Matt Damon confesses Ben Affleck gave him a call he'd waited 45 years for

Matt Damon described Ben Affleck as "one of the great loves of my life," while reflecting on their decades-long friendship and revealing the filmmaker's enthusiastic reaction to The Odyssey.

Speaking during an MTV UK video interview alongside The Odyssey co-star Zendaya, Damon praised his longtime friend and collaborator after being shown a photo of Affleck.

"Look at that dashing picture of him. He's really giving Blue Steel in that one," Damon joked, referencing Ben Stiller's signature pose in Zoolander.

"We've been through a whole hell of a lot together, and he's one of the great loves of my life, I will say about Ben."

Matt Damon shares Ben Affleck's reaction to The Odyssey

Damon also recalled Affleck's response after watching Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, marking the actor's third collaboration with the filmmaker after Interstellar and Oppenheimer.

"I got a phone call from him that I think I've been waiting 45 years to get," Damon said.

"He didn't stop talking for an hour. It was like he'd seen the movie 20 times. He got absolutely everything. Every detail. He somehow soaked it all in in one viewing."

According to Damon, Affleck's praise ranked among the three most meaningful reactions he has received to the film, alongside his wife's feedback and his daughter Isabella's review.

Daughter Isabella is Damon's toughest critic

Damon said his daughter is usually difficult to impress, recalling her reaction to his 2016 film The Great Wall.

"She said, 'Dad, I'm proud of you,'" he shared.

He then remembered correcting her after she referred to the movie as The Wall.

"I'm like, 'Isabella, it's called The Great Wall.' And she's like, 'Dad, there's nothing great about that movie.'"

"So she is a very tough critic, and so those reactions — I feel like the movie's already come out."

Affleck has previously praised The Odyssey, telling Esquire that he made a special trip to a cinema just to watch the trailer. He also told GQ he had considered visiting the film's set simply to watch Nolan direct.

Damon and Affleck have been friends since childhood in Boston. They won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting and have since reunited on films including Dogma, Air and The Rip. They also co-founded Artists Equity in 2022.

The Odyssey is now playing in theatres.