But it was a fairy tale. And [Redford] told me at the very beginning, "I'm sure we're going to get killed for this, because it's so optimistic." That's one of the reasons I really wanted to do it. I admired the fact that he went in there knowing that. But to see it borne out the way [Redford predicted] was a little shocking. Because people seemed to take it personally and attacked him personally. I don't think he deserved that.

What about being Matt Damon, a bankable star who's in competition with other actors your age? If Horses doesn't kick, will you have nightmares, thinking, "Last year I was on top with The Talented Mr. Ripley, and now I've got two flops in a row. What do I do?"

This movie was, for the first time in my life, "I don't care." I want people to really love it, to love it as much as I do. But if they don't, it's OK. We just disagree. I've never felt that way before; I've always felt like, "Well, maybe they know something I don't." But not in this case; we just disagree, and that's fine. I've never been prouder of anything than [All the Pretty Horses]. This was a significant, life-changing experience, making this movie, and I feel I'll be chasing this the rest of my career. In terms of, you know, [box-office success], I'm not ignorant of the effect stringing together a bunch of bombs will have on anybody's career. I'd like to keep working on movies like this and not worry [about grosses]. If I could do a movie like this every few years, I'd be very happy.

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