Ben Affleck And Matt Damon Had Completely Different Approaches To Shirtless Scenes In Hollywood

Highlights

Matt Damon avoided shirtless scenes to avoid being typecast based on his physique, focusing on longevity in Hollywood.
Ben Affleck embraced the challenge of looking the part for Batman, working hard on his physical and mental health for the role.
Fans are split on who had the better career between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, with opinions varying on their acting and directing abilities.

As if acting in a film isn’t stressful enough, there is also the added pressure of looking the part. This can cause an emotional breakdown for some of the best stars in Hollywood. Even Tom Cruise admits the shirtless scene in Top Gun caused lots of distress for the likes of Miles Teller and Glen Powell.

Matt Damon took a completely different stance on the matter. The actor avoided shirtless scenes altogether. He had an intelligent mindset when it came to showing off his physique in films. As for Ben Affleck, he is completely different, motivated to look the role in certain instances, like Batman. Let’s take a closer look at their mindsets throughout the years when it came to shooting the particular scene.

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Matt Damon Avoided Shirtless Scenes In Fear He’d Be Stereotyped In Those Types Of Roles

Matt Damon continues to enjoy phenomenal success in Hollywood, though his roles are few and far between nowadays compared to the ’90s and early 2000s. Damon had a couple of principles he stuck to throughout his career. One of them was being very selective about scenes he’d shoot, especially those that required him to go shirtless. This didn’t have anything to do with Damon staying in shape, the actor looked great throughout his career. Instead, Damon didn’t want to be known for his work without a shirt. The actor admits this would set expectations and once his body changed, casting him would be problematic.

Damon revealed, “I don’t like those movies where there’s just the gratuitous shot, you know, we call it the beefcake shot.”

He continues, “Every five years, there’s a new crop (of moviegoers), and they have no idea who you are. If your identity is somehow tied to that [your looks], you’re in deep trouble. Because if it’s not happening now, it’s going to happen at some point.”

Matt Damon had a forgettable kissing scene with Scarlett Johansson in
We Bought a Zoo
due to her lunch choice.

Even when Damon was in the best shape of his life for the Bourne films, he still hesitated to take a shot without a shirt. The only time he agreed was for the purpose of the Bourne plot.

“For the Jason Bourne movie, [the shirtless scene] was telling a story about where he’d been for the last 10 years. And I went, ‘Okay,’ because I resisted taking my shirt off in the other Jason Bourne movies,” he revealed. “The only time we did was in the first one and Doug Liman [director] purposely shot only on my back so you just see the two bullet holes.”

Matt Damon used a double for his speedo scene in Behind the Candleabra.

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Ultimately, Damon knew what was best for his career, especially in terms of longevity in Hollywood.

Ben Affleck Embraced The Challenge Of Looking The Role For Batman

Ben Affleck wasn’t as hesitant to take on shirtless roles. In fact, he embraced getting big for Batman. Affleck knew this was a big expectation, and made sure to get in top shape for the role. “I knew that a big part of the audience’s expectation around the role would be how I looked physically,” Affleck tells Men’s Journal.

Affleck continued, “And that was something I had some control over. If I was going to fail in this role, I wasn’t going to let it be in a way that could have been prevented if I had worked harder.”

Ben Affleck has a net worth of $150 million.

Affleck partnered with trainer Walter Norton Jr. Ben revealed that getting size was key, but so was his physical and mental health.

“Getting ready for this role meant working hard, day in and day out with Walter,” says Affleck. “But it was the kind of work where I felt gains in not only my size, but also my mental and physical health.”

Affleck went from 198 all the way up to 231, while trying to keep his new muscle mass as lean as possible. Getting him a “thicker” look was the goal. Classic bodybuilding movements was a major part of Affleck’s prep, along with functional aspects like farmers walks for his overall cardio and core.

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Affleck certainly did a great job in the role. Though fans debated if CGI and doubles were involved during certain montages of the film. This was not confirmed, however, by Affleck or any of those working behind the scenes on Batman.

Fans Are Split On Who Had The Better Career Between Matt Damon And Ben Affleck

From strictly a box office standpoint, Matt Damon edges Ben Affleck out, but not by much. Damon is at $5,685,367,680 worldwide at the box office, while Affleck sits at an equally impressive $4,007,260,023.

Matt Damon edges Ben Affleck out with a $170 million net worth.

Fans debated on Reddit who had the better career. Opinions seem to be split.

Fans wrote, “Affleck by far has the worst films of the two; Reindeer Games, Gili, and Daredevil. Then Batman v Superman and Justice League. I think Matt is the better actor, I don’t think Affleck has done anything as good as Mr. Ripley performance wise. Affleck is a hell of a director and a good actor too though.”

“I would say Damon is a better actor but Affleck has a wider range as he is a director as well. I did however feel like Affleck outplayed Damon in Air. He was hilarious,” another fan wrote.

“Affleck had a great comeback. I’m surprised he hasn’t directed more since The Town. Damon has some terrible movies (so does Affleck) but he probably has more great ones.”

The actors will forever be compared, but continue to share a close relationship.