Are Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Hollywood's ultimate bromance? Batman star has leaned on childhood friend through both his divorces

Oscar winner,  father-of-three, superhero - Ben Affleck has an incredibly varied career in Hollywood.

But the Gone Girl star, 52, is perhaps best known for his relationships with fellow actors.

As well as his marriages to two of Hollywood's leading ladies - Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez- Ben is also famously close to his childhood pal and creative partner Matt Damon.

In fact, the star may well rely on his 53-year-old best friend while dealing with his divorce from J.Lo.   

Both hailing from Boston, the two men have a friendship that started in childhood, meeting in 1980 when Ben was eight and Matt was 10. Their bromance, which has spanned decades, developed when they discovered their shared love of baseball and acting.

Not just friends, the two also became collaborators, working on their acting and attending auditions together, as well as writing together - a venture that would prove extremely successful.

The duo came to major public prominence when they won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1998, for their film Good Will Hunting, in which they both starred in and wrote. 

HOLLYWOOD BROMANCE: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (pictured after winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting in 1997) have been friends since 1980

Both Ben and Matt (pictured) have spoken about how important their friendship is, with Matt once saying life would have been 'unimaginably harder' without it

Further projects they've worked on together include most The Last Duel and Air.

However, while the men have both enjoyed major Hollywood success, Ben has faced the most media scrutiny of the two, something Matt has spoken about, describing the relative lack of interest in his personal life as fortunate, and down to his 19-year marriage to Luciana Barroso being considered 'boring'.   

Promoting his new film The Instigators which he stars in alongside Ben's brother Casey, 49, Matt told Radio Time Podcast: '25 years ago, the gossip magazine culture was huge but they ignored me.

'I wasn't an exciting story; the guy who's married, it's boring! Scandal and sex, that's what people would read magazines for. I've been really lucky.'

He continued: 'Especially when I look at Casey's brother, Ben. We've had parallel careers in a lot of ways, but I can't imagine living under that scrutiny for 25 years'.

Much of the attention focused on Ben is due to his high-profile relationship with Jennifer Lopez. The couple, who have been engaged twice called off their first wedding just days ahead of the ceremony, going on to break up in January 2004.

After reuniting in 2021, the couple wed in 2022, with their relationship facing extreme public interest both times.  However, it was again doomed to break down, putting Ben even further under the media spotlight because of his personal life.

While the close bond between Ben and Matt is clear to outside observers, the two considered cutting their professional ties following the success of Good Will Hunting.

According to Matt, he feels fortunate that his personal life has not been put under the same media scrutiny as Ben's - something he puts down to his 19-year marriage being seen as 'boring'. Meanwhile, Ben has experienced relationship struggles, with Matt supporting him through splits with Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez (pictured L-R: Ben Affleck; Matt Damon and Jennifer Garner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles in 2014)

As children, Matt and Ben lived just two blocks away from each other in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They became close after discovering their shared love of acting and baseball (pictured L-R: Jennifer Lopez; Ben Affleck; Matt Damon and Luciana Damon at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills in January  2024)

However, speaking to Boston Magazine in 2013, Ben noted that things hadn't worked out that way.  

'For a while, we thought maybe we should chill and just do other stuff, and not be Matt and Ben, Matt and Ben,' he told the outlet.

However, he noted: 'We have our company together, we're developing together. And Matt lives down the street from me like he used to. His kids are living with him, the way we used to live with our folks. The only difference is that we have pools.'

As children, the pair lived just two blocks away from each other in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Thanks to their shared love of acting, they quickly developed a bond, with Ben once saying that acting was a 'solo activity' before he met Matt, with 'none of the other kids [knowing] what it was [he] did, how it worked, or anything'.

'All of a sudden I had this friend, Matt, and he gets it and wants to do it and thinks it's interesting and wants to talk about it. Soon both of us are doing it,' he added.

By the time they were Ben and Matt were 16 and 18 respectively, they were travelling to New York City to audition together.

Their first joint appearance on the big screen came in 1989 when they were two of some 3,000 uncredited extras in the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams. 

