Matt Damon protected privacy with alter ego

Matt Damon invented an alter ego so he could keep his life private.

The 40-year-old actor - who has four-year-old Isabella, two-year-old Gia, and three-month old Stella with wife Luisiana, as well as raising her 11-year-old daughter Alexia from a previous marriage - was advised by then-girlfriend Minnie Driver to make people think he was bland and quiet when he first shot to fame, in a bid to reduce interest in him.

He admitted: "Whenever I did interviews, I pretended to be this other guy, Mike Smiley. So this f***ing boring, smiley guy Mike would turn up and do my interviews for me, which let me get on with my life."

Though Matt is much more relaxed about interest in his life now, he is relieved he doesn't attract the level of attention that other stars do, such as his 'The Good Shepherd' co-star Angelina Jolie.

He recalled to FHM magazine: "You always knew which days Angelina was working because there were 40 cameras outside. Eventually they moved her trailed to keep her away from the paparazzi.

"But when I'd walk back and forth, the paps were like lions that had already been fed - so they'd just look at me. Maybe there'd be one camera flash as one guy took a picture without really looking."