Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are a true pair. Their careers were quickly launched following the success of their Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning 1997 film, Good Will Hunting. The two met and became close friends when they were just 10 years old and lived two blocks away from each other in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Matt Damon wrote the original script for Good Will Hunting in 1992 for a playwriting class while attending Harvard University, and Affleck joined up with him to work on it for the next several years.
Having seen the film well over 30 times, I can honestly say it is in my top three favorite movies of all-time. Affleck and Damon based the screenplay on their own experiences growing up in the Cambridge-Boston area. Their unique understanding of the iconic Boston culture and accent brought such incredible humor and delight to the screen while focusing on quite a serious plot. From such a young age, Affleck and Damon were able to capture audiences with their wildly hilarious sense of humor and their true knack for collaborating to create award-winning works.
Ever since their success in Good Will Hunting, the two have gone off to star in and direct many other award-winning films, while still remaining best friends. Affleck has had extreme success, especially in his role as a director for the film Argo (2012). Damon has also been extremely successful as he has starred in numerous other award-winning films such as Martin Scorsese's The Departed and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Invictus. All in all, these two are a prime example of two ordinary, but extremely talented guys finding success in an industry that is so difficult to break into. It took a solid five years of intensely hard work before their first breakout film to hit the big screen and made them big names in the business, and they have had nothing but years of achievement to follow.
They have remained extremely close friends throughout the years and have even collaborated to raise money for several philanthropic organizations. They released a video about a year ago, where they went back and forth taking shots at each other in order to convince people to donate money to Eastern Congo Initiative and Water.org. The video was an incredibly clever and entertaining way to raise money for a fabulous cause. It is evident that the two have not lost their brotherly chemistry.
For those of you who have not seen Good Will Hunting, it is currently available on Netflix, and I can assure you that it will be a worthwhile two hours of your life. As for the rest of Affleck and Damon's spectacular films, they are all more than well worth your time.
Thank you, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, for sharing your talent with us!
