Matt Damon speaks out on the death of Robin Williams

September 25, 2014, Matt Damon spoke out for the first time about the suicide of Robin Williams, saying "Ben and I owe everything to him. He said yes to our movie and he got it made. I could never thank him enough," Damon told Katie Couric. "You know, I look around at the life I have and how blessed I feel, and so much of it started with him." Though their script sold quickly, "Good Will Hunting" lingered in preproduction for two years until Williams signed on. Not only did the film launch the careers of Damon (who was nominated for best actor in the Academy Awards) and Affleck (who won a best picture Oscar in 2012 for directing "Argo"), but it earned Robin Williams his only Academy Award, for Actor in a Supporting Role. Damon recalls the pleasure of working with Williams on "Good Will Hunting," telling Couric, "He was the funniest person that I ever met in my life. He was the guy who, when the crew was flagging, he would stop everything and do 20 minutes of standup off the top of his head that literally had everybody on the floor, then be like, 'OK, let's get back to work.'"

In spite of their closeness on set, Damon admitted that he'd fallen out of touch with Williams in recent years, and he was "shocked" by the news of his death.  In the wake of his friend's suicide, Damon expressed hope that depression would lose some of its stigma. "It's a sign of incredible strength and fortitude," Damon said, "to be able to stand up and say, 'This is real, this is happening to me, and I need your help.'"

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