The Truth About Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Winning Friendship
With the premiere of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's most well-liked movie, The Rip, our investment in the bond between the Boston-bred most productive company keeps paying dividends 28 years after Simply Will Looking out.
“Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are childhood company…Here’s their first Academy Award.”
So the announcer intoned at the 1998 Oscars as the boisterous pair, peaceable taking a undercover agent adore a number of kids from the neighborhood at 25 and 27, headed to the stage to just rating their rating for Only Normal Screenplay for Simply Will Looking out—the movie they determined to write collectively in between auditions to give themselves the form of material that enthusiastic them as actors.
“We're comely surely two younger guys who had been lucky ample to be enthusiastic with rather a lot of big of us,” Affleck gushed excitedly as they dissolved into their thank-yous, with extra-particular shout-outs to their mothers (both in the target audience), Damon's dad and the city of Boston. “There's no plot we're doing this in no longer up to twenty seconds.”
Having since found out your entire taxes aspect and opened separate bank accounts, Affleck, now 53, and Damon, 55, are peaceable in switch—actually, they began their own manufacturing studio, Actors Equity—and are peaceable having the most classic time working with every assorted.
“A form of of us absorb company, we comely happen to be in the identical line of work,” Affleck quipped on TODAY Jan. 13 as he and Damon promoted their most well-liked movie collectively, the impressed-by-exact-occasions crime thriller The Rip. “That's what's uncommon. We received lucky, we had been kids and surely more or less bonded over being passionate about this aspect—having this absurd thought that perchance shall we come what might perchance fetch our plot available in the market and construct this, and supporting one one more and having that shared hobby.”
“Accessible” being Hollywood, the set they moved in the early Nineties and, hurry, it has long gone quite well for both of them since the days once they had been sharing a checking legend that had, Damon accepted on TODAY, “no longer rather some huge cash” in it.
“I maintain section of the foremost is adore, we are able to absorb this friendship ensuing from we didn't originate off in a basically aggressive zero-sum-game plot,” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly no longer too prolonged ago of their enduring bond. “And I maintain a switch the set there's rather a lot of shortage can surely inculcate that attitude, ensuing from you fetch the sense that any one's achievement is come what might perchance ingesting into yours, or placing off from your different, and we comely didn't advance it that plot.”
And it all began in Cambridge, Mass., when Affleck became once 8 and Damon 10 and their households lived comely a number of streets remote from every assorted.
“I maintain we're ideal identical,” Affleck told ABC Files in 2017. “Of us treat us otherwise than they historic to and answer otherwise, 'cause they've viewed us in movies and in the general public sphere. However, I agree with Matt and I rising up collectively and the time we spent collectively, and the time we spend collectively now, it's adore… I don't maintain we've modified that a lot.”
On the time, they had been even neighbors again.
“Closing evening he comely emailed me and became once adore, 'Reach over and recognize Monday Night Football,'” Affleck shared, “and I became once adore [miming messaging back], 'I'm in Contemporary York, I will't near by.' However, you perceive, we peaceable absorb that 'you wish to hope to discontinuance support over to my condo' more or less aspect, which is a enormous aspect, to absorb a friendship adore that to raise you by strategy of the unfamiliar assignment of popularity and making movies, and all that.”
Affleck became once born in Berkeley, Calif., sooner than mom Chris and pa Tim (who divorced in the early '80s) moved him support East, the set younger brother Casey Affleck became once born in 1975. Damon, a local son of the Bay Verbalize, lived with fogeys Kent and Nancy and older brother Kyle.
“My mother is a professor of early childhood pattern, and she knew Ben's mother—who's a teacher of shrimp kids—and sought her out after we moved support to Cambridge,” Damon told Interview journal in 1997, quipping, “so I became once ideal a lot compelled into striking out with Ben.”
Affleck mentioned he remembered Damon as “gregarious, outgoing.” So, he added, “It became once no shock that he grew up into the entirely obnoxious man he is now. Number one, he claims that I by no manner struck him out in Puny League. Which is total bulls–t—I became once the most classic pitcher in the league.”
