The last time Matt Damon worked with Terry Gilliam, we got The Brothers Grimm, which, while it may not have been classic Gilliam, at least had a fun spirit behind it. So we’re happy to learn that the pair is planning to reunite, even if Damon will only be doing his old friend a favour and popping up for a quick role in the director’s latest, **The Zero Theorem.
We’ve been tracking this one for a while now, especially since it sounds like a true Gilliam brain-itching treat in the making and has a cast boasting Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, David Thewlis, Melanie Thierry. Other new arrivals include Peter Stormare and Sanjeev Bakshar.
Theorem’s plot finds Waltz as a genius computer hacker obsessively working on a way to discover the reason for human existence – or lack thereof. It’s all set in a world ruled by a strange entity known as 'management', where the alluring Thierry quickly becomes a distraction.
Now Damon is aboard, playing a character with a shock of white spiky hair. Which will be a challenge, because Damon recently shaved his head for additional shooting on Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. But, as he told Vulture, that was no setback for Gilliam.
“I'm just doing a very small part in it," explained Damon. "Someone finally gave him money to do this one, thank God. I'd do anything for Terry. It's been ten years since I last worked with him.
“I wrote Terry this whole email, because we had this whole conversation about what the character would look like, because the story takes place in the future, but he had a specific look that he wanted, but then I had to shave my head and I said, ‘Terry, what should we do?’ And he said, ‘Actually, we can take advantage of the fact that your head is shaved. Why don't we change your hairline?’ So he mocked up a picture and sent me a real receding hairline, with white spiked hair.”
Gilliam will be shooting Theorem next month in Romania and with Damon aboard, we’re even more eager to see what he’s cooked up this time.