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Matt Damon is a tad bleary-eyed. A condition, the Bourne bruiser readily concedes, due largely to the birth one month ago of his third daughter, Gia. “We've just had a baby so that's dominated everything. And I'm a bit sleep deprived,” the Oscar-winner says. But not as sleep challenged, he's quick to note, as his buddy Brad Pitt, who as the world knows, just celebrated the arrival of twins with partner Angelina Jolie.

Damon's back in town to resume his hosting duties at the annual TIFF charity gala, OneXOne, a job that the actor has signed up for in perpetuity. Or at least, he says with a grin, “until they replace me.”

Fat chance of that. With Damon's help, OneXOne has raised millions in the last few years for impoverished children, both here and abroad. Monday night, he took to the stage at Maple Leaf Gardens, with sidekick Scott Adsit (30 Rock), to coax thousands more out of the well-heeled crowd. As a thank you to Damon for his support, the Canadian charity – founded by Montreal businesswoman Joey Adler – has in turn contributed close to $450,000 to the actor's own pet charity, H20 Africa, which delivers fresh water to towns where it is scarce.

Despite a hectic schedule, Damon explains he keeps coming back to OneXOne for one simple reason. “We've just raised so much money. And it proves, with aggressive intervention, you can absolutely shatter these poverty cycles. There can't be an argument about that any more.”

Damon has just completed shooting on two new films,Green Zone and The Informant. The latter, a Steven Soderbergh thriller, required Damon, normally a pretty fit guy, to pack on the beef. To the tune of roughly 30 pounds.

“Steven just said he wanted me to be doughy,” chuckles Damon. “And it turns out, if you just pretend you're in college – and you're 37 years old, you can become doughy very, very quickly.” Damon's menu of choice? “Late-night burgers are an excellent option. They will catalyze your doughy.”

In early February, he heads to Cape Town and Johannesburg to begin a movie about the country's national rugby team based on a book called Playing the Enemy, by John Carlin. It's a heartwarming tale, he says, centred on the rugby world cup, which dovetailed with the beginning of Nelson Mandela's presidency at the time of reconciliation in his country. “It's one of those scripts that I read, and I was just, ‘I'm in.' The Hollywood people said, ‘Wait a minute. You're not the lead role.' And I said, ‘You don't understand. I'm in.'”

So, for this film, doughy is not an option? “No,” sighs Damon. “I've started working out again.”