Matt Damon Talks About How He Prepared for His Role in ‘Stillwater' as a Trump Supporter

In Tom McCarthy's Cannes premiere "Stillwater," Matt Damon delved into red-state identity politics to flesh out his character.

Damon spent an "absolutely critical" amount of time researching in Oklahoma for his role as Oklahoma oil rig worker Bill Baker — a father who sacrifices everything to help his daughter escape a French prison after she is convicted of murdering her roommate while studying abroad — and said at a Friday press conference for the film that he spent an "absolutely critical" amount of time there.

One of the greatest chuckles at the film's Thursday night screening came when Damon's character was asked if he voted for Donald Trump by a French woman. He didn't vote because of a past crime, he says, but only because he wasn't allowed to vote at all.

Damon stated on Friday that Baker would have unquestionably backed Trump.

Damon referred to his role as a "roughneck" and added, "These men don't apologize for who they are." Prior to the shooting, the actor and his director, McCarthy, on a road trip through Oklahoma and were welcomed into the break rooms and backyard barbecues of the real men who inspired the character.

“They’re in the oil business, of course, he voted for Trump,” Damon said. “These people were wonderful to us, they really helped us. It was eye-opening for me.”

The actor claimed he learned to appreciate even the tiniest things, such as wearing a special type of blue jeans coated with fire retardant, which “changes the way these people walk,” according to Damon. “They all have goatees, and they're all wearing sunglasses. They don't have six-pack abs, but they're powerful. When you go to their picnics, they get out a guitar and start playing church songs.”

Damon, an ardent Democrat, has been a vocal critic of Trump's presidency. Damon described Trump's response to Charlottesville as "absolutely disgusting" in 2017.

The film "Stillwater" received a lot of praise for how well it captured how the rest of the world thinks about America right now. McCarthy agreed, but added that it all comes down to "relationships and how we relate to one another."

Camille Cottin, Abigail Breslin, and Lilou Siauvaud co-star with Damon. In the United States, the Focus Features picture will be released in theatres on July 30.