Matt Damon, Ben Affleck at the "The Accountant 2" Premiere during the SXSW Conference

Bro Envy

Ben Affleck confesses jealousy toward Matt Damon: Can you guess the reason?

Affleck has joked that he’s envious of his childhood pal Matt Damon’s physique transformation for his role in the upcoming movie The Odyssey

APRIL 22, 2025 8:10 AM EDTAPR 22, 2025, 8:10 AM EDT

Ben Affleck admits he’s a little jealous of Matt Damon’s impressive abs. The 54‑year‑old actor was reacting to topless pictures of Damon, taken on the set of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey. Affleck quipped that he doesn’t appreciate his longtime friend “upstaging” him with such a ripped physique.

Ben Affleck at "The Accountant 2" Los Angeles Premiere

Speaking to Access Hollywood at the premiere of his new movie The Accountant 2 on Thursday, April 17, 2025, Affleck said:

“I’m a little bit—yeah, I don’t like it. I feel like he’s upstaging me, but what are you gonna do? I gotta respect it. He does look pretty good; I’m kind of impressed.”

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon attend the premiere of "Air" during the 2023 SXSW conference in Austin, Texas

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Despite the jesting, Affleck expressed genuine admiration for Damon’s commitment to getting in shape in his 50s. “I have to say, I have to give him respect. As you get on in life, it’s less and less easy to do this, as I can tell you, and he is getting it done.”

Affleck also teased that Damon was fully aware of the paparazzi’s presence and deliberately flexed for the cameras. “You see, they just told him there were photographers out there, so he’s like, ‘I’m flexing my abs—are you watching me? Take my picture!’”

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon at "The Accountant 2" Premiere during the SXSW Conference & Festivals in Austin, Texas

Affleck and Damon have been friends since they were eight years old. In a previous interview on the Radio Times podcast, Damon reflected on the difference in their celebrity experiences, noting that tabloids largely ignored him early in his career because he led a more private, scandal‑free life. “I wasn’t an exciting story, the guy who’s married is boring! Scandal and sex, that’s what people read magazines for. I’ve been really lucky.”

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck at the premiere of "Good Will Hunting" in 1997. A movie that put both friends on the Hollywood map.

In The Accountant 2, Affleck plays Christian Wolff, a socially awkward accountant who struggles with flirting and forming relationships, traits Affleck joked are not so different from his own. “He wants to have a relationship, he’s trying to figure out how to put yourself out there. You know, he’s not comfortable extending himself. He doesn’t really know how to flirt exactly. He’s not comfortable, like so many of us.”