Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are back on screen together and this time they’re rocking nearly identical rugged beards.
On Wednesday, Netflix dropped the official teaser for The Rip, their latest collaboration, which sees the Hollywood besties reunited 28 years after their breakthrough with 1997’s Good Will Hunting.
The gritty thriller, directed by Joe Carnahan, follows a team of Miami cops whose loyalty begins to unravel after they discover millions of dollars in cash hidden inside a derelict stash house.
As word spreads of the massive seizure, trust and survival are tested, leaving everyone questioning who they can rely on.
Affleck, 52, and Damon, 54, first met in high school and have remained inseparable creative partners ever since.
In fact, The Rip marks their third film together in just the past four years, following Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and the Nike biopic Air.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are back on screen together — and this time they’re rocking nearly identical rugged beards
The pair have heard the chatter about ‘oversaturating the marketplace’ — but Damon insists they don’t plan on slowing down.
During am interview with GQ earlier this week, the actor admitted he was moved after watching Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary Get Back, which ended with a reminder the Fab Four never worked together again.
‘I started crying,’ Damon recalled. ‘I told Ben, “Who cares if we oversaturate the marketplace with movies we’re both in? We’re crazy if we don’t take advantage of the fact that we are both still here and able to do this.”‘
In The Rip, Affleck takes on a more larger-than-life character while Damon plays the quieter, more introspective character — a pairing that echoes their early Good Will Hunting dynamic.
‘Well someone’s gotta put the movie on their back,’ Damon joked. ‘I don’t know — maybe he’s just a more versatile actor than I am. But I don’t think that’s intentional… We’ve got more movies to make together, so maybe we can switch it up a little more.’
Affleck countered with a laugh, but admitted their long-standing dynamic makes sense: ‘I bet Matt wouldn’t trade places with me. I think that started in some ways with the Good Will Hunting template — and also frankly because Matt has probably always been considered a more bankable or reliable leading man, maybe?’
Despite the ribbing, Affleck insists acting alongside Damon is always humbling.
‘Every time I act with Matt is a humbling experience because I learn to appreciate further just how good an actor he is,’ Affleck said. ‘He is so understated, so real and so honest — it’s the opposite of a ‘showy’ performance, and I think what he does is more difficult. When you know someone as long as I’ve known Matt, you develop a pretty good sense of what is real and what isn’t, and it’s almost impossible to catch Matt acting. He is really a master of realism and it’s something I deeply admire about him. One of many things.’
On Wednesday, Netflix dropped the official teaser for The Rip, their latest collaboration, which sees the Hollywood besties reunited 28 years after their breakthrough with Good Will Hunting
The gritty thriller follows a team of Miami cops whose loyalty begins to unravel after they discover millions of dollars in cash hidden inside a derelict stash house
In addition to starring in The Rip, Affleck and Damon also produced the film via their Artists Equity production company that they launched in November 2022.
Artists Equity released its first film Air in April 2023 about the origin of Air Jordan and it starred both of them with Affleck also directing.
Artists Equity also has produced the 2023 documentary Kiss The Future that was released in February in theaters.
The production company released the 2024 documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told for Amazon MGM Studios about Affleck’s wife Jennifer Lopez, 54.
Affleck and Damon famously won their first Oscars for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting in 1998
At the time, Affleck was just 25 years old and Damon was 27 (seen in March 1998)
The historical drama film Small Things Like These based on the 2021 novel of the same name also was produced by Artists Equity and premiered last year at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
The company was also behind The Accountant 2 starring Affleck as well as the heist thriller film The Instigators starring both Affleck and Damon in the works.
Artists Equity also has the musical drama film Kiss of the Spider Woman and the biographical sports drama film Unstoppable, starring Lopez, on its production schedule.
Affleck and Damon famously won their first Oscars for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting in 1998.
At the time, Affleck was just 25 years old and Damon was 27.
Nearly three decades later, Affleck remains the youngest-ever winner in that category.
