Stephen Soderbergh has compared Matt Damon to screen legend Jack Lemmon.
The movie director - who has worked with the Hollywood actor on 'The Informant!' and the 'Oceans' 11' film franchise - has praised Matt for his acting ability and admits he is delighted to see him portray such a variety of characters.
He said: "'The Informant!' seemed like a Billy Wilder Movie in a way, with Matt as Jack Lemmon.
"I always enjoy making the 'Oceans' films because it is a justifiable way of playing with the camera, but in a movie like this, my job is to let Matt's performance take position front and centre, just be simple."
'The Informant!' is a dark political comedy based on the true story of Mark Whitacre, a business executive who turns whistle-blower on his own company's price-fixing scam.
Although Stephen, 46, is used to working on action comedies, he relished in the opportunity to try his hand at this "different" style of movie, influenced by Michael Mann's 1999 blockbuster 'The Insider'.
He explained: "I loved 'The Insider' and I felt I had to do something different. I have got to bring to this something specific to me, which was in this case my feeling that this story was kind of funny. It certainly had the idea of an escalating lie, which is a basic comedic premise."