In 1997, while an assistant professor at Mississippi State University, Nate booked a role in the feature film, The Rainmaker, shooting in Memphis, TN., and starring a young actor named Matt Damon. Damon promised to do a guest-appearance at Nate's university if he were ever back in the area. By 2001, Nate was an associate professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Damon was in Vegas shooting the feature film, Ocean's 11. Nate contacted the Oscar-winner and Damon showed up and gave a 2-hour long question and answer session on whatever the students thought to ask.