They bonded over baseball and, in the crash, performing—which Affleck began doing professionally as quite of one and at the origin didn't absorb any individual to discuss over with about it beginning air of his household until his buddy took an hobby.
“Matt gave performing a framework, an integration into the social hierarchy in class,” Affleck, who made his movie debut at 13 in the 1981 drama The Unlit Waste of the Avenue, told Parade in 2007. “As a teen, the natural aspect is to absorb company who absorb well-liked interests and so that you fit collectively seamlessly. Earlier than Matt, I became once on my own. Appearing became once a solo assignment the set I'd comely goof and construct something, act in quite of TV characterize or something, and no one understood it.”
“None of the assorted kids knew what it became once I did, the plot it worked, or anything,” he persisted. “All of a surprising I had this friend, Matt, and he will get it and desires to construct it and thinks it's though-provoking and desires to discuss about it. Soon both of us are doing it.”
Affleck persisted, “As soon as we had been kids, adore Matt became once 16 and I became once 14, we'd fling collectively down to Contemporary York City [to audition]. We'd clutch the put collectively. Or customarily we'd even clutch the airplane, support when there became once the Jap Shuttle or Of us's Particular. It cost adore $20 to skim and likewise that you might perchance well smoke on the aircraft. We had been smoking adore idiots ensuing from we thought we had been surely alleged to be grown up. It became once pitiful.”
Moreover, Damon told Interview, “We historic to absorb what we known as 'switch lunches' in high college, which intended we met at the smaller cafeteria and received a desk…” Affleck chimed in, “And worked out some switch plans. We had been surely nerdy. So upright now we'd adore to skip ahead to those quite cooler years. Otherwise here goes to fetch gradually embarrassing.”
Damon graduated from high college in 1988 and enrolled at nearby Harvard, but two years later Affleck headed to the University of Vermont, “ensuing from I had a more or less unrequited adore for this high college girlfriend,” Ben explained to Parade. “She wasn't even at the university but at one more college nearby. However I thought if I went to a college near her, comely perchance…I became once surely remedial about women in so many ways. Curiously, there are some parallels for things to discontinuance support in my lifestyles.”
(Talking to Parade, Affleck became once two years into his in the crash 10-yr marriage to Jennifer Garner, his self-deprecating ways demonstrate and accounted for after his debacle of a first engagement to Jennifer Lopez.)
Neither friend performed university but luck became once on their aspect.
“Matt and I had identical interests, so whether we ended up profitable or making hot canines at Dodgers games, we knew we'd stop up doing the identical form of aspect,” Affleck told Interview of the time they spent in assorted states sooner than rooming collectively in L.A. “The remaining company section became once ideal consistent. We saw every assorted your entire time, we talked on the cell phone your entire time.”
And shortly ample, they had been striking out on residing.
Their first movie collectively, 1992's School Ties, featured Damon's breakout performance as a villainous Nineteen Fifties-period prep college snob, after which his turn as a soldier in the hasten epic Geronimo paid their rent for awhile. (Their first movie with talking parts, that is—Damon and Affleck had been both uncredited extras in the 1989 classic Discipline of Desires.)
Affleck began paddling his plot to popularity playing bully O'Bannion in the teen classic Dazed and Perplexed. And whereas juggling auditions and gigs, they leaned into their Cambridge background and cranked out Simply Will Looking out, which Damon had began engaged on at Harvard whereas taking playwriting and theater direction classes.
After Damon had been in L.A. for a number of yr, he told Interview, “Ben and I began talking one evening, and the script began flowing upright out. Then we wrote it very rapidly,” customarily collectively and customarily individually, faxing every assorted original pages once they had been apart. They purchased it to Fortress Rock in 1994.
