Good Will Hunting, Ben Affleck, ...

It's a nice justification, but Damon seems more propelled by the fear that at any second, the prom king will once again be asked to leave the dance. Indeed, one look at his best friend's downward career spiral would be enough to send shivers down anyone's spine: Affleck went from nailing the Jack Ryan franchise with 2002's ''The Sum of All Fears'' to falling off the talent radar with back-to-back disappointments ''Daredevil,'' ''Gigli,'' ''Paycheck,'' and ''Jersey Girl.'' Damon says the attention Affleck received during his time with J. Lo hasn't helped matters. ''People get sick of seeing a certain person, and they revolt. The last thing you want to do is be the cover child of the tabloids. Monday, Ben has coffee, Ben goes to the bookstore, and then all the mystery is taken out of your life. And who the hell is going to pay $10 to see your movie? But it'll quiet down for him.

''This is the most insecure profession,'' Damon continues. ''Everyone is on shaky ground, I don't care who they are. Look at all the people who were stars 10 and 20 years ago. Not many of them are around. That doesn't mean you can't act. It just depends on what you're in it for. And if you're in it to be a movie star, you're f---ed. Because no matter who you are, that s--- will go away, I guarantee you.''

And Damon, ever the pragmatist, has a backup plan. Of working with Soderbergh he says, ''If one hypothetically wanted to direct, one could hypothetically pick up a lot of things. But I have to write something to direct.'' He and Affleck have been talking about reteaming on a screenplay since Hunting, but ''we couldn't turn down the acting work,'' Damon explains. ''It's really f---ing hard, after years of banging on closed doors, to have them open up in front of you and not go through them. I'm not looking for the black cloud to come,'' he continues. ''I've just accepted that it will.''

(This is an online-only excerpt of Entertainment Weekly's July 23, 2004, cover story.)

Originally posted Jul 13, 2004 Published in issue #775 Jul 23, 2004 Order article reprints
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