Matt Damon explains why Brad Pitt is jealous of him

Matt Damon is on the cover of the August 2013 issue of Esquire, and in the magazine's cover story he opens up about the nature of fame -- including why pal Brad Pitt is envious of him.

Damon and Pitt are both Hollywood heavyweights, but only one has a famous actress as a partner. And that, Damon said, makes a big difference in terms of having privacy.

"I got lucky, I fell in love with a civilian," he said, referring to wife Luciana. "Not an actress and not a famous actress at that. Because then the attention doesn't double -- it grows exponentially. Because then suddenly everybody wants to be in your bedroom. But I don't really give them anything. If I'm not jumping up and down on a bar, or lighting something on fire, or cheating on my wife, there's not really any story to tell. They can try to stake me out, but they're always going to get the same story -- middle-aged married guy with four kids. So as long as that narrative doesn't change too much, there's no appetite for it."

Of course, things are a bit different for Pitt, fiancee Angelina Jolie and their six children.

"If you can control the celebrity side of celebrity, then it's worth it. I look at Brad -- and I have for years -- and when I'm with him I see the intensity of that other side of it. And the paparazzi and the insane level of aggression they have and their willingness to break the law and invade his space -- well, I wonder about that trade," Damon told the magazine. "I remember telling him that I walk my kids to school, and his face just fell. He was very kind, but he was like, 'You bastard.' Because he should be able to do that, too. And he can't."

Damon's latest movie, "Elysium," arrives in theaters on Aug. 9.

Tell us: Do you agree with Damon's views on fame and the paparazzi?