Nearly 26 years after Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s memorable Oscars win for “Good Will Hunting,” the iconic acceptance speech has resurfaced, drawing attention to Minnie Driver’s seemingly glum expression. The actress played Skylar, the love interest of Matt Damon’s character in the film and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars that year.
In the resurfaced footage, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, aged 25 and 27 at the time, gave an enthusiastic yet nervous acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay. The camera panned to Minnie Driver, who appeared visibly upset despite being praised by the duo for her “brilliant” performance.
Addressing the speculation around her expression, Minnie Driver commented on the clip, revealing the heartbreaking reason behind her sadness. She explained that Matt had ended their relationship a few weeks before the Oscars, and he attended the event with his new girlfriend. Minnie expressed her devastation at the time.
“I just said to Matt, losing would suck and winning would be really scary — and it is really, really scary.
The romantic bond between Matt Damon and Minnie