Matt Damon has reflected on a major difference between his and longtime friend Ben Affleck‘s experience with fame amid recent speculation about the latter’s marriage.
Speaking on the Radio Times podcast with Affleck’s brother Casey, the actor opened up about how he has handled being in the spotlight and maintaining his private live.
Damon revealed he was largely “left alone” by media at the height of magazine culture before comparing his experience to that of his Good Will Hunting co-star.
Listen to the audio in the video above.
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“I’ve been really lucky in that way … especially when I look at Casey’s brother, Ben. I can’t imagine living under that kind of scrutiny,” the actor said.
“And it’s been like that for 25 years and we’ve had parallel careers in a lot of ways and so I’m fortunate to have been kind of excused from that part of [it],” Damon explained.
The comments come amid reports of Affleck’s marital strain with wife Jennifer Lopez.
Affleck and Lopez have been making headlines over the weeks for reportedly being on the brink of divorce. Neither have addressed the reports as of yet.
The Gone Girl actor tied the knot with singer and actress Lopez in 2022 after rekindling their romance in 2021. They were previously engaged in 2002 before calling it quits.
In the same podcast episode, Damon spoke about how marrying someone outside of Hollywood “really helped” him keep his privacy.
Damon has been married to Luciana Barroso since 2005 and shares daughters Isabella, Gia and Stella.
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”I kind of hid for a few years that way while I got my bearings, and then luckily fell in love with someone who was not in the business…who would tolerate that side of it,” he said.
The actor said the massive magazine culture two decades ago ”kind of ignored” him, explaining it was because he was a “guy who’s married, it’s so boring”.
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Damon and Affleck have been friends since childhood and worked on films such as Good Will Hunting, Field of Dreams, Dogma and Air together.
It was revealed in July 2024 the pair will team up again on a new Netflix film called RIP.
Speaking to Today alongside Affleck’s brother Casey about their new movie The Instigators, Damon opened up about what it’s like working with both the brothers.
“The only thing better than making movies is making them with your friends,” Damon told Nine’s entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins.
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