Matt Damon jokes Ben Affleck has been directing him 'for 40-something years'
Matt Damon recently joked that his longtime friend Ben Affleck has been directed him "40-something years".
The childhood friends won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting and have starred in multiple films together throughout their careers, but their latest collaboration AIR marks the first time Damon has been directed by Affleck.
However, during a post-screening Q&A session in New York City on Monday, Damon joked that he has been unofficially receiving acting advice from Affleck for many years.
"Well, it might seem like the first time he's directed me," Damon laughed, reports IndieWire. "I mean, we did high school plays where he was like, 'Dude, I think you should do it like this.' He's been directing me for like 40-something years."
During Damon's answer, Affleck interjected, "It's not the first time I've carried him!"
The Martian star added that it felt like "kind of a natural progression" of their friendship to be officially directed by Affleck.
"We've written a bunch of movies and produced and acted together for so many years and decades, so it didn't feel any different, working this way," he noted.
AIR, which is based on a true story, is the first film from their new production company Artists Equity, and it marks Affleck's first time directing since Live By Night in 2016.
AIR, which is released on 5 April, stars Affleck as Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the marketing executive who signed basketball legend Michael Jordan to a sponsorship deal and helped launch Air Jordan sneakers.
