Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirms She Acted with Matt Damon at Harvard Drama Class

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Academy Award winner Matt Damon have unexpected history together.

Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning on Sunday, Sept. 1, ahead of the release of her memoir, Lovely One, Jackson, 53, revealed that she and Damon, also 53, had a notable run-in long before they became the powerhouses they are now in their respective fields. 

“So, is it true you were here at the same time as Matt Damon?” CBS’ Norah O’Donnell asked Jackson about their Harvard University drama class days.

Jackson replied, “It is true,” adding that the Instigators actor was “a year ahead” of her. And while the two were “never in an actual performance” together, they were paired up as “scene partners” in a drama class. 

“He’s not going to remember this, of course,” she said of pairing up with the Oscar winner for a scene from Waiting For Godot. 

“The reason why I remember it is because he was already kind of well-known around campus and off campus, so it was kind of exciting to be his scene partner for a particular class,” a smiling Jackson told O’Donnell, 50.

Jackson said she and Damon had to memorize scenes for the two-person play, and once they were done, she did better than she anticipated. 

“At the end, the professor said, ‘Ketanji, you were very good. Matt, we’ll talk,’ ” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I was better than Matt Damon in a scene.’”

Though Damon attended Harvard as an undergrad, he did not finish.

In February 2022, the same year Jackson was sworn in as the country’s first Black female justice, a representative for Damon confirmed to the Associated Press that the actor did not remember working with Jackson for Waiting for Godot in their drama class. 

However, the Good Will Hunting star still found the story impressive. 

“That’s so cool!” he said. 

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AP News added that during her time at Harvard, Jackson took drama and musical theater courses and was also part of an improv group called On Thin Ice — though she studied government.

On Sunday, Jackson also spoke with CBS Evening News saying she was “considering” supporting a plan to enforce the code of conduct for justices that was issued in November 2023.

“A binding code of ethics is pretty standard for judges, and so I guess the question is, is the Supreme Court any different?” she told CBS. “I guess I have not seen a persuasive reason as to why the court is different than the other courts.”

Jackson’s debut memoir, Lovely One, will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 3.