Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are two of the most famous faces in Hollywood. Damon is a king of blockbusters, starring in movies like "The Departed," and the Bourne trilogy. Affleck recently starred in the 2013 Best Picture winner "Argo." Oh yeah, and he also directed it. These men have built such successful individual careers that it is easy to forget how the names Matt Damon and Ben Affleck used to go together like Batman and Robin, or peanut butter and jelly.

Matt and Ben grew up Cambridge, Massachusetts (located next to Boston), and were neighbors. They were actors at heart— putting on skits with other local children. When they got older, Affleck moved to Hollywood, while Damon stayed in Cambridge and attended Harvard University.

During his final year at Harvard, Matt took a one-act play writing class. While writing his play, Matt realized there was a problem. He wasn't writing a play, but something much longer. It was the start of a screenplay that would change Matt's life forever. The script, which was eventually named "Good Will Hunting," was about a young genius from a rough part of Boston, who worked as a janitor in Harvard University. It was also a tribute to the city he loved.

Matt soon moved to Hollywood to act in a film. He couldn't afford his own place, but slept on Ben Affleck's floor. Matt showed Ben his unfinished screenplay. Together they fleshed out the story, and perfected the dialogue. Late at night, after working on their other projects, they would recite scenes from the script to each other. Matt Damon said of those script writing days: "It was the first thing we woke up thinking about and the last thing we thought about before going to bed."

Quickly, they learned that having a finished script does not automatically mean that it will become a movie. They needed a producer to back their project. Though their story struck a chord with many people, there was one catch that prevented many producers from coming on board: Matt and Ben also wanted to star in their film. This was non-negotiable.

Their demand was risky. Though Matt and Ben had acting experience, they were still fairly unknown. Also, if it took too long for the movie to be made, Matt and Ben would grow too old to play the young characters from their script.

After several misfires, they found a producer who not only loved their script, but believed that Matt and Ben could bring it to life. They even had a real star to lend their film credibility. Robin Williams, better known for his comic roles, would play the title character's psychiatrist. After four years, their dream was becoming a reality.

Once filming started, Matt and Ben tried to keep the Boston scenes authentic. They needed the actors to dress and talk like "Southies"—people from South Boston. South Boston was mainly working class— a melting pot of people whose ancestors had immigrated from Ireland, Poland, and other parts of the world. Though some of the scenes were not filmed on location in Boston, the actors needed to have realistic Boston accents.

Matt and Ben even managed to get real footage from a Boston Red Sox game for their film, and permission to use the team's logo. However, the Red Sox were initially skeptical, and did not grant their permission right away. Since there was a tight filming deadline, Matt and Ben convinced the producer to film crucial scenes with the actors wearing Red Sox hats and shirts. They did this knowing that they might have to painstakingly edit out the logos later. After all, it wouldn't be Boston without the Red Sox.

"Good Will Hunting" cleaned up during the 1998 Oscars—it was even nominated for Best Picture.

Matt Damon was nominated for Best Actor, and Robin Williams' gamble with an unknown movie paid off big time. Williams took home Best Supporting Actor: his first and only Oscar win. And, though it had taken years for their finished script to become a movie, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were still the youngest people to ever win Best Original Screenplay.