NEW YORK – You know that scene in “Step Brothers,” when Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly realize they just became best friends?
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck can relate, having grown up as childhood pals just outside Boston.
“I don’t know if there was a moment of, ‘You want to go do karate in the garage?’ ” Damon says with a laugh, seated with Affleck in a Midtown hotel. Rather, “it was an incremental series of those moments. Friendships at that age are incredible and special and life-changing.”
Together they’ve conquered Hollywood over the past 30 years. Their latest team-up is “The Rip” (streaming on Netflix Jan. 16), playing Miami police officers whose loyalties are tested after stumbling upon $20 million in cash. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the action thriller is loosely inspired by the true story of one of Carnahan's law enforcement friends, who also helped recruit real-life police officers to appear in the film.
On the set with Affleck and Damon, “you could feel how deeply they respect and love each other,” Carnahan says. “You’ve known this guy since he was a kid – you can’t jimmy up that kind of connection.”
