Matt Damon is a s--tty storyteller.
In this exclusive sneak peek of the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors—airing Dec. 28 on CBS—Matt pays homage to his friend and honoree George Clooney in a speech that, at least to start, seems harmless enough.
"It has been said that my friend George Clooney is the last of the true movie stars," Matt begins, "so I got to thinking about exactly what that meant. Of course, a number of past Kennedy Center honorees have certainly been movie stars in that classic sense. Actors with class and sophistication—Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Paul Newman, Gregory Peck."
That's when things take a turn.
"And then I think of George," Matt says, "a man who defected in Richard Kind's kitty litter box as a joke."
Richard, best known for Mad About You, Spin City and his voice work in multiple Pixar films, is seated onstage and acknowledges Matt's reference with a hearty salute.
And Matt's stories about George's pranks don't stop there!
"A man who once stole Bill Clinton's stationary and wrote fake notes to actors," Matt says about George, "saying how much the President loved their movies."
Why do we feel like Brad Pitt might have some presidential stationary floating around somewhere?
In a recent appearance on the SmartLess podcast with hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, George detailed the extensive pranks he would pull on Richard when the two lived together as struggling actors during their early days in Los Angeles including, yes, pooping in that litter box.
The 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors—which also pay tribute to Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania León and U2—air Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. on CBS, and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.