“And in fact, it became once a source of embarrassment for us when we purchased the script,” Damon persisted, “ensuing from rather a lot of our company surely are writers and might perchance well write significantly better than we can, apart from perchance dialogue. Writing a script is assorted, though, ensuing from to me it's no longer surely writing. It's performing, is what it is. We peaceable don't name ourselves writers. We comely more or less fling, 'Smartly, I wager that worked.'”
Affleck explained, “If no one else became once going to give us the probability to construct the more or less performing shall we construct, we determined we'd comely fetch this movie ourselves—on the opposite hand shall we construct it, low-budget, regardless of. The total thought became once to absorb a videotape on the shelf at the stop of the day and have the option to squawk, 'We made this.'”
Damon recalled of the bidding battle that at once ensued after they showed the script to their agent, “It became once the first time we realized how Hollywood works. We'd both long gone in for rather a lot of auditions, but while you the truth is absorb something that folk are attempting to aquire from you, it's a entire assorted aspect.”
And promoting Simply Will Looking out became once most productive the origin.
“The thought became once to construct what became once most productive for the movie, which became once to fetch it made,” Affleck mentioned. “However after a yr, we had a falling-out with [Castle Rock] and besides they gave the script support to us with a 30-day turnaround period, which intended if we didn't sell it within 30 days they'd fetch the movie support and can have the option to construct what they wished with it. It became once either fetch it with who they had been asking us to fetch it with or clutch this risk. We had been on the entire being fired and offered tickets to the premiere of this aspect we'd set three years of our lives into.”
After that, their producer Chris Moore brought Miramax to the project, they received notice that Gus Van Sant wished to yelp, see you later as they had been in the movie, and then your entire pieces began falling into role.
And no longer comely the pieces of their project.
By the time Simply Will Looking out came out in December 1997 and became once greeted with 9 Oscar nominations, Affleck became once identified for his courageous turns as predominant d-baggage in Mallrats and Dazed and Perplexed and notched his first leading-man feature in Chasing Amy, whereas Damon had lost 40 pounds to play a heroin addict soldier in the Gulf Battle drama Braveness Beneath Fire and starred in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed upright thriller The Rainmaker.
“You fetch up one morning and the world is entirely the identical,” Damon told The Guardian, “and likewise you perceive, the truth is, your entire things that mattered the day prior to this are the identical currently, apart from the world is for ever and ever going to be an awfully assorted role for you.”
He added, “That's the thoughts-f–k and it takes a number of years to even fetch your head round what's going down… I be conscious my brother mentioned, 'How are you doing?' And I became once, adore, 'I'm the f–king comparable, but everyone else is assorted.'”
Affleck had also told Interview at some stage in the relative aloof sooner than the storm, “I maintain our fogeys had been enthusiastic ensuing from everyone knows that performing is a hard profession. I don't maintain they had been that joyful with the probability of their kids going by a lifetime of rejection and scraping by for a sandwich and hoping we'd fetch free refills at the age of Forty five. However Matt and I had been very straight forward about desirous to be actors. I surely maintain that everyone would adore to be an actor. Why wouldn't they? It's extensive work while you happen to might perchance well fetch it. The one aspect that prevents most of us from asserting, 'I'm comely gonna fling to Hollywood!' is that it looks unrealistic.”
Needless to claim, by now they're higher than comely a number of actors, or even comely movie stars. Barely, they're cultural touchstones, commonly mentioned collectively but additionally every representing a assorted form of Hollywood archetype. (And put out of your mind free refills, they're the coronary heart and soul of Dunkin' Donuts' promoting technique.)
Since they burst onto the scene, Damon has had the steadier by line—anchoring an action franchise, racking up three Oscar nominations for performing and winning a Golden Globe for The Martian, all with fewer scandals to his fearless-confronted name than most of us in Hollywood, let by myself Affleck. He's been married to Luciana Barroso since 2005 and besides they're raising four daughters collectively. (Affleck didn't glance Damon's Contemporary York courthouse nuptials, but he became once there for the Saint Lucia announce renewal in 2013.)
