Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been friends since they were kids, with the same dream to make it big in Hollywood. It’s a remarkable achievement that they both succeeded so well, and yet, the pair have taken very different paths since sharing the Oscar for Good Will Hunting.
One of the biggest differences between the pair is that Affleck has become a director, and a fairly accomplished one, while Damon has yet to lead a production behind the camera. In a conversation with GQ, the friends talked about why Damon has yet to direct, and Affleck believes the reason is that the reason is that is friend has had more consistent and bigger acting opportunities over his career. The Gone Girl star said…
You know why he really doesn’t direct? It’s because it’s hard to compete with the kind of acting opportunities that he has. Case in point, The Odyssey. Well, that comes along, whatever. No directing opportunity is going to sort of compete with that.
While both actors are big stars with plenty of big roles under their belts, it’s hard to argue that Damon is the bigger “movie star” of the two. He led the Jason Bourne movies, a significant franchise. He’s also worked with top directors, like Christopher Nolan, as he does in the upcoming The Odyssey.
When you have those opportunities, Ben Affleck says it’s hard to decide to focus on directing, which is a tough gig at the best of times. Affleck directed Best Picture winner Argo, and has also directed Matt Damon in Air, the story of the Air Jordan sneaker.
Damon also has growing kids. It seems he’s been unwilling to devote the time that directing would require, since it would mean more time away from family. Affleck continued…
First of all, a first time out, it’s like everybody’s — the knives are sharpened. And it’s a lot of hard work, and it’s very — also, the being away from your kids and the time-consuming nature I actually think is the main reason. If you didn’t have to do it, you’d have directed a long time ago. But like, your time is precious already. Sometimes [you] have to be traveling and, obviously [your wife,] Luci’s, doing a ton, and it’s not easy. And I’ve tried a few times to be like, ‘Hey, what about this?’
It’s interesting that Affleck says he has actively tried to help Matt Damon find a project to direct, and yet we have yet to see something materialize. Still, he’s clear that he thinks if we ever get a Matt Damon-directed film, it will be great…
I think Matt would be a phenomenal director, like a really, really good director, no question. But you have so much time, and one of the things about life is like, we both learn, I think, is you only get these years once with your children at these very stages.
Damon himself mentions that his kids are getting older, so we’re probably only a few years away from the actor having more time to pursue additional opportunities. Maybe a Matt Damon directed film isn’t too far away.