Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, iconic collaborators and Academy Award-winning writers, offered rare insight into their friendship, careers, and creative journeys during an in-depth appearance on Howard Stern’s show Monday, ahead of the Netflix debut of their film The Rip. The Ben Affleck Netflix interview delved into their experiences in both Hollywood and personal life, revealing decades of intertwined history and candid reflections on choices and challenges.
Long-Standing Friendship and Career Beginnings
Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon forged a close bond as children, a partnership that would follow them through their rise in the entertainment industry. Even before achieving fame with Good Will Hunting, the duo shared an apartment in Los Angeles, determined to pursue acting careers.
Affleck pursued nearly every opportunity that arose in hopes of building a sustainable career. He remarked,
“I wanted to be able to make a living as an actor,”
Ben told Howard. Damon, on the other hand, was more selective, a contrast he joked about:
“One of us had to pay rent,”
laughed Matt, who revealed he was far more discerning when it came to the roles he pursued.
Affleck remembered Damon’s refusal to compromise, highlighting their differences with humor.
“I thought he was fucking nuts,”
Ben laughed.
“He’d be like, ‘I don’t want to do that movie. I don’t like it,’ … and I’d be like, ‘You don’t have any money! We’re broke, dude!’”
Reflections on Choices and Discipline in Hollywood
As they discussed those early days, Affleck admitted that over time he came to respect Damon’s resolve.
“I realized that I was wrong. The actual way to approach it is what Matt did — it’s just exceptionally difficult,”
Ben said. He candidly acknowledged,
“Early on in my career, I did some movies I really like, and I did some movies that, in retrospect, I’m not particularly proud of, but they were paying like a million dollars, two million dollars.”
Affleck addressed Damon directly, saying,
“I don’t know how you came to have that discipline so early on,”
underscoring the maturity Damon displayed from a young age. Damon responded,
“Well, we had enough. We had the rent covered,”
pointing to the basic practicalities dictating their choices as emerging stars.
Affleck recounted a notable project:
“Still, you turned down movies — even turned down the opportunity to audition for movies — that 99.9 percent of other young actors wouldn’t have. I did this horror movie — a Dean Koontz sewer monster movie called ‘Phantoms’ — because it was 250 grand, and I thought I would be set for life, you know?”
He added,
“You wouldn’t have done that movie — and that’s just the truth.”
Key Moments and Influences in Their Careers
The interview covered more than their divergent approaches to career-building. Damon and Affleck reminisced about their childhood neighborhood, their dreams of success in New York City, and the directors who influenced Affleck most. They examined how standout films such as Saving Private Ryan and The Bourne Identity shifted expectations for their genres and left lasting marks not just on audiences, but on their own careers.
The actors’ professional partnership crystallized with Good Will Hunting, the breakout film Damon initially conceived while a student at Harvard University. Their years-long commitment led the unknowns to Oscar glory for Best Original Screenplay, an experience they recounted with both pride and amusement.
“We never, ever had a conversation between ourselves about what we would say,”
Matt told Howard.
“Honestly, it was like each of us knew deep down that, if we had that conversation and didn’t win, in 50 years we’d be at some bar in Boston going, ‘Can you fucking believe we wrote an Oscar speech? You jackass.’”
Despite the spontaneous acceptance speech, Affleck remains self-critical about their moment in the spotlight.
“Every time I see that [speech], I think, ‘What a noodge,’”
he laughed.
“I thanked Boston as a city, three times. Was that necessary?”
Howard, joining in the recollection, added,
“I think you thanked Cuba Gooding Jr.,”
which Affleck confirmed before reflecting:
“It would’ve been smart to think about what I was going to say in front of the whole world.”
Experiences on Set and Missed Opportunities
Damon talked fondly about his first film appearance in Julia Roberts’ 1988 romantic comedy Mystic Pizza. Despite having only one line, he recalled the thrill:
“I knew I was where I wanted to be.”
Both actors shared appreciation for the challenges of minor film roles, and how lasting impressions can come from unexpected places. Damon recounted an interesting story from his time on The Adjustment Bureau:
“I did a movie with Emily Blunt called ‘The Adjustment Bureau,’ and there was this throwaway part with the maitre d’ — it got cut out of the movie — but I remember … this maitre d’ walked away, and they cut, and we both looked at each other and go, ‘That guy was really fucking good,’”
Matt recalled.
He continued,
“There was something incredibly interesting, and real, but natural,”
and then revealed that this minor role, cut from the final film, was played by Pedro Pascal:
“Years later, I found out it was Pedro Pascal. [He was] not even a day player with really anything else to do, just his presence — we both recognized it immediately.”
Personal Life and Humorous Anecdotes
The conversation shifted to their personal lives, with Damon sharing a lighthearted revelation about his wife Luciana Barroso’s first impressions: “After we’d been together for probably a few months, I met her best friend from high school, and it came out that the two of them went and saw “Good Will Hunting” together, and her best friend thought I was the cute one, and she thought Ben was the cute one,” Matt told Howard.
“She admitted [it] to me. I’m like, ‘You got the wrong one?’”
Affleck, for his part, spoke warmly about Luciana’s role behind the scenes of his upcoming projects.
“She’s a great producer and a really good friend,”
Ben noted. Luciana is currently producing two of Affleck’s 2026 films: Animals and The Rip, with Affleck also directing the former.
Transformation for ‘The Rip’ and Looking Ahead
Howard expressed admiration for Affleck and Damon’s physical transformations in The Rip, which required them to convincingly portray hardened narcotics officers. Affleck commented on the demands of the profession:
“That’s part of the job. You gotta change your body somewhat, so that it’s just believable. As I’ve gotten older, that’s the hardest part of the job, frankly,”
Affleck concluded.
“Meeting with people in their lives is really interesting. The gym is only so interesting.”
This Ben Affleck Netflix interview not only celebrated their new film, but also cast light on decades of friendship, creative risk-taking, and the sometimes tumultuous realities of Hollywood. As The Rip launches on Netflix Friday, Affleck and Damon’s authentic exchanges offer fresh perspective on legacy, resilience, and the ever-evolving landscape of film and celebrity.
