Matt Damon is taking us on a walk down memory lane with Ben Affleck.
The Odyssey star appeared on Tuesday’s episode of the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast, where he got to talking about the DECADES of friendship he’s shared with Ben! Reflecting on meeting when he was 10 years old and Ben was just 8, The Bourne Identity star recalled:
“We really were bizarre kids who were serious about acting, and we were in the union. At 16 and 14 years old, we were going to New York together to audition for stuff. Our friendship was founded on quite a bit of common experience, but that was central to it and very unique to the two of us.”
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How special is that?! Fast forward four decades, the two jump on any and every opportunity to work together possible:
“And here we are 40 years later and it’s like, we should make every single movie we can together.”
What a unique friendship! No wonder they started production company Artists Equity together! Matt continued:
“I think for us, we’ve experienced so much of life together. It’s not a friendship that could ever be replicated just because we grew up together. We were together all the time writing a screenplay together.”
Matt and Ben famously wrote 1997’s Good Will Hunting together, which went on to win two out of the NINE Oscars it was nominated for in 1998! Matt reflected:
“One of the great things about writing with him was always the fact that there was a deep and abiding love and respect underneath everything that was never in question. It’s very helpful when you’re working creatively with someone, because you’re not worried about their feelings … The allegiance is to the thing that we’re making, and we’re trying to get there as quickly as we can, and as efficiently as we can. And there’s a deep trust.”
It must feel SO incredibly natural for them!
In Matt’s opinion, working with the Argo director is “a very easy experience” — and a “fun” one, too:
“It also ends up being just really fun, because you’re doing it with, for me, it’s my closest friend for 40 years, 45 years. Who else would I want to hang out with and do stuff with?”
That’s so sweet!
Matt noted that collaborating in 2026 continues to be a breeze because he and Ben “stepped into this new phase of life” together — which is all about “the pursuit of joy in our lives and in our work.”
Awww! We could listen to these besties gush about each other all day! They’ve really been there through it all for each other! You can listen to more from his interview (below):
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[Images via Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube, & Judy Eddy/MEGA/WENN]
