“I trust him and love him”: Ben Affleck Reveals His First Love Will Always Be Matt Damon Despite Once Claiming Jennifer Lopez Wasn’t Right for Batman Star
Without any doubt, some of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s best work is done together. They are not only two of the best actors working today, but they are also accomplished screenwriters. They penned the Academy Award-winning Good Will Hunting as well as Ridley Scott’s medieval epic The Last Duel.
They’ve even shared the screen in a few films, including the upcoming sports biopic Air. This will also be Damon’s first appearance in a film, which is directed by Affleck. And their fans were even more surprised to learn that the script was co-written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
As they were clearly a talented pair who worked extremely well together, no one could have predicted that these best friends would go on to carry Hollywood heavyweights on their own. Although they remain close friends to this day, their friendship is no longer in the spotlight because their careers are no longer only associated on a year-to-year basis.
In his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck spoke at length about his friendship with Damon as well as the creation of their company, Artists Equity.
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Their Company
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck grew up together in the same neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, only two blocks apart. They became best buddies after their mothers met through work and introduced them. As a result, we can say that their families were connected from the beginning.
In recent months, Affleck has been quietly busy co-founding Artists Equity with Damon. The duo founded the company on the idea of profit-sharing not only among directors, producers, and actors but also among crew members. To begin, Affleck and Damon reportedly obtained at least $100 million in funding from investment firm RedBird Capital Partners and contributed financially to Artists Equity.
Affleck is the CEO, and Damon is the chief creative officer. Their company’s first film is Air, which Amazon will release in theaters on April 5. Ben Affleck is also making his directorial debut with this film.
He spoke with THR about what he has learned from his ups and downs, as well as what inspired him to collaborate with his long-time friend at Artist Equity.
And He Revealed His ‘First Love’
Given that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been best friends for the larger portion of their lives, it seems obvious that their friendship must be extremely strong. They founded a company together after becoming friends over 40 years ago. It will be interesting to see how long their friendship and business relationships continue to thrive.
What inspired them to do so? As it turns out, the reason behind establishing a company together is that “I trust him and love him, and I know that this is somebody with integrity,” The Last Thing He Wanted star said.
Affleck believed that failure is difficult, and success is perplexing and can cause you to lose your bearings in this business. When they were working on The Last Duel, one of the things 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.”
And he went on to add, “Well, if you don’t individuate your careers and do your own things, people will always associate you together. That will be limiting.”
It’s amazing to see how, despite Damon once claiming that Jennifer Lopez wasn’t the right choice for the Batman star, Affleck’s bond with the Contagion actor has only grown stronger.
Source- The Hollywood Reporter
