Hollywood actor Matt Damon has paid a touching tribute to his lifelong friend Ben Affleck. Damon described the Oscar-winning filmmaker as 'one of the great loves of my life' while reflecting on their decades-long friendship.
Damon starred in director Christopher Nolan's cinematic epic The Odyssey. The actor plays the lead role of ancient Greek warrior king Odysseus. He revealed the deeply personal impact of receiving feedback from those closest to him. Speaking during an interview with MTV UK alongside co-star Zendaya, Damon held up a photograph of Affleck and candidly reflected on their enduring partnership.
You're welcome @JimmyKimmel. No need to thank me. pic.twitter.com/aEL4QVJbD8
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) February 29, 2016
'One of the Greatest Loves of My Life'
'We've been through a whole hell of a lot together, and he's one of the great loves of my life, I will say about Ben', Damon shared with a smile.
The 55-year-old star revealed that after Affleck attended an early screening of The Odyssey, he received a phone call from his childhood friend that he felt he had been 'waiting 45 years to get'.
According to Damon, Affleck was so moved by the film that he spent nearly an hour dissecting every detail of Nolan's spectacular film and Damon's lead performance. 'He didn't stop talking for an hour', Damon recalled. 'It was like he'd seen the movie 20 times. He got absolutely everything, every detail. He somehow soaked it all in in one viewing.'
For Damon, Affleck's glowing review carried immense emotional weight. The actor admitted that there were only three people whose opinions on The Odyssey truly mattered to him before the film's global release: his wife Luciana Barroso, Ben Affleck, and his 20-year-old daughter, Isabella.
Damon jokingly explained that Isabella has long been his harshest critic at home. He recalled how she regularly teases him about his past projects. These included the 2016 fantasy action film The Great Wall, which she insists on calling simply 'The Wall' because 'there's nothing great about that movie'.
Secret hand shake? Long walks on the beach? Matt’s egg Florentine? All possible for $10.http://t.co/qwTcYYnzJO
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) February 19, 2014
The Toughest Critic
However, The Odyssey managed to win over his toughest home critic. Isabella phoned her father after watching the epic just to tell him how proud she was of his work. Damon admitted that securing approval from both his daughter and his oldest friend meant the world to him, noting that after receiving those reactions, he felt as though the film had already succeeded regardless of external reviews.
Damon and Affleck's remarkable bond stretches back nearly five decades to their childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they grew up just streets apart. Their shared passion for drama saw them auditioning together as teenagers before taking Hollywood by storm in 1997 with their Oscar-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting.
Working Together
Over the years, the duo have continued to collaborate on screen in films such as Dogma, Air, and The Rip, while also co-founding their independent production company, Artists Equity, in 2022. Affleck's enthusiasm for The Odyssey was so strong that he even admitted in an interview earlier in the year that he had gone to a cinema purely to watch the film's trailer on the big screen.
In an industry often defined by short-lived connections and intense competition, Damon and Affleck's relationship remains a rare example of unwavering loyalty and creative trust. For Damon, knowing that his oldest friend stood behind his performance in one of the biggest roles of his career proved to be the ultimate professional reward.
