Matt Damon Gets a Tattoo in Honor of His Late Father

Matt Damon is paying tribute to his late father with a new tattoo. The Air actor, 52, got the word “nomad” inked on his upper arm as a way of honoring Kent Damon, who died in 2017 at the age of 74. Damon and his father were close, with Kent even appearing in his son’s 2003 film Stuck on You before his death following a cancer battle. 

As for the meaning behind Damon’s tattoo, there are multiple explanations, according to celebrity tattoo artist Winterstone, who is the person behind the ink. Not only is “nomad” the actor’s family surname backward, but it was also the name of Kent’s boat, Winterstone revealed alongside footage of his tattoo session with Damon on Instagram Monday. 

“Got to tattoo an idol of mine! Such a cool job to have great experiences like these,” the artist, whose name is Daniel Winter wrote, calling the design, a “pretty rad tattoo with so much Meaning!” Damon even tried his hand at tattooing, inking a dot on Winterstone – or a “small universe,” as the artist described it. “His first time tattooing!” Winterstone wrote.

This isn’t the first time Winterstone has had a tattoo session with the Good Will Hunting star. In 2019, Damon had his four daughters’ names inked on him just below where his tribute to his dad sits – Alexia, Isabella, Gia, and Stella. The Oscar winner also has the word “Lucy” tattooed on him in honor of his wife, Luciana Barroso. 

Barroso accompanied her husband and three of their four daughters on the red carpet Monday at the Los Angeles premiere of his new film, Air. The Martian star posed next to 14-year-old daughter Gia, 12-year-old daughter Stella and 16-year-old daughter Isabella on the red carpet. Damon may be an A-Lister, but the actor joked during a July 2021 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning that Isabella in particular keeps him humble with her sass.

“She doesn’t want to see any movies that I’m in that she thinks might be good,” Damon joked of his teen. “She just likes to give me s-. My daughter said, ‘Yeah, remember that movie you did, The Wall?’ I said, ‘It was called The Great Wall. And she goes, ‘Dad there’s nothing great about that movie.’ She keeps my feet firmly on the ground.”