Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were among the famous friends on our radar when Julia and I first started brainstorming ideas for the Language of Friendship back in 2021. We found their story interesting because these two high school buddies have remained friends personally and collaborators professionally over the decades, despite their fame. We also loved how they first became famous as a pair. In 1997, they took Hollywood by storm together when they won a Best Screenplay Oscar and Gold Globe Award for Good Will Hunting, the movie they starred in and co-wrote. More than 40 years later, they still relish the chance to work together.
I can remember watching the Academy Awards ceremony that year they were nominated, thinking it felt like everyone–from the audience to the paparazzi–was hoping Affleck and Damon would win. These two handsome, young Hollywood newcomers had brought their moms as their double dates to the red-carpet event. Seeing them with their moms was endearing, as was the movie about a brilliant poor kid attempting to overcome his circumstances. Robin Williams‘s role helped cement the film as a classic, and both Affleck and Damon have become among the most successful actors of their generation.
More recently, they teamed up for a series of silly Dunkin Donuts ads, which first aired during the Superbowl. Just before that, they appeared together in the 2023 feature film Air, which Affleck also directed. I don’t always love sports-oriented dramas, but I thoroughly enjoyed this look at the history behind the making of Air Jordans.
This week, Affleck and Damon announced they will be collaborating on a new film for Netflix, which is a thriller called RIP. Plot details are not available yet, but both men are producing and starring in the movie. I look forward to seeing the film and continuing to follow one of Hollywood’s best-known and most enduring friendships.
If you’re really lucky, you love what you do and you love who you work with.
—Ben Affleck
Language of Friendship 
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