Matt Damon: Affleck was known as a talentless meathead

Matt Damon hated when his best friend Ben Affleck was portrayed as a “talentless kind of meathead”.

The pair have been best friends for years, and famously teamed up to write and star in the Oscar-winning movie Good Will Hunting in 1997.

But while Ben is now taken seriously in the acting business, his former relationship with Jennifer Lopez led to him being landed with a reputation that Matt insists couldn’t be further from the man he knows.

"There’s nobody who’s more misunderstood," Matt said of Ben during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Ten years ago, the public image of him could not have been farther apart from who he actually is. It was like he was being cast in a role, that he was a talentless kind of meathead, with his whole relationship with Jennifer Lopez.

"He just got cast as this person that he wasn’t. It was just really painful. It was painful to be his friend, because it wasn’t fair, you know' To my mind, nobody really got him at all."

Ben and Jennifer dated from 2002 to 2004 when they called time on their engagement. As well as their off-screen relationship, the former couple also teamed up on the silver screen, in the widely panned Gigli in 2003.

Since then, Ben has successfully managed to change the way he is seen in Hollywood, mainly through his roles in films such as Oscar-winning Argo and Gone Girl.

"Through his work, he climbed from the bottom of the mountain all the way back up to the top," Matt said. "And past where either of us had ever been."

Matt also opened up about his own personal struggles during the interview. He admitted he has often found it difficult to control his anger.

“I had a terrible temper,” Matt said. “I mean, like, a problematic temper. I still get riled up and competitive.”