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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Kathryn Vann

Matt Damon says Beatles documentary convinced him to keep working with Ben Affleck

Matt Damon credited Peter Jackson’s Beatles docuseries, Get Back, for inspiring him to make more films with Ben Affleck.

The Massachusetts-born actors have a long standing relationship with each other in Hollywood, first gaining high appraisal for their work together on Good Will Hunting, which earned them the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

Over the past five years, the two have starred in three films together after Damon was moved to tears by the 2021 Beatles documentary, knowing that the famous band never worked together again.

“Who cares if we oversaturate the marketplace with movies we’re both in?” Damon said in an interview with GQ. “We’re crazy if we don’t take advantage of the fact that we are both still here and able to do this.”

Their most recent films include The Last Duel, Air and their latest, The Rip. The project, directed by Joe Carnahan of Smokin Aces and The Grey, portrays the dynamic duo in a cop thriller set in Miami.

“Our goal is always to just make movies that we think we’ll like,” added Damon. “Which is really the same calculus we use in our own careers as actors.”

Affleck and Damon have known each other since the 1980s (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)

Also featuring Steven Yuen and Teyana Taylor, Damon and Affleck pursued the project through their production company, Artist Equity. Founded by the two, the company focuses on profit-sharing for artists.

From settings in medieval France to a biopic on Air Jordans, the actors are keen to take on anything that Damon calls “a good movie.”

Affleck, meanwhile, calls his friend and colleague a “versatile actor”.

“Every time I act with Matt is a humbling experience because I learn to appreciate further just how good an actor he is,” Affleck added. “He is really a master of realism and it’s something I deeply admire about him. One of many things.”

The Rip premieres on Netflix 16 January 2026, but this is far from the last film featuring the two Oscar-winning actors.

“We got more movies to make together,” Affleck affirmed.

Outside of their combined works, Damon is due to star in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey on 17 July 2026.

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