Hollywood friendships can survive awards-season competition, blockbuster success and decades of creative differences. For Casey Affleck, his relationship with Matt Damon began long before either actor became even a familiar face on the big screen. At the premiere of his latest directorial feature, Company, Affleck revisited their childhood dynamic, offering a playful account of the rivalry that has followed them into adulthood.

Their shared history stretches back to school, where Damon’s confidence apparently made quite an impression on his younger friend.

Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, Casey Affleck recalled growing up in Massachusetts with Matt Damon and his older brother, Ben Affleck. The trio shared a theater teacher whose influence helped shape their early interest in acting. But while Damon was already displaying the confidence of a budding performer, Casey was still finding his footing.

“Matt was always a bit of a showoff. He was outgoing and would do talent shows and stuff,” Affleck recalled, describing Damon’s early theatrical flair.

He also acknowledged that Damon’s eventual success was hardly surprising, given the talent he displayed from a young age (via The Hollywood Reporter).

“He’s a funny case because he’s a very talented actor who has a kind of movie star persona, a matinee idol appeal, at the same time, which Ben and I don’t really have,” he said.

Affleck distinguished Damon’s movie-star appeal from his own and Ben’s different career paths, while emphasizing his respect for his longtime friend.

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Affleck’s distance from Hollywood’s inner circle, meanwhile, has become less a career complication than a label he now embraces.

During the same masterclass in Zurich, Casey Affleck reflected on being described as a “Hollywood outsider” in a past profile. Initially, the characterization frustrated him, particularly given his Oscar-winning performance in Manchester by the Sea and his work in major studio productions. He quickly reevaluated the thought. 

“I would much rather be an outsider in Hollywood than be an insider in Hollywood," he said.

"I don’t think it’s a great culture. I don’t love the movies that are made by Hollywood. I don’t love the system of Hollywood, and I’m very happy being thought of as an outsider,” Affleck concluded. 

Affleck’s career has moved between independent dramas and studio films, including Gone Baby Gone, Interstellar and Oppenheimer. His performance in Manchester by the Sea earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2017, while his directing work has continued with Company, his third feature behind the camera.

For Casey Affleck, the outsider identity appears compatible with a career that has included major recognition without requiring him to embrace Hollywood’s machinery. And much like his enduring rivalry with Damon, adding to the latter's decades-long list of feuds, it remains a distinction shaped by his own terms.

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What do you think of Casey Affleck's opinions on Matt Damon? Let us know in the comments.