In their teens, Ben and Matt (pictured at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2024) would travel to New York together for auditions. They even shared a bank account at one point 

Ben and Matt (seen in the film Good Will Hunting) shot to fame after co-writing and co-starring in their 1997 drama

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have shared the screen on numerous occasions (pictured appearing in Kevin Smith's 1999 film Dogma)

The next year, they went their separate ways to attend different colleges, with Matt enrolling at Harvard and Ben at the University of Vermont.

But just two years later, they were back on the big screen together - and this time, they were not uncredited extras, but co-stars alongside Brendan Fraser in School Ties.

They continued to audition and act over the next few years, and their friendship remained close, with Ben reportedly sleeping on Matt's sofa when work was sparse.

At some point in their early career, the two were so close they even shared a bank account. Revealing the detail during an interview on The Bill Simmons Podcast in 2023, Matt said: 'It was unusual, but we needed the money for auditions.'

Sharing their financial rules, he added: 'You were allowed to take out $10 and get quarters and go to [the arcade] and play video games. Eventually, we were allowed to try to buy beer, which never f****** worked.'

Ben added: 'I think that attitude really helped us in ways we couldn't anticipate. Matt and I always felt like we're in it together. Like, 'Hey, I want to get the part, but I want you to get the part [too],'.'

It was in 1994 that they would embark on the project that would change their careers (and lives) forever. After Matt was tasked with penning a script for his playwriting class at Harvard, while visiting LA, he brought it with him to show to Ben.

Ben Affleck has faced more intense public interest than Matt, who says he feels 'fortunate' that he hasn't endured the same level of scrutiny (pictured L-R: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the Academy Awards in Hollywood in 2003)

Ben Affleck met Jennifer Lopez in 2002, when they starred together in crime comedy Gigli (pictured at the Gigli California Premiere in 2003)

The script would go on to become Good Will Hunting.

Describing how they worked on the writing, Ben told Boston magazine that the final draft was totally different from what they originally wrote. 

'We came up with this idea of the brilliant kid and his townie friends, where he was special and the government wanted to get their mitts on him,' he said. 'And it had a very Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run sensibility, where the kids from Boston were giving the NSA the slip all the time.'  

According to the actor, he and Matt would drink 'like six or twelve beers' and then improvise. Imagining either Morgan Freeman or Robert De Niro in the roles of the professor and therapist, they would imitate them and record their improvisation - describing the process in hindsight as 'kind of hopelessly naive and probably really embarrassing in that respect'.

Some of the inspiration behind the film's protagonist Will - a maths genius who works as a cleaner at a university - was taken from Ben's father, who had worked at Harvard University as a janitor. 

The duo finished the script, which they sold to Miramax for $1 million in 1995. They then moved back to Boston before production started.

Before Good Will Hunting started filming, the friends once again appeared on the big screen together in indie comedy Glory Daze, with Ben starring as a soon-to-be college graduate called Jack and Matt taking a non-speaking role, playing a former roommate of Jack.

Despite boasting an impressive cast, including Matthew McConaughey, Brendan Fraser and Leah Remini among others, the movie was considered a flop critically.

As well as his high profile relationship with J.Lo, Ben had a 10-year marriage with Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three children. The couple split in 2015 (pictured L-R: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles in 2014)

However, the childhood friends were on the verge of major success.

In April 1997, Chasing Amy debuted, with Ben in the starring role, and Matt playing a supporting character.

In addition, that month, filming started on Good Will Hunting. Matt starred in the titular role, with Ben playing the character of his best friend, Chuckie Sullivan. Late comedy genius Robin Williams played a therapist in the film, winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Filming took just nine weeks. Talking about the experience to Boston Magazine, Ben joked that after so many years of working on the script and waiting for production, the short filming process was 'kinda like 'is it over?',' and like 'losing [his] virginity'.

In a 2021 interview with GQ, Matt revealed that both he and Ben cried on set while filming the movie, describing it as a 'really nice moment', and saying it was down to 'a mixture of joy and disbelief. And relief. And gratitude'.

At the end of 1997, the movie had a limited release, then was widely released in January 1998. 

That was the start of the two's major taste of success, with the script picking up best screenplay at the Golden Globes. There was more to come, with Matt and Ben famously taking the Academy Award for best screenplay. At the time, Matt was just 27-years-old, and Ben 25 - making him the youngest writer to ever win a screenwriting Oscar.

