LOS ANGELES ? Jason Bourne becomes Robert Kennedy.

Matt Damon revealed to us in a recent interview that he will portray the late Robert ?Bobby? F. Kennedy in a biopic written by Steven Knight based on Evan Thomas? biography, ?His Life.? Gary Ross, whose credits include ?Seabiscuit? and ?Pleasantville,? is set to direct.

In the meantime, Matt reunites with his ?Bourne? director Paul Greengrass in ?Green Zone,? where the actor plays a soldier attempting to expose then President George W. Bush?s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) deception. The movie is already being tagged as ?Bourne Goes to Iraq.?

Matt is one of the most dependable and competent actors of his generation but is sometimes overshadowed by peers who lead more colorful, high-profile lives. His recent performances in ?Invictus? and ?The Informant? attest to his reputation as a thespian who consistently turns in good work.

Sporting gray hair now but still looking boyish (he will probably be described boyish for many more years), Matt, 39, said, ?My kids keep me in shape. But they are also giving me a lot of gray hair.? He and wife Luciana Bozán Barroso are expecting another child together. They are also raising Luciana?s daughter from a previous marriage.

You are portraying Senator Robert Kennedy in one of your next movies.

Yeah, hopefully. Gary Ross and I have been talking about that one for a while. It?s going to be based on a biography on Bobby Kennedy by Evan Thomas. The script comes in a few weeks so hopefully it?s great and we?ll do the movie this fall.

Why do you want to do it?

Bobby Kennedy was a fascinating person. If you read some of the speeches that he gave in the last years of his life, he just had a really beautiful message. I?m obviously a fan of his. He was an incredibly complex person. He was an interesting person to do a biopic about. He was so many different things to so many different people. As an actor, I find that a really intriguing challenge.

What exactly about Robert Kennedy?s life will the movie concentrate on?

I haven?t seen the script yet. The biography is a huge source, obviously, but I don?t know what structure the screenplay will have ? if it?s going to start with Bobby Kennedy as a boy and go all the way through his life or if it would be structured more like ?The Good Shepherd? where the main character is reflecting back on his life. I don?t know what part of his life will be stressed. In a movie?s length of two or two and a half hours, it?s going to be tough. He lived a hell of a life. I am not sure what Gary?s plan is yet but I have a lot of faith in him. He?s such a great director. We?ll see what he?ll stress but that aspect of movement for social justice toward the end of Kennedy?s life will be there.

Writers will declare that this movie, ?Green Zone,? is ?Bourne? set in Iraq.

I have a feeling that you might not be alone in writing that (laughter). It?s tough not to make that statement because it?s the same group of people that makes the ?Bourne? movies so the aesthetic is so similar, the camera work, and the way Paul likes to shoot. All of that stuff is there although I?m very much not playing Jason Bourne. I?m playing an Everyman whereas Bourne is a kind of a superhero. My character in this movie, Miller, is meant to stand in for all of us. And he?s not jumping from roof to roof. So it?s more anchored in reality. For instance, in an interrogation scene, where a guy holds a gun to my head, my character is scared. Bourne would not be so scared (laughing).

So what did you think of the media not doing its work about those WMDs?

The press really did fall on their face on that one. The New York Times came out and apologized like, ?Sorry, guys, we blew it (laughing).? It was a really unique time. People were fearful ? in New York and DC, in particular. After 9/11, the whole country was in a state of shock. We were in that state where we can be led to a lot of places. The press did not do a god job of vetting. My understanding is that there?s a lot less investigative journalism now because it?s so expensive. The standards have definitely fallen.

When did you yourself know there were no WMDs?

When they officially announced it. It must have been in 2003.

Before that, you weren?t suspicious?

I was on record as being against the war. It felt like we were rushing it. It felt like it came out of nowhere, like they were talking that the next warning could be in the form of a mushroom cloud. It was like, ?Where did this come from?? I was skeptical.

Paul said that you are one of the great physical actors. How strong are you in real life?

I try to exercise a lot. Oftentimes, just following the three little kids around is plenty of exercise already.

How do you reward yourself for all the success you?ve had?

The cheeseburgers at the Shake Shack.

Do you celebrate in any particular way?

Not really. But eating something good is about as crazy as I get. My wife and I love to eat so if we can justify it in any way ? ?Hey, the movie opened and it did really well. Let?s go get something good to eat.? ?Hey, the movie opened and it bombed. Let?s go get something good to eat (laughter).?

Can you talk about your next Clint Eastwood movie?

It?s called ?Hereafter.? It felt really good when we shot it. I think it?s going to be good. It consists of three different stories dealing with death. It?s kind of a supernatural thriller involving a Frenchwoman who is a journalist in a tsunami and has a near-death experience; twin boys in London, one of whom dies and the other becomes obsessed over where his brother went; and I?m the third person, a psychic who lives in San Francisco. These stories converge at the end of the movie. It?s really beautiful. Peter Morgan wrote the script. I really have high hopes for that one.

Email the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.