A photo from the 80s of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon proves how their friendship stood the test of time

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s friendship is one of Hollywood’s most precious relationships. They have been friends since childhood and probably wouldn’t be where they are in their careers without each other. They both grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they first met as kids, living just two blocks away from each other. While they didn’t break into the limelight into “Good Will Hunting,” old photobooth photos recently went viral, and their matching pooka shell necklaces and endearing smiles have captured the hearts of their fans.

© @bestaffleck

An Affleck fan account shared the photos on Twitter, which are from 1980s’ and the account said they were 15, and 16. It’s been viewed of 16 million times.

© @bestaffleck

An everlasting friendship

© GettyImages

Affleck and Damon both attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. “We were basically best friends since I was 10 and he was 8,” Damon told Interview. He said he was “forced into hanging out with Ben” because his mom was a professor of early childhood development, and she knew Affleck’s mother, “who’s a teacher of little kids — and sought her out after we moved back to Cambridge.”

After high school, they pursued acting and writing, lived together in Los Angeles and even shared a bank account well into their 20s. They co-wrote their screenplay, Good Will Hunting drawing on their personal experiences and upbringing in Boston. It was released in 1997, with Damon playing the lead role and Affleck in the supporting role as Charlie. The film was a critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Screenplay.

It launched both their careers in Hollywood, and they’ve remained close friends and collaborators, appearing in each other’s films, like Dogma (1999) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). They co-wrote the 2021 film The Last Duel, their first screenplay together since their Good Will Hunting. 2023 then saw the release of Air, which starred Damon as the lead, and was directed by Affleck. The Hypnotic star also played a supporting role.