Matt Damon Reveals Ben Affleck’s Emotional Reaction to ‘The Odyssey’ – A Phone Call 45 Years in the Making

‘The Odyssey‘ has already given Matt Damon plenty to talk about during its press tour, from the grueling six-month shoot to the physical transformation he underwent for the role of Odysseus. But amid all the talk of IMAX cameras and real ocean storms, it is the personal moments Damon has shared along the way that have resonated most with fans.

Damon has been candid about how much the film meant to him on a deeply personal level, describing it at various points as the hardest movie he has ever made and one that pulled from his own experience of being away from his family for long stretches. That vulnerability carried over into how he talked about the people closest to him reacting to his work.

Among the most touching moments to emerge from the press run was Damon revealing that his longtime best friend and collaborator Ben Affleck had already seen ‘The Odyssey’ and called him afterward. Speaking about the moment, Damon said he had been waiting 45 years for that phone call, a nod to the more than four decades the two actors have known each other since childhood in the Boston area.

Damon has described the bond between him and Affleck as one of the great loves of his life, tracing it back to their teenage years spent auditioning together and eventually co-writing ‘Good Will Hunting’. He explained that even after taking a break from working together for a stretch of their careers, the two found their way back to each other, most recently as founders of their production company Artists Equity.

The emotional weight of Affleck’s reaction was not the only personal moment Damon shared about the film’s impact on his family. He also revealed that one of his daughters turned to him after watching ‘The Odyssey’ and told him she was proud of him, a comment he called unlike anything she had said to him before.

Damon has spoken about how being away from his four daughters during filming ended up shaping his performance, saying the ache of missing them was an easy feeling to channel into Odysseus’ own longing to return home to his family. That parallel between his real life and the character’s journey appears to have made the finished film land even harder once his loved ones finally saw it.

Damon told the Mirror US that watching the film with his youngest daughter, who was 11 years old at the time, led to an unexpectedly emotional moment of his own, as he found himself crying during a scene and having to explain his reaction to her. He connected his tears to the story of two old friends who could not find their way back to working together, saying it reminded him of his own history with Affleck before the two reconciled and eventually built a business together.

Fans following the press tour have responded warmly to these glimpses into Damon’s personal life, with many pointing out how rare it is for a blockbuster press run to feel this candid. Between the stories about Affleck and his daughters, Damon has painted a picture of ‘The Odyssey’ as more than just another massive Hollywood production, framing it instead as a project tied closely to the people who have shaped his life and career.

‘The Odyssey’ opens in theaters on July 17, following preview screenings the night before, and stars Damon as Odysseus alongside Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, and Charlize Theron.

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