In the early days of their career Matt Damon and Ben Affleck worked on the film Goodwill Hunting together and as a result they were surrounded by speculation that they were an item.
In an interview with The Guardian the 44-year-old finally addressed the rumours some 17 years later.
“When Ben and I first came on the scene there were rumours that we were gay because it was two guys who wrote a script together,” he told the publication.
“I know. It’s just like any piece of gossip … and it put us in a weird position of having to answer, you know what I mean?” He said before adding, “Which was then really deeply offensive.”
“I don’t want to, like [imply] it’s some sort of disease – then it’s like I’m throwing my friends under the bus,” he says. “But at the time, I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay and this guy – more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor – it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out.”
Matt, who has been married to Luciana Barroso since 2005, felt uncomfortable being labelled as gay in the late nineties in a time when homosexuality was less accepted.
Matt Damon married Luciana Barroso in 2005.
And although he has welcomed the progress society has made toward the LGBTI community, he still believes it’s difficult to be an openly gay actor – even in 2015.
“I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly,” he says. “I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you, period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”
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