Matt Damon is set to return to Ireland later this month to resume filming for his latest film, after he was adopted by the locals of a south Dublin suburb during the lockdown period.
The Hollywood actor had been in Ireland to shoot the Ridley Scott film The Last Duel in mid-March when a nationwide lockdown was first imposed and filming abandoned due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He spent the lockdown period living in Dalkey in Dublin with his family, causing quite the stir among local residents who regularly encountered him about the seaside village.
The period film, also starring Ben Affleck, Jodie Comer and Adam Driver, is now reportedly set to return to filming on the island according to the Irish Mail on Sunday.
Although producers were first looking to book rooms at The K Club, a five star hotel in Co Kildare, to quarantine staff and crew, they have now turned their attention to the Powerscourt Hotel in Wicklow as Kildare's lockdown has been extended for a further two weeks, according to Goss.ie.
The Irish entertainment news website reported that Mr Damon will not be staying in a hotel, but rather in a private home – though not the same Dalkey residence where he spent the lockdown period.
The actor left Ireland for the United States at the end of May after two months in lockdown with his wife and children, with Dalkey’s Country Bake store – where Mr Damon had reportedly become a regular customer – posting that he had stopped by for his final visit before leaving the country.
The American actor had reportedly rented the retired Formula 1 driver Eddie Irvine’s former bachelor pad, with a viral photo of him holding a SuperValu bag prompting an article by the New York Times about his adoption by the local community of the seaside suburb.
During his stay, Mr Damon described the village as “gorgeous”, and surprised sixth year students at local secondary school Loreto Abbey with a video message congratulating them on their graduation.
