Ben Affleck Tells Jimmy Kimmel the ‘Dumbest Thing’ He’s Ever Seen Matt Damon Do (Video)
Ben Affleck told the hilarious story of the time Matt Damon, his fellow Bostonian and friend of nearly 40 years, gave him a little word of advice while they were auditioning for the high school play together 30 years ago on a visit to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday.
“You know, he’s a good guy in my opinion, but there is a moment that stands out,” Affleck said in response to Kimmel’s question about the “dumbest thing” he’d ever seen his “Good Will Hunting” co-star do in the time they’ve known each other, which is a long time considering they met when Affleck was eight and Damon was 10.
“We lived down the street from each other and we’d see each other at the park, and he was one of the bigger kids,” Affleck said. “But then I got this job on TV. A PBS cheesy education show for kids, which I thought was kind of lame, but it was enough to make Matt boil with envy. Just burn with rage.”
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The “Way Back” actor said the words “burn with rage” in a startlingly deep voice, which he followed with a caricature of his eight-year-old self’s pipsqueak voice: “I was like, ‘I just came from set!'”
“He wanted to be an actor. He took it very seriously. And then when we got to high school — we went to public high school in Cambridge — I went out for the fall play. I saw Matt there, and he kind of eyed me. I was a freshman, I was probably six inches smaller than him, cause he was 2 inches taller than he is now,” he joked.
“I swear to God, this is a true story. He says ‘Let me give you a little advice.’ He says, ‘This isn’t TV, where you get by on your looks and your haircut. This is about talent. This is the theater.’ Turned around and walked away. Stone cold. Like he was the Lawrence Olivier of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin public high school drama program,” Affleck said.
So then, Kimmel had to ask — how many plays has Damon done since making that proclamation all those years ago?
“It’s been 30 years?” Affleck asked. “One play.”
Watch the video above.
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