After three decades in Hollywood, Matt Damon only has one favorite role: dad.
The Stillwater star credits his four kids with wife Luciana Barroso as the guiding light to selecting which characters to play. His critically-acclaimed turn as a father on a mission to save his wrongfully-accused daughter, played by Abigail Breslin, premiered to a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on July 8.
"It's easier to find my way into a character [if they're a dad]," Damon exclusively told E! News' Daily Pop correspondent Erin Lim Rhodes. "They become a lot more relatable. If you can draw a direct correlation to your own life, it's always a lot easier."
Yet, Damon's 15-year-old daughter Isabella remains his toughest—and most hilarious—film critic. "If the reviews come out and they're terrible, then she'll watch it," Damon joked. "If they come out and they're good, she's going to pass....She's looking for ammunition all the time. She's like one of the funniest people I've ever met. She's really cool."
While the Academy Award winner can't relate to the extreme #GirlDad choices his Stillwater character makes, he can find common ground in protecting his daughters.
"You advocate for your kids a lot," he continued. "A lot of the choices you make is about thinking about long-term ramifications for your kids. So yeah, I think parenting is a series of those types of decisions."
Watch the full interview above to also find out why Damon doesn't consider "hair growth to be method" and how his Stillwater action role compares to Jason Bourne!
Stillwater is in theaters on Friday, July 30.