UPDATE: |An underrated Matt Damon crime film is airing on TV tonight News

The Boston actor is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars of the 21st century

An underrated Matt Damon crime film is airing on TV tonight (Wednesday, April 9) for free across the UK.

The Boston actor is known for being a master of all trades, acting in everything from dramas to comedies over the course of his career.

Damon became a household name in 1997, when he and his best friend Ben Affleck won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting.

The 54-year-old continued to prove himself as a leading man in 1999’s The Talented Mr Ripley before cementing his place at the top of Hollywood in the early 2000s.

Appearing in Saving Private Ryan, The Departed, and the Oceans and Jason Bourne trilogies, Damon was pulling in big box office numbers and received an abundance of praise from critics.

After a rocky 2010s which saw Elysium, The Adjustment Bureau and The Monuments Men underperform, recent years have seen him pick up the pace with The Martian and Ford V Ferrari.

Despite enjoying a 2020s that has seen him pop up in Air, Oppenheimer and The Last Duel, there is one recent Damon film that has slipped under the radar.

Released in 2021, Stillwater sees Damon playing unemployed an oil-rig worker from Oklahoma who sets out with a Frenchwoman (Camille Cottin) to prove his convicted daughter’s (Abigail Spencer) innocence.

Directed by Tom McCarthy, who brought Best Picture winner Spotlight to the big screen, Stillwater is a great showcase of a father’s determination to do anything for their child.

Initially scheduled to release in late 2020, the pandemic led to the film being dumped in cinemas in July 2021 without much promotion.

With cinemas still struggling to go back to normal, Stillwater grossed just $19.8 million worldwide against a budget of $20, marking a rare financial flop for Damon.

Critics were generally positive with the film, giving it a positive score of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences scoring it a solid 6 out of 10 on IMBD.

Known for his ripped physique, Damon gained weight to try accurately represent the body of an average rig worker.

Speaking about the transformation, Damon told Vanity Fair: “What do I have to do to look like this guy? It’s about looking at yourself in the mirror and believing the physicality.

“And then the internal side just all comes from you anyway, it’s just through that filter of that guy. The internal side you take with you everywhere goes with you anyway. It’s all your emotions.”

With a plot that keeps you guessing from start to finish, Stillwater is worth spending any evening inside with.

Stillwater airs on Wednesday, April 9, on Film 4 and channel4.com at 9pm.