Matt Damon is ranked as one of America’s highest-grossing actors, making $228.4 million on his highest-grossing film The Martian (2015). In a short number of years, this star managed to make his mark on Hollywood, becoming an “instant sensation” when he co-wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting (1997). So, just how smart is Matt Damon?
Matt Damon is reported to share the same IQ as American author Stephen Hawking whose IQ stands at 160. According to Healthline, about 68% of people have an IQ that sits between 85 and 115, with less than 70% possessing an IQ of 130 or higher. In the United States, the average IQ is 98.
As with most things, there are factors that can affect your intelligence with many of these factors being uncontrollable. Much of a person’s intelligence is determined by their environmental surroundings, while other factors affecting intelligence include mental health issues and issues with substance misuse.
Let’s dive deeper into Matt Damon’s earlier life to uncover why he’s so intelligent.
What Are IQ Tests Used For?
Originally, IQ tests were used back in the 1900s to determine which children might need extra support at school. Later, they were used as a means for determining which men were best suited for the army in World War II. But when IQ tests were in wide circulation, ‘experts’ would then use these tests to make generalizations about whole populations, such as immigrants entering the US.
The test was adapted as a result and now the Stanford Binet test is widely used to measure IQ. Nowadays, IQ tests are used to measure a person’s general intellect.
Matt Damon’s Parents
Damon (born October 8, 1970) was born to stockbroker, realtor and tax preparer, Kent Damon, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University.
According to Payscale, the average salary of a stockbroker in the US is $56,078, while the average salary of a professor in the US stands at $88,126. As a result, it’s safe to assume that Damon’s parents had a comfortable amount of money, as the average salary for Massachusetts – the state Damon’s was raised in, stands at $73,000.
A professor from Florida State University, Kevin Beaver revealed his thoughts on how parents and their parenting styles can influence children’s IQs based on an adoptive-research study that you can access here.
He said, “We found there was no association between parenting and the child’s intelligence later in life once we accounted for genetic influences.”
Atheism and Its Ties To IQ
Damon’s religious beliefs lean more towards atheism according to The Hollowverse. Apparently, your religious beliefs can affect your intellect too.
Findings of a study showed that atheists and non-religious individuals are more intelligent than religious people, or at least that’s the conclusion that Sarah Young from The Independent has drawn. Though I remain unconvinced of this, Damon’s non-religiousness could have resulted in his impressive IQ.
Matt Damon’s Education
In his youth, Damon attended two public schools in Cambridge, MA, and bagged himself a place in an Ivy League college, namely, Harvard to study English, though he never graduated.
Harvard’s acceptance rate is reported to be just 5%, with figures showing that out of 43,330 applicants for the class of 2023, just 2,009 were accepted into Harvard. It’s almost impossible to have an education at Harvard compared to other US colleges, where acceptance rates average out at 67%, according to U.S. News.
Like many other famous stars, such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, Damon dropped out of college when the perfect acting opportunity fell in his lap. But for Damon to have been admitted into Harvard in the first place, he must’ve been top of his class with at least a 4.0 GPA and he must’ve obtained two recommendation letters from teachers (this is a prerequisite for getting into Harvard).