Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on a Friendship That Outlasted Fame, Fortune, and Chaos

Seasons change, careers rise and fall, but some bonds remain unshaken. For Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, friendship has been the one constant through decades of Hollywood highs and deeply personal lows.

Appearing together on The Howard Stern Show on Monday, the lifelong friends spoke candidly about their relationship and how it has endured fame, scrutiny, and difficult chapters — particularly in Affleck’s life.

When host Howard Stern asked Damon if he can still turn to Affleck and say, “I’m here to help you,” the answer came without hesitation.

“Oh, yeah,” Damon said. “Our relationship isn’t affected by what people are saying. I was there for all of it.”

The comment visibly moved Affleck, who turned to his longtime collaborator and replied, “That means a lot to me.” Reflecting on the moment, he added, “That’s sort of what a real friend is.”

Fame Came Fast — Together

Affleck’s last decade has been turbulent, marked by a very public divorce from Jennifer Garner, battles with alcohol addiction, and a highly scrutinized reunion and second separation from Jennifer Lopez. Through it all, Damon remained a steady presence.

Affleck told Stern that their shared rise to stardom helped keep them grounded. “We got into a good place pretty early on,” he said, explaining that becoming famous together meant always having someone to sanity-check the madness. “You had somebody to turn to and say, ‘Is this nuts, or what?’ Or, ‘What are you doing, man?’”

The pair were launched into Hollywood’s stratosphere after writing and starring in Good Will Hunting, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Damon later reflected that sudden fame can freeze emotional growth.

“Your evolution gets kind of stunted when you become famous because the world treats you differently,” Damon said. “We were lucky. We were already in our mid-20s. We knew who we were.”

A Friendship That Started on the Same Block

Their bond began long before red carpets and Oscars. Introduced by their mothers — both teachers — Damon and Affleck met when they were just 10 and 8 years old, growing up two blocks apart in Massachusetts.

“He was nice to me,” Affleck recalled during a 2023 appearance on the SmartLess podcast. “We were just kids who wanted to be actors and were dumb enough to think it might actually work.”

Over time, that childhood friendship became a lifeline. Affleck described how intense, loyal friendships between young men often shape identity in lasting ways. “Those relationships can be lifelong,” he said. “We understood early how important those pure friendships were.”

Still Rolling the Dice — Together

Now in their 50s, Affleck and Damon are once again sharing the screen in the upcoming crime thriller The Rip. Looking back, Damon summed it up simply.

“We hit the lottery,” he said. “We hit it together.”

In an industry known for broken alliances and short-lived loyalty, the Affleck-Damon friendship stands as a rare Hollywood constant — built on honesty, shared history, and being there when it mattered most.