Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have a long history together, and an even longer history as friends.
The Boston-born best friends, who met when Affleck was 8 and Damon 10, began collaborating as teenagers when they were cast as uncredited extras in Field of Dreams. They later established themselves as individual stars, playing bit roles and appearing in cameos behind each other’s lead performances.
After winning an Oscar in 1997 for co-writing Good Will Hunting, the dynamic duo continued to take Hollywood by storm and became popular friends in the industry. Following the 2023 biopic Air, Affleck and Damon have announced that they will produce a new crime film Animals for Netflix in January 2024.
The pair reunited on-screen in Netflix’s The Rip, which opens on January 16, 2026, although Animals has yet to hit the streaming platform.
From Academy Award-winning classics to lesser-known moments, check out all the projects Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have done together.
“The Rip” (2026)
Warwick Page/Netflix
In The Rip, Damon and Affleck team up with Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor as a group of cops who uncover a cache of millions of dollars in cash. When people other than the police get the money, they begin to question who they can trust.
Director Joe Carnahan said the bond between the longtime friends made the experience on set “hysterical.”
“They beat each other up endlessly,” Carnahan says. “This is the way brothers talk to each other. It’s the same way my brother and I talk to each other. We’re just endlessly pandering to the other person, and that’s who they are. Their relationship is very brotherly.”
“Animals” (2026)
Christopher Polk/Variety, via Getty
The childhood best friends are set to work together again in Netflix’s new kidnapping crime film Animals. Damon was originally scheduled to star and Affleck would co-produce behind the camera as director. However, due to scheduling conflicts with Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”, Damon decided to step down from the lead role, but remained as a producer. Affleck will now direct, co-write, and star in Animals, which is scheduled for release in 2026.
“Air” (2023)
Amazon Studios / Provided by: Everett Collection
Affleck will direct the 2023 biopic Air, casting himself and his best friend in key roles. The film is about the Nike shoe line Air Jordan and how Michael Jordan signed with the shoe brand when he was still an NBA rookie.
Damon played sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, and Affleck played Nike co-founder Phil Knight. They shared the screen with a star-studded cast that included Viola Davis, Marlon Wayans, and Jason Bateman.
“Last Duel” (2021)
20th Century Studio / Provided by Everett Collection
For the first time since “Good Will Hunting,” the two have co-written and starred in “The Last Duel,” an action-packed historical drama set in medieval France. This time, Affleck and Damon enlisted the help of another screenwriter, Oscar nominee Nicole Holofcener.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Damon compared The Last Duel and Good Will Hunting, explaining that the former has a “bigger perspective.”
“There are two knights, and then there is Madame Marguerite,” he pointed out. “So Ben and I wrote the male perspective and Nicole Holofcener wrote the female perspective. That’s kind of the structure of that movie.”
“Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” (2019)
Saban Films / Provided by Everett Collection
Kevin Smith reunited with Affleck and Damon in 2019 for another self-parody film from Smith’s cinematic universe of characters. Affleck returned to his role as Holden McNeil in the 1997 film Chasing Amy, and Damon reprized his role as the fallen angel Loki in the 1999 film Dogma.
“Project Greenlight” (2001-2015)
Frank Masi / HBO / Provided by: Everett Collection
The Hollywood sensation forced new talent into the filmmaking business for the HBO series Project Greenlight. The show focused on first-time filmmakers competing to have their debut films featured.
After airing for three seasons from 2001 to 2005, Affleck and Damon revived the reality show for a fourth season in 2015.
Jersey Girl (2004)
Miramax/Courtesy of Everett Collection
In 2004, Affleck co-starred with his then-fiancée (and now wife after nearly 20 years) Jennifer Lopez in “Jersey Girl,” their second film together after “Gigli.” Damon only had a cameo in the film as a public relations executive interviewing Affleck for the role.
“The Third Wheel” (2002)
Miramax/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Affleck played a supporting role in the 2002 romantic comedy starring Luke Wilson and Denise Richards. Damon had an uncredited cameo in the film as the ex-boyfriend of Richards’ character.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Dimensions/Courtesy: Everett Collection
Directed by Kevin Smith, the parody draws from some of Affleck and Damon’s previous work, including their critically acclaimed part in Good Will Hunting. In one scene, they film a fake sequel called “Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season.” Affleck will also reprise his role as comic book artist Holden McNeil from Chasing Amy.
“Dogma” (1999)
The friends co-starred as fallen angels in yet another Smith film, the religious satire Dogma.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Miramax/Courtesy of Everett/Everett Collection
Good Will Hunting remains Damon and Affleck’s defining collaboration. They began writing the script in 1994, and when production began in 1997, the childhood friends couldn’t believe what they had accomplished.
In a 2021 interview with GQ, Damon talked about how he and Affleck cried on the first day of filming.
“Sometimes those moments creep in,” Damon said. “And that was another moment that we never thought would come. To see not just the actors, but those actors say what we wrote, it was like…f—.”
The film was nominated for several awards at the 1998 Oscars, including Best Picture, and Affleck and Damon won in the Best Original Screenplay category. His co-star, the late Robin Williams, also won Best Supporting Actor.
Chasing Amy (1997)
Chasing Amy, Ben Affleck, 1997
Damon made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy, which catapulted Affleck’s career. In Vanity Fair’s dual-career retrospective, close friends explained that Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith scouted Damon after learning he was friends with the film’s protagonist.
“I was sleeping on Kevin’s couch, and I was like, ‘You’ve got a buddy, a guy named Matt, would he be a part of it?'” Affleck recalled, adding that Damon was “better known” than he was at the time. “(Smith) was perfectly happy to exploit Matt’s stardom for his own benefit, and so was I.”
Glory Days (1995)
Ron Galera Co., Ltd./Ron Galera Collection/Getty
Affleck starred in the indie film Glory Days, which follows Jack’s struggle to graduate from college. Damon played one of Jack’s former roommates in a non-speaking role. The 1995 film also starred Matthew McConaughey, Leah Remini, and Brendan Fraser in bit roles.
“School Ties” (1992)
Maximum Film / Alamy; Miles Aronowitz / Paramount / Kobal / Shutterstock
The pair joined stars such as Brendan Fraser and Anthony Rapp as students at a competitive prep school in the 1992 drama School Ties. Damon played a rival to Fraser’s character, and Affleck had a small role.
Just a few years ago, rising stars were just teenagers. Although Affleck is two years younger than Damon, the two went to the same high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts and starred together in school productions.
However, according to Damon’s younger brother Kyle, the two A-listers of today weren’t all that popular on campus back then. Kyle once told PEOPLE that they were “not considered the cool kids.” In fact, “they were drama geeks,” he said.
“Field of Dreams” (1989)
AJ Photo/Alamy
Long-time best friends, they not only grew up together, but also started their careers at the same time. The pair first worked together in the sports fantasy film Field of Dreams, with Damon and Affleck playing uncredited roles in scenes shot at Fenway Park (not pictured), and still look back fondly on the experience.
Damon reflected on filming during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show in July 2021.
“When Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones were coming to the baseball game, there were probably 3,000 extras in the big crowd scene,” he said. “Costner came out and was hanging out with the extras, and Ben and I struck up a conversation with him, and he gave me maybe five minutes of his time. He was incredibly generous with his time.”
