for it. If you can’t do that, you’re not making the movie.’”

In the past, Damon has had to deal with speculation over his own sexuality while coming into his own career in Hollywood, with best friend Ben Affleck. To Damon it wasn’t necessary to clear those rumors, because it wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. “I never denied those rumors because I was offended and didn’t want to offend my friends who were gay—as if being gay were some kind of fucking disease. It put me in a weird position in that sense,” said Damon.

Do you think Damon should be seen as brave for taking on a gay role? Sound off here.