Ben Affleck Admits He Still Can’t Shake the Matt Damon Narrative on Good Will Hunting

Nearly three decades after Good Will Hunting launched Ben Affleck and Matt Damon into Hollywood stardom, Affleck says an old perception about their Oscar-winning screenplay still follows him. Affleck recently joked about the long-running idea that Damon was the primary creative force behind the script.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ben Affleck discussed the dynamics of creative partnerships and reflected on how audiences have viewed his relationship with Damon.

“It occurred to me that, like, basically what happened was I partnered with somebody much more talented and gifted at what we were doing than I was, uh, to great success,” Affleck said. “Yes. And it occurs to me that that’s kind of exactly what most people’s impression of me writing Goodwill Hunting was.”

Kimmel played along with the longtime joke, and pointed to the perception that Damon was responsible for most of the film’s writing. “I get that. You’re telling me, you’re telling me that there are people in the world who think Matt Damon even knows how to read? Never mind. Right. For a long time, people did believe this.”

The story has followed the pair since the 1997 drama film became a critical and commercial success. Damon did write an early version of the story while studying at Harvard, initially developing a roughly 40-page piece as part of a class assignment. 

However, the screenplay ultimately became a collaboration between Damon and Affleck. Both received equal writing credit and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the finished script.

Affleck connects a new collaboration to an old Hollywood narrative

The Good Will Hunting narrative has remained part of the pair’s public story despite their careers developing in different directions. Ben Affleck went on to establish himself as a director with films including Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo, with the latter winning Best Picture. 

Meanwhile, Matt Damon also built an extensive career as an actor, writer, and producer. The two have continued their professional partnership through Artists Equity, the production company they founded to give filmmakers and crew members greater participation in the success of their projects. Their collaboration has included the Netflix crime thriller Animals, directed by Affleck and starring Damon.

Damon has also pushed back against the idea that he alone created Good Will Hunting, and added that the screenplay was developed through the duo’s collaboration.