Matt Damon’s father, Kent Damon, has died at the age of 74 after battling cancer, Us Weekly can confirm.
According to the Boston Globe, Kent passed away on December 14 from multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer.
The Downsizing star, 47, recently asked for prayers while speaking with Extra on Monday, December 11, saying, “My dad’s sick, so that’s been a process we’re going through. We’ll take any prayers you got, so yeah, throw ’em up there.”
Damon has skipped some recent promotional appearances to spend time by his father’s side in Boston. In October, he pulled out of an appearance at the BAFTA Britannia Awards where he was set to receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence.
Damon revealed his father, a former stockbroker, was battling myeloma while attending a benefit for Massachusetts General Hospital in 2011. According to WCVB, Damon, whose parents divorced when he was 2 years old, said his father would “fight it to a standstill.” At the One Hundred Celebration in Boston, Damon thanked the medical staff for their assistance and reportedly said, “We’ve lost some close personal friends to cancer in recent years, but I never thought it would happen to my dad, the marathon runner. It sucked.”
The Globe reports that Damon has been active in raising awareness and funds for cancer, having attended multiple benefits at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston and hosting his own in Los Angeles.