Affleck's lower aspects, profession and otherwise, are well-documented, but his highs—directing accolades, a Only Image Oscar rating for Argo, playing Batman, fathering three kids—absorb set him squarely on the mountaintop.
“There's nobody who's more misunderstood,” Damon mentioned of Affleck, talking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 in the weeks following the details that Affleck and Garner had been environment apart after 10 years of marriage. “Ten years ago, the general public advise of him couldn’t were farther apart from who he the truth is is. It became once adore he became once being solid in a feature, that he became once a talentless more or less meathead, with his entire relationship with Jennifer Lopez.”
“He comely received solid as this person that he wasn't,” Damon shared. “It became once comely surely painful. It became once painful to be his friend, ensuing from it wasn't comely, you perceive? To my thoughts, nobody surely received him at all. And by his work, he climbed from the backside of the mountain your entire plot support up to the pause and previous the set either of us had ever been.”
And Affleck has by no manner taken Damon's enduring give a clutch to as a right.
“I will't represent you the plot precious it is to absorb someone who's been by things with you, americaand downs, who knows what your lifestyles ride is adore, who can establish with that,” he told Entertainment Tonight, referring to Damon, in 2017. “It's an extremely precious friendship and it's very precious and so is my friendship with my brother. I don't know what I would construct without these guys.”
However as longtime dear company, Affleck and Damon absorb surely viewed and heard it all when it comes to their enviable bond and professional partnership, including jokes that Affleck became once a millstone round Damon's creative neck once they wrote Simply Will Looking out, errant experiences of a feud and—sooner than the age of social media so no longer as broadly spread, but there your entire identical—hypothesis that they had been the truth is a couple.
“When Ben and I first came on the scene, there were rumors that we had been contented ensuing from it became once two guys who wrote a script collectively,” Damon recalled to The Guardian in 2015. “I do know. It's comely adore every share of gossip…and it set us in a queer region of having to answer, you perceive what I mean? Which became once then surely deeply offensive. I don't wish to, adore, [imply] it's some form of disease—then it's adore I'm throwing my company [who are gay] below the bus.”
A couple years later, Affleck and Damon did absorb to confront a painful aspect of their early success—the indisputable reality that disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein became once the monetary drive at the support of no longer most productive the Kevin Smith movies that gave their careers a clutch but additionally Simply Will Looking out.
In the aftermath of the slew of sexual assault and harassment allegations laid out against Weinstein starting in October 2017 (he's since been convicted of rape in Contemporary York and Los Angeles and sentenced to 23 and 16 years in detention heart, respectively), Affleck and Damon tried to fetch it hurry that they wished to be section of the answer as Hollywood moved forward as a more equitable, inclusive, compile role to work.
“Everyone knows these things goes on in the world. I did Five or six movies with Harvey. I by no manner saw this,” Damon told Closing date. “I maintain rather a lot of actors absorb near out and mentioned, 'Everyone's asserting all of us knew.' That's no longer exact. This vogue of predation occurs at the support of closed doorways, and out of public stare. If there became once ever an match that I became once at and Harvey became once doing this more or less aspect and I didn't leer it, then I’m so deeply sorry, ensuing from I would absorb stopped it.”
Affleck mentioned he'd be donating residuals from his Miramax films to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest Nationwide Community) and Film Unprejudiced. In the crash, Affleck added, “I thought I had a sense of the scope of the subject and I thought I understood it, and in fact I surely didn't.”
Then, in December 2017, Damon's dad, Kent Damon, died after a prolonged bout with cancer, and whereas the actor became once devastated, his father's death hit Affleck surely engrossing too.
“The fellow is adore a brother to me and there are americaand downs in lifestyles,” Damon shared with Of us in March 2018. “It became once a unsuitable yr for him, too. He became once very, very discontinuance to my father, they had a extensive relationship. Most well-liked every assorted loads. So final yr became once no accurate picnic for him either.”
