Matt Damon Says ‘Growing Up’ With Ben Affleck Has Made Their Work Bond Stronger: ‘He’s Really Great’


Matt Damon couldn’t just pick one favourite thing about working with his longtime friend Ben Affleck as a director on their new film “AIR”.


Damon chatted to ET Canada’s Morgan Hoffman alongside his co-star Marlon Wayans, with him having nothing but praise for Affleck, whom he’s been pals with for years.


He gushed, “He’s really great. You know, I couldn’t even limit it to one [favourite] thing [about working with him as a director]. I think the thing about growing up together is you end up with the same kind of taste.


“The same things make you laugh, the same things move you. I think Marlon can speak to this too, because he’s worked with his brothers so much.


“It’s the same thing when you know somebody that well, you trust them enough to like, if Ben feels really strongly about something and I’m not quite seeing it, I’ll just do it that way because I trust him.


“If he’s feeling strongly about something, that’s all I need to know. [To be like] ‘Alright, let’s pursue that line of thinking that you’re probably right,'” he continued.




READ MORE:
‘AIR’ Trailer: Matt Damon And Ben Affleck Change The Face Of Sports With The Air Jordan




Their new movie “AIR” “follows the history of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.”


Damon’s comments come after Affleck also sung his co-star and friend’s praises while chatting to Hoffman about the upcoming flick.


When asked what his favourite thing about directing Damon was, Affleck, who was speaking alongside his co-star Chris Tucker, insisted, “I mean, he’s just so good. You know, it’s true. I think he’s kind of, I hate to say, like, kind of underappreciated.


“You don’t realize what a sublime actor he is because it’s so understated.


“He just has the capacity to find the character and say the lines and have it feel like completely authentic. And it’s not a showy skill.”




READ MORE:
Ben Affleck Says It’s A ‘Joy’ To Be Working With Jennifer Lopez On Upcoming Sports Movie ‘Unstoppable’




Affleck admitted, “I didn’t even appreciate it [before]… I know the guy, you know, he’s my best friend.”


Not ending the praise there, he went on to point out that Damon was always “doing something interesting” and if there was a problem he’d “bail you out always.”


Affleck gushed, “He makes it make sense. He’s a director’s gift, really. All this cast is.”


As well as directing, Affleck takes on the role of Phil Knight in the flick, while Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro and Jason Bateman stars as Rob Strasser.