Matt Damon Takes Summer Off To Lose Weight And Launch Charity 7/29/08

Movie star Matt Damon has taken the summer off to lose weight and launch a new children's charity.

The actor piled on 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) to play the "chunky" lead in Steven Soderbergh's The Informant and now he's working out to shed the weight before shooting war drama Green Zone in September (08).

But it's his new charity the One X One Foundation, which is taking up much of his time. He tells USA Today newspaper, "I have to make calls. Sheryl Crow is going to play at one of our events.

"It's the easiest call in the world to make. I just tell what the charity is about, and everyone wants to do everything they can."