That summer, Affleck returned to rehab for 40 days, after which he persisted with outpatient treatment and the by no manner-ending efforts that fling into the assignment of staying sober, his give a clutch to system from years previous by his aspect—or comely a cell phone name away.
However whereas their mutual admiration had remained intact, it had been awhile since Affleck and Damon final cranked out the more or less script they wished to fetch. Despite every thing, in 2019 they received busy adapting Eric Janger's legend of accurate-lifestyles medieval revenge The Closing Duel, with the support of author-filmmaker Nicole Holofcener.
The pandemic-delayed manufacturing, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer, with Affleck in a scene-chewing supporting feature, fizzled upon arrival in 2021—but it became once well-reviewed and the movie's screenwriters realized that, in the occasion that they wished to dangle out more, they might perchance well just peaceable potentially comely retain working collectively.
“The ride became once so fun and rewarding,” Affleck mentioned at some stage in a joint interview with Damon, “and I noticed, having collaborated with assorted of us in the intervening time period…Wow, we the truth is absorb a extensive collaboration. I adore working with this man and I adore striking out with him. And while you switch out to be outdated and likewise you absorb kids and likewise you absorb a lifestyles…There's received to be a intention you're going to recede the home and fling construct something.”
They rejoined forces on the 2023 movie Air, based entirely on the exact account of how Nike courted future NBA superstar Michael Jordan to signal with the firm's then-fledgling basketball division. It became once the first providing from their firm Artists Equity, to boot as marked Affleck's first time directing his childhood BFF in a movie.
Affleck told E! Files at the premiere that it had been “the pleasure of [his] professional lifestyles,” whereas Damon joked that Affleck had been directing him “for 40 years,” but to construct so in this official capacity became once “surely thrilling. It became once the most classic summer job I ever had.”
Affleck echoed the sentiment: “Whenever you're lucky, that you might perchance well rep a map to work with of us that you want after which, as they explain, you by no manner work one more day on your lifestyles.”
Asked about their renewed dedication to collaborate whenever doubtless, Damon explained to Bill Simmons in 2023, “If we don't originate getting proactive about working collectively, we're no longer going to work collectively. And what an insane different to even absorb, with a thought to work collectively at this stage of our lives and careers is f–king amazing. Why no longer avail ourselves of that?”
Added Affleck, “The most productive aspect I could perchance well agree with to be better is working with your kids, and I'm ideal hurry my kids absorb ruled that out.”
Look Matt and Ben's friendship in photos:
Fatherland Younger of us
Damon and Affleck share a scene as jumpy genius Will and his devoted childhood just correct friend Chuckie in their breakout hit Simply Will Looking out, which became once nominated for 9 Oscars, including Only Image, Only Actor for Damon, Only Supporting Actor for Robin Williams and Only Normal Screenplay.
Made It
Awards season heats up in 1998 as Ben and Matt stroll the carpet at the Golden Globes, celebrating Simply Will Looking out's four nominations.
Hiya, We Won!
Affleck and Damon pose with their first Golden Globes, Only Screenplay for Simply Will Looking out. Affleck received one more, in 2013, for directing Argo, and Damon received in 2016, Only Efficiency by an Actor in a Motion Image, Musical or Comedy, for The Martian.
Thank You, Boston!
Only Normal Screenplay winners Affleck and Damon be hurry you give a shout-out to their formative native land, which helped encourage the first-ever movie they wrote collectively, Simply Will Looking out.
Golden Males
Damon and Affleck indulge in their Oscar rating in 1998.
Prettiest Gals in the Room
Affleck and Damon blow their own horns their Oscar evening dates—moms Chris Affleck and Nancy Carlsson-Paige—in 1998.
For Laughs
Damon and Affleck teamed up as fallen angels Loki and Bartleby in Kevin Smith's 1999 comedy Dogma.
Proper a Couple of Dudes
Matt and Ben costume down in Miami Seashore in 2006.
Enormous Males
Damon helps his buddy in 2006 at a screening of Hollywoodland, at some stage in which Affleck performed George Reeves, the tragic actor who performed Superman in the Nineteen Fifties-period TV sequence.
