Having tackled baseball in "The Natural" and now golf in "The Legend of Bagger Vance", do you see sport as a potent metaphor?
Oh God, yes, absolutely. I'm not interested in a film about golf but I am interested in golf as a metaphor. There's no better metaphor. Sport is a wonderful metaphor for life. Of all the sports that I played - skiing, baseball, fishing - there is no greater example than golf, because you're playing against yourself and nature. There's some force that's bigger than you. You can't completely control the sport - Tiger Woods comes close. The test is against yourself and nature's own way. I find golf a particularly good metaphor for this story.
Did you recognise yourself in Matt Damon's character, the golfer?
Sure, in a general way. He's meant to be a mythological character, like Will Smith's caddy, Bagger Vance. He's meant to be that classic Homer, Ulysses, Hercules - a character who goes out or has some gift of some kind. He goes on a journey of discovery and part of that is falling into darkness - the temptations of life. And you go through this journey to return home a whole person, with life experience and wisdom. It's classic in that sense. Generally speaking, I went through that. I came to a place where I realised what true value was. It wasn't money. Money is a means to achieving an end, but it's not the end.
Do you still enjoy playing golf?
I only played six holes while we were shooting, I was so busy. Golf has become so manicured, so perfect. The greens, the fairways. I don't like golf carts. I like walking. Some clubs won't let you in unless you have a caddy and a cart. I like carrying my own clubs, which is how I started to play. There's something about carrying your own clubs to each ball you hit - the labour of playing the sport, to me, is part of it.
