Matt Damon names his favourite Ben Affleck movies: “It’s a wonderful performance”
It’s rare to find a friendship that endures from your childhood and into decades of adulthood, but Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were lucky enough to meet each other as kids, and their relationship has creatively enriched each other ever since.
After going off to separate universities, Damon found himself in need of writing a script for a class, but he eventually called in the help of his best friend, Affleck. The pair soon refined the ideas they had come up with and turned the script into a fully formed screenplay, which would become Good Will Hunting.
The budding actors appeared in various projects together, beginning in 1989 when they shared the screen as uncredited extras in Field of Dreams, but it was 1997’s Good Will Hunting that allowed them to both cement themselves as promising Hollywood figures. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the pair starred in the film while Robin Williams appeared alongside them, and it proved to be a huge success.
Damon and Affleck won an Oscar for their screenplay, although it would take them many years to write another film together. In the meantime, both enjoyed successful Hollywood careers, with Damon leading franchises like the Bourne series and Affleck appearing in movies like Pearl Harbour, Argo and Hollywoodland. They starred in several films together during the late 1990s and 2000s, including Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but it wasn’t until 2021’s The Last Duel that they got back in the writing room.
It’s this film, directed by Ridley Scott, which Damon cites as one of his favourite performances from Affleck. The duo wrote the movie with Nicole Holofcener, and it found widespread acclaim, with Affleck playing Count Pierre d’Alençon. Damon also starred as one of the leading characters, Jean de Carrouges, although he seemed more impressed by his friend’s performance.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Damon revealed, “I would definitely say the one in this movie is one of the best things Ben’s ever done.” However, it seems as though it was hard for him to pick just one performance as his favourite, as he added, “Also there’s a movie he did last year called The Way Back, which I would strongly advise people to go check out. It’s a wonderful performance.”
Directed by Gavin O’Connor, the film sees Affleck play Jack Cunningham, an alcoholic who finds solace in becoming a basketball coach at his old school, where he bonds with students and finds himself less dependent on drinking. While it’s not the most original concept, Affleck was widely praised for his performance, and it seems like Damon was a huge fan of the tenderness and complexity his friend brought to the role.
Damon is evidently a major champion of whatever his friend chooses to do, and the pair have certainly helped each other to cope with the pressures of fame as they’ve risen to the top together. Damon once told People that “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. Stabilizing.”
