Solid friendships are hard to come by in a competitive field like acting, but Hollywood has no shortage of self-proclaimed besties. During their early days, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon remained close and even wrote a script together for their film Good Will Hunting.
Damon stated that he was immensely grateful for having a close group of friends to fall back on, confessing it made enduring hardships easier. But fame to him came with a double-edged sword, the duo had to face several speculations of them being more than just childhood friends. There were several rumors in the industry during their debut, that the Justice League actor and the Ocean’s 11 actor were lovers.
The dark side of fame: Preserving deep bonds
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck‘s close bond is well-known in Hollywood. The pair spent their entire childhood together, before separating for university, and then reuniting by dropping out. The childhood best friends even started on the path to success in the industry together.
In 1997, they co-wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting which won them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. However, the experience was marred by uncomfortable rumors about their close bond in the industry.
When Ben and I first came on the scene there were rumours that we were gay because it was two guys who wrote a script together…It’s just like any piece of gossip… and it put us in a weird position of having to answer, you know what I mean? Which was then really deeply offensive.
In an interview with The Guardian, Damon spoke about those old speculations and how they deeply offended him. Referring to the negatives of being famous, the former Saturday Night Live host said he didn’t quite enjoy being in the spotlight.
I don’t want to, like [imply] it’s some sort of disease – then it’s like I’m throwing my friends under the bus. But at the time, I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay…it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out.
The 30 Rock actor met his wife, Luciana Barroso in 2003 and the couple shared four daughters, so the rumors felt disrespectful to his private life. But the Saving Private Ryan actor felt his outright refusal could end up offending his friends who were gay.
The cheeky inclusion: The amateur scriptwriters’ test
The movie had several studios salivating despite the newcomers associated with the script, but in the end, Miramax Films won the competition. Harvey Weinstein revealed the reason why they won the rights to distribute the film on The Graham Norton Show (via Huff Post).
They came to my office, and I read the script [before] the meeting, and we walked in and everything was pleasant, and then about 10 minutes into the meeting I said, ‘Guys, there’s just one thing on the script … I just have one really big note.
Apparently, the draft had a bizarre s*x scene between two straight characters which Weinstein pointed out to the pair. It turned out that scene was not a mistake, but rather a purposeful inclusion they added to test if studios actually read their script.
That’s the scene that we wrote to find out whether guys in your job actually read the script…no one brought that scene up, or maybe people thought it was a mistake or maybe nobody read it themselves… You get the movie.
Weinstein was the only one to bring up that scene which felt off-script so the aspiring scriptwriter joined hands with the studio. This step denotes not only their understanding of how big studios work but also their determination to find a perfect home for their aspirational film.
Celebrated for his nuanced performances of complex characters, Damon might not be the leading man in the spotlight but the actor shined in his diverse roles. Perhaps that’s what makes him such a good performer, his ability to mold into whatever role he is offered.
Good Will Hunting is currently available to watch on Paramount+.
