Ben Affleck Waxed Poetic About How Awesome Matt Damon Is, But His Longtime Pal Gave Him No Love Back

Everybody knows that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were friends long before they became famous for Good Will Hunting, and in fact, their chemistry is one of the big things critics liked about The Rip, their latest project together. These guys have been by each other’s sides for decades — personally and professionally — so it’s no surprise that Affleck would have all the glowing things to say about his bestie. Damon showing no love in return, however, was a little unexpected (and a lot amusing).

In promoting The Rip — which hit the 2026 movie calendar January 16 and can be streamed with a Netflix subscription — the BFFs paid a visit to The Today Show, where Ben Affleck was asked his favorite thing about Matt Damon. The Gone Girl star seemed hesitant to get too “schmaltzy” but gave a sincere response all the same, saying:

I mean, there really are few things more beautiful than seeing a man be able to express such pure love to a friend like that. Matt Damon has supported Ben Affleck with his sobriety journey, as well as during his divorce from Jennifer Lopez, with the Saving Private Ryan star reportedly encouraging Affleck to focus on his work.

Ben Affleck even acknowledged this last year when he said he knew how “lucky” he was to have a friend like Matt Damon. So, given all the compliments being lobbed his way, how did Damon respond to the same question regarding his favorite trait of Affleck's? With a straight face, he said:

The answer shocked and delighted Ben Affleck, as both men erupted into laughter that made it clear that it couldn’t be further from the truth. You can see their full exchange below:

There’s no questioning the bond that these two pals have, and of course, that comes with a healthy dose of ribbing from both parties. Ben Affleck roasted Matt Damon last year for flexing his abs for the paparazzi while shooting The Odyssey — even if Affleck did follow that up with a compliment on how great his pal looked. Affleck does, however, seem to stand by his belief that he has superior facial hair to The Bourne Identity star.

All the jokes probably help to keep the actors humble, and if the two of them don’t have that covered — laughing at their hilariously disorganized Oscars acceptance speech, talking about their “dad bods” in The Rip, and Matt Damon admitting that his wife thought Ben Affleck was the cute one in Good Will Hunting — there’s always Damon’s daughter to pick up the slack with jokes about their red carpet poses.

Obviously, these two love working together — both in front of and behind the camera with their production company — and we can only hope there’s no end in sight to their projects, despite Matt Damon staying hilariously mum regarding his feelings for his buddy. You can see them both in The Rip, a wonderfully twisty action thriller, which is on Netflix now.