Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reflected on key aspects to their lifelong friendship and professional partnership in Hollywood in a new interview
NEED TO KNOW
Damon and Affleck famously grew up together in Cambridge, Mass. and broke out in Hollywood when they cowrote and costarred in 1997's Good Will Hunting
The pair's new movie, The Rip, begins streaming Jan. 16 on Netflix
Matt DamonandBen Affleckare reflecting on their unique lifelong friendship as they prepare to release their latest movie together.
Damon, 55, and Affleck, 53, interviewed each other in a videoshared by Netflixon Thursday, Jan. 8 as they promote their upcoming crime thriller,The Rip. The longtime friends appeared amused by the video's first question, which asked Affleck and Damon about "the key to making a friendship last for more than 40 years."
"Well, when I approach making a friendship last, what I—," Affleck joked in response. "We were both obsessed with [making movies and acting] from an early age which definitely kind of linked us up," Damon noted. "But it's kind of a weird thing in retrospect, because we came from a city where that wasn't a thing."
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"That wasn't even an option," Affleck added, to which Damon jested, "I guess we were f------ weird kids."
"Presumptuous and nerdy and kind of out of it," Affleck added. "The shared interest, like finding the job you like to do and then you do that with your friends, it's really a nice thing, because you spend so much time at work."
Claire Folger/Netflix
Damon and Affleck famously met while they were growing up in Cambridge, Mass., just outside Boston. They pursued acting careers together in their 20s and broke out in Hollywood when they cowrote and costarred in the 1997 dramaGood Will Hunting, for which they won anAcademy Awardfor Best Original Screenplay.
Over more than two decades since that movie released, both men grew into two of the most in-demand stars in the movie industry. In recent years, they began working together again more frequently with movies, likeThe Last DuelandAir, as well as other projects they produce together through their company Artists Equity.
Claire Folger/Netflix
"I think we're lucky, actually, to not have a friendship that's really rooted in rivalry," Affleck said, when the pair were asked to answer if he and Damon have any rivalries in their friendship. "There's friendships that I see or relationships that are so much driven by like, yes, it's part of the friendship, but it's also one-upmanship or rivalry, I think it does drive people but I think it's kind of a corrosive thing for your life."
"We got lucky growing up two blocks away from each other with the same interests and the same sort of, I dunno, personalities or whatever," he added. "Having a friend and some solidarity makes it a much more kind of bearable thing."
The Ripbegins streaming Jan. 16 on Netflix.
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