Matt Damon leaned on Ben Affleck when coming to terms with fame
As they prepare to release their new collaborative movie, Air, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who rose to fame after co-writing and co-starring in 1997’s Oscar-winning movie Good Will Hunting, have discussed their relationship.
In the latest issue of People, Damon revealed how he leaned on Affleck while coming to terms with his fame. Damon stated that his friendship with Affleck is “everything to me”. The 52-year-old added that his life would be “unimaginably harder” without Affleck. “It’s been really helpful to check in with Ben throughout this whole surreal process over the last 25 years,” he continued.
“I think the shock of becoming famous is so… I mean, that messed me up for a couple years. Because the whole world just starts to treat you differently. And so your subjective experience changes. It’s like somebody rewrites your code in the Matrix, but just your code.”
“It’s like, ‘Oh, my whole experience has been altered in this really overwhelming way,'” Damon explained. “And so to have somebody who I’ve known my whole life who I can be like, ‘Hey man, is this happening to you? Are you…?’ And to check in with him, it was really, really helpful. Stabilising.”
Affleck, who is now 50 years old, shared Damon’s sentiment. “Having Matt has meant the world,” Affleck said. “It’s not just Matt. It’s Matt’s dad, who I adore and love enormously. He passed away recently. And his mom and stepdad, his brother. His kids, who just came to the premiere and made me want to burst into tears because they’re so beautiful and grown up and amazing. You get to be part of somebody’s whole life in that way. It’s been an enormous gift.”
Air, the pair’s latest project, is set to arrive in cinemas on April 5th. Watch the trailer below.
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