Matt Damon and Ben Affleck ‘Fell Prey’ to the Idea That They Should Work Separately

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been friends for decades. They rose to prominence with their work on Good Will Hunting, and have collaborated many times over the years. Affleck wished they could have worked together even more. He said they followed career advice that drove them apart.

Ben Affleck said he regretted not working more with Matt Damon

After decades of friendship, Affleck and Damon launched a production company together. Affleck felt confident about going into business with Damon because of the strength of their friendship. 

“I suppose the reason it works is that I trust him and love him, and I know that this is somebody with integrity,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “In this business, failure is hard, and success is confusing and can make you lose your bearings. Having that friendship as a touchstone over the years was really meaningful.”

In working on their film The Last Duel, Affleck and Damon began to wish they had collaborated more frequently. After Good Will Hunting, people encouraged them to go in separate directions.

“One of the things we reflected on when we did The Last Duel that caused us to want to do this company together was the fact that we wished we’d kept working together more over the years,” he said. “We fell prey to this idea that, ‘Well, if you don’t individuate your careers and do your own things, people will always associate you together. That will be limiting.’”

He said they followed outside advice in order to keep their careers afloat

Affleck said that because they wanted to work as actors, many thought it would be a mistake for them to have their careers tied together.

“That was advice we got. And also just a function of the fact that our goal was to work as actors. The motivation behind making Good Will Hunting was to serve as an acting reel so that we could get jobs as actors, not because we wanted to be writers. So when we became successful and had the opportunity to do movies, we took them.”

Affleck said they struggled to make space to work together, at least early on, because they were always afraid of their opportunities drying up.

“And it’s very hard to let go of that hand-to-mouth mentality you have as an actor,” he said. “The phone could stop ringing at any time, and especially where Matt and I grew up pretty modestly, it was almost irresponsible to not take a job where they were going to pay you a lot of money.” 

He said that they had to work with each other to learn the importance of turning down projects.

“A thing that you have to learn — one of many things we helped one another with — is that at a certain point, it becomes very meaningful the things you turn down, in terms of the kind of career that you create.”

Ricky Gervais once joked that Matt Damon was the only person who had Ben Affleck’s loyalty

Affleck and Damon’s friendship has lasted for years. They’re so close that Ricky Gervais once joked about them while hosting the Golden Globes. While welcoming Damon to the stage, Gervais referred to him as “the only person who Ben Affleck hasn’t been unfaithful to.”

This comment came shortly after Affleck and Jennifer Garner announced their intention to divorce.