How Matt Damon Was Convinced to Cameo in ‘Deadpool 2’

Deadpool 2 co-writer Rhett Reese says Matt Damon‘s cameo as a redneck espousing proper post-wipe technique to his drinking buddy (Alan Tudyk) was birthed out of real-life conversations.

“It’s been sort of an old runner of mine. I’ve told my friends this and people know this about me. I do this bit about the inadequacy of toilet paper to create the appropriate hygiene for a human being. So I did it for Ryan [Reynolds] at one point and we just all looked at each other and said, ‘well this has to go into the movie somehow,’” Reese said on the Deadpool 2 special features.

Reese and co-writers Reynolds and Paul Wernick lobbied for an “Oscar-caliber” actor for the bit role, tapping Matt Damon, a three-time Academy Award nominee for both best leading and supporting role.

“So then we thought, ‘well, what caliber actor would we need to do a scene where two rednecks talk about wiping themselves after spending some time on the toilet?’” Reese said. “Of course, you have to have somebody Oscar-caliber doing that kind of bit. Matt was very receptive so Ryan ended up sending him the pages. Matt called him back and said, ‘I’m in.’”

The little-recognized Damon appears in heavy makeup, sporting a frumpled flannel and a protruding potbelly. Damon’s stint as a trucker-cap-wearing-hillbilly-slash-wiping-connoisseur rubbed off on the Bourne star, who became “a Wet Wipes guy himself after he read the pages,” Wernick said.

Also appearing in a cameo role is Damon’s Oceans trilogy co-star Brad Pitt, who loaned his face to short-lived invisible X-Force member the Vanisher.

That cameo was a “very late add,” Wernick told ComicBook.com.

“It might have been [director David Leitch] or Ryan had the idea of like, ‘What if we see a quick flash and that’s a cameo,’ and then we thought, ‘What’s the hardest get in Hollywood?’ And it’s, well, Brad Pitt. ‘Okay, let’s go after Brad Pitt,’” Wernick said.

“And the beauty of doing a second movie after a first movie that folks definitely loved was the ability of the yeses that came in. So Brad’s family, his kids loved the first movie and he signed on right away. He did it for scale and a cup of coffee hand-delivered by Ryan Reynolds, and he was the last thing we shot of the entire movie. He was additional photography on the back end and the last frame of film that was shot was Brad Pitt,” Wernick added.

Deadpool 2 is now available to own on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.