During their acceptance speech, Ben said: 'Ha! I just said to Matt that losing would suck and winning would be really scary, and it's really, really scary.'

While Ben would later say they had considered going their separate ways professionally, this didn't happen, and they worked on a number of projects together again, including starring in Kevin Smith's Dogma and HBO's documentary series Project Greenlight.

In 2004, Matt made a notable cameo in Jersey Girl, the second film featuring Ben and his then-fiancee Jennifer Lopez. The couple first met while filming Gigli in 2002 - at which time Jennifer was married to Cris Judd. However, that marriage ended and the singer and actress started dating Ben.

When the couple famously called off their wedding just days ahead of the event, before breaking up, Matt was reportedly supportive of his lifelong friend.

In 2004, Ben got together with actress Jennifer Garner. They had met in 2000 while filming Pearl Harbor. At the time, Jennifer was married to actor Scott Foley. 

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were at the centre of split rumours during their short marriage, with observers noting that the pair had different approaches to fame and privacy (both pictured) 

According to an insider, Matt Damon (not pictured) was concerned about the reignited relationship between Ben Affleck and J.Lo (both pictured) and has been supporting his friend in the wake of his divorce

They acted together again during the Summer of 2002, on Daredevil. According to Ben in a later interview with Playboy, the two 'met on Pearl Harbor, which people hate, but...fell in love on Daredevil'.

They both stayed with their respective partners though, with Ben proposing to Jennifer Lopez in Autumn 2002. 

Ben and Jennifer Garner appeared on Dinner for Five the following January. Some viewers felt that she was flirting with him, but Ben - who was still engaged to Jennifer Lopez at the time - didn't appear to respond.

However, eventually, they both ended their respective relationships and got together, making their first public appearance as a couple in October 2004. They went on to marry, and welcome three children.

During the marriage, in 2010, Matt was honoured at the 2010 American Cinematheque Awards. He was introduced on stage by Jennifer Garner, who joked that Ben was 'half of one of the greatest love stories ever told' - describing Matt and Ben's friendship as 'the great Hollywood Bromance', and 'proof that love is alive and well in Hollywood'.

The importance of the men's friendship was highlighted in 2015 when Ben and Jennifer Garner split. A source told PEOPLE magazine how important Matt was during the healing process.

The source said: 'In the same way Jen is turning to her friends, for a long time, Ben has reached out to Matt, who is a true touch point for him...They have a bond. Few people know Ben better than Matt, and that is really invaluable.'

As well as supporting Ben through the breakup, Matt also supported his friend through his battle with alcoholism. The Daredevil star revealed in 2015 that he had turned to drinking amid his failing marriage, though he has since become sober.

As their close personal friendship endured, so did their working relationship. In 2016, Spike TV honoured the duo with its 'Guys of the Decade' award, which they accepted with a jokey acceptance speech. The following year, they appeared on stage together again, reuniting at the Academy Awards, 19 years after their Good Will Hunting win.

In 2017, Matt's father died, devastating both actors. During a 2023 interview with Chris Wallace, Matt revealed that the bereavement changed his and Ben's friendship.

He said: ' Ben was very, very close with him. It's like it changed something in us. You start to see the end game and you start to feel like I want to make every second count. I don't want to fritter away time anymore.'

Ben had previously spoken about Matt's family, saying that having a close bond with not only his friend, but his parents and siblings was 'an enormous gift'.

The pair continued to work together over the following years, announcing in 2019 that they would be co-writing and co-starring in The Last Duel.

Ben's personal life was to hit the headlines in a major way in 2021, amid rumours that he and Jennifer Lopez - also known as J.Lo - were reigniting their relationship almost two decades after their first breakup.

Matt (pictured, right) once said that his friendship with Ben (pictured, left) was 'way too important' for 'public consumption', and that it 'goes way beyond [his] career' (both seen in Los Angeles in 2004)

When Matt was quizzed about the rumours during an appearance on the TODAY show, he was both discrete and supportive, telling co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie: 'There's not enough liquor in the world for you to get me to say something about that [rumour].'

When they pressed him further, Matt said: 'I hope it's true. I love them both. I hope it's true. That would be awesome.'