Date Night
Both mates received married in 2005, and in 2008 they enjoyed a evening out all collectively in Miami Seashore. Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who absorb three kids collectively, crash up up in 2015 and in the crash divorced in 2018. Damon and critical other Luciana, fogeys of 4 daughters, will celebrate 15 years of marriage in December 2020.
Same Extinct, Same Extinct
Matt and Ben grasp out, 'cause that's what they construct.
You Earned It, Buddy
Naturally, Affleck became once amongst the stars who feted (and roasted) Damon whereas presenting him with the American Cinematheque Award in 2010.
“I more or less began out at the identical time as the person, so here’s a particular evening for me, too,” Ben quipped.
Only Buds
They consistently gape ready for a marathon poker match.
Artistic Management
The company celebrate the return after 10 years of Mission Greenlight, their HBO sequence about bringing indie films to fruition, in 2014.
Family Subject
Affleck is on hand to give a clutch to brother Casey Affleck and honorary brother Damon at the 2014 premiere of Manchester by the Sea, which Affleck and Damon co-produced and for which Casey would fling on to rating the Oscar for Only Actor (and put out of your mind to thank Ben, which modified into into a entire humorous aspect).
The Simply Shepherds
Affleck and Damon are on hand to give a clutch to Mission Greenlight's season four winner, The Leisure Class, at the movie's 2015 premiere.
Simply Will Reading
Affleck and Damon reprised their roles as Chuckie and Will for a stay finding out of Simply Will Looking out in 2016, and enlisted a number of of their proficient company to sit in, including John Krasinski, who narrated; Emily Blunt playing Skylar; Keegan-Michael Key as Billy; and Margo Martindale filling the mighty shoes of the gradual Robin Williams as Dr. Maguire.
Wingman
Damon celebrates Affleck landing the Caped Crusader cowl in Batman v. Superman: Destroy of day of Justice and ensuing DC Universe films, twenty years after both actors auditioned for and didn't fetch the feature of Robin support when Tim Burton became once making Batman movies. (The sidekick in the crash showed up in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever.)
We're Relieve!
Affleck and Damon reunite at the Oscars in 2017 to illustrate the Academy Award for Only Normal Screenplay, 19 years after their momentous rating.
Wait, What?
And here they’re taking a undercover agent as amazed as any individual to gape that Moonlight became once the categorical Only Image winner as an different of La La Land.
Carrying Scene
Matt and Ben revel in a evening out with fellow Boston sports activities nut Bill Simmons.
What Curse?
The lifelong Red Sox followers received emotional celebrating their group of workers's 2018 World Sequence title.
Buona Sera
Affleck and Damon hit the 2021 Venice Film Festival in give a clutch to of The Closing Duel, their first screenwriting collaboration since Simply Will Looking out.
Slam Dunk
The Artists Equity co-founders celebrate the March 2023 premiere of Air at SXSW, the first movie from their original studio. The feel-upright exact account stars Damon as Nike procure Sonny Vaccaro, the visionary who received a comely-drafted Michael Jordan to signal with the shoe firm in 1984 by convincing the prolonged bustle NBA superstar's mom (Viola Davis) that they had been the upright fit for her son. Affleck plays Nike founder Phil Knight.
A bazillion pairs of Air Jordans purchased later…
Strolling on Air
As well as to co-starring and producing, Air marks Damon's first time performing with Affleck at the support of the digicam.
“He's a honest director, of us are conscious,” Damon gushed to E! Files about his just correct friend at the movie's L.A. premiere. “However it surely became once surely extensive working with him and I'm taking a undercover agent forward to doing it again shortly.”
Accounting on Friendship
The Martian star attended the March 2025 SXSW premiere of his producing accomplice's original movie The Accountant 2, and debuted a longer model of his beard in the assignment.
(In the origin printed Aug. 8, 2020, at 9:15 a.m. PT)
Source credit : eonline.com
