Matt Damon won’t be mopping floors during this MIT visit

The last time we saw Matt Damon at MIT, the Cambridge native was mopping the halls in his role as a brilliant janitor in his breakout performance in the 1997 movie “Good Will Hunting.”

He’s since left the mop bucket behind to become one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. On Friday, he will deliver the commencement speech to the institute’s class of 2016.

In December, when his selection as commencement speaker was announced, Damon told MIT News that he was “humbled” to be asked to speak to the graduating students of a school “that I couldn’t have gotten into.”

True to form, the actor was being modest: In reality, he attended another little Cambridge institution, the one known as Harvard (though he did not graduate).

Damon won an Academy Award (with his old Rindge and Latin School pal Ben Affleck) for the screenplay to “Good Will Hunting,” and he earned a Golden Globe this year for his performance in “The Martian.” Other films in which he has starred include “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “The Bourne Identity” and “The Departed.”

According to MIT President L. Rafael Reif, Damon’s invitation to speak at the university extends beyond the “Good Will Hunting” connection. Damon’s philanthropic work – most notably as a founder of the non-profit Water.org, which provides access to clean drinking water in developing countries – was a key consideration.

MIT’s commencement is scheduled to begin Friday morning at 10 a.m. in Killian Court.