The importance of their friendship was publicly highlighted once more when GQ magazine profiled Matt several months later. Ben said his 'sanity and mental health really benefited' from going through fame and the media spotlight with his childhood friend who was going through the same thing.

He said he could discuss 'this 20-year-plus journey of being in the public eye' with Matt honestly, saying he could be himself with Matt, knowing why they were friends, 'why he was interested and loved me, why I loved him'.

Matt added that he didn't particularly enjoy discussing the friendship publicly, saying: 'I don't want to be his friend in public...It's way too important a friendship for that, and it goes so beyond this career or anything. You know, it's a significant part of my life and not for public consumption in that way.'

In 2022, once again, Ben spoke out about how Matt had positively impacted him, crediting his friend with 'saving' his career. Following disappointing box office takings for Batman V Superman and Justice League, Matt encouraged Ben to only work on projects he loves, and those that bring him joy - helping him out of a career rut.

During April of that year, the duo teamed up again to write and star in Air, a film about NBA player Michael Jordan's historic deal with Nike. More was to come, with Ben and Matt launching a production company together in November - The Artists Equity, serving as CEO and chief creative officer respectively.

Ben (pictured, right) once said Ben his 'sanity and mental health really benefited' from going through fame and the media spotlight with Matt (pictured, right) who was going through the same thing (seen at the Live By Night premiere in Los Angeles in 2017)

When Air premiered in March 2023, they were accompanied by their respective wives, Matt with Luciana, and Ben with J.Lo, who he had wed in 2022.

Once more, Ben's personal life was put under intense media scrutiny. It appeared that he and J.Lo took very different approaches to social media and fame generally, with Ben preferring to stay more private, and J.Lo more open to being under the spotlight.

During their short marriage, she even made an hour-long musical film - This Is Me Now...A Love Story, which was a visual counterpart to her album of the same name - and a documentary about the making of the film, called The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

During the documentary, it was revealed that Ben had kept all the letters and emails from their first relationship, and put them together in a book that he gifted to Jennifer during their first Christmas together after they reunited. She showed the book to her producers and other studio staff, to use as inspiration for songwriting.

With their vastly different perspectives, it seemed to many outsiders that the relationship was in danger of floundering. 

During the documentary, Ben said: 'Jen was really inspired by this experience, which is how artists do their work. They get inspired by their personal life, it moves you. I know as a writer and director, I certainly do the same things.

'But things that are private, I'd always felt, are sacred and special because, in part, they're private. So this was something of an adjustment for me.'

Several weeks before J.Lo filed for divorce, it was reported that Matt warned Ben about reuniting with his former flame before they tied the knot, according to insiders.

Matt reportedly advised Ben to 'focus on his work' so he didn't lose sight of his professional goals amid the relationship.

'Matt tried to warn Ben when he got back together with J.Lo that this could happen,' an insider told DailyMail.com. 'Matt was there to help Ben get it together after their first split and he felt like this would happen again.'  

The source continued: 'As things started falling apart, Matt told Ben that he supports whatever choice he makes but wants him to jump in and focus on his work.

'Ben spent so much time focusing on J.Lo's projects just like he did the first time around. He told Ben, 'What has she ever done for your career?'

Ben has credited Matt with saving his career, after his friend advised him to only work on projects that bring him joy, after he was feeling in a career rut following disappointing box office takings for Batman V Superman and Justice League (both pictured attending a World Series Boston Red Sox v Los Angeles Dodgers game in Los Angeles in 2018)

Both Matt and Ben have spoken publicly about how their friendship has positively impacted their lives (both pictured at the Live By Night premiere in Hollywood in 2017)

The insider also claimed that Matt is very worried that the relationship could cause Ben to relapse into alcoholism, saying: 'Matt is the only real guy friend Ben has. He would not let him get back on the bottle and has been on him to make sure of this.' 

While Ben once more turns to his friend to support him through his divorce, the pair's friendship has once again been put under the spotlight, and will no doubt further strengthen the men's bond.

The end of the relationship is just one milestone that the friendship will undoubtedly make easier.

As Matt once said while talking about the bond: 'It's been really helpful to check in with Ben throughout this whole surreal process over the last 25 years'.

He added that life would have been 'unimaginably harder' without their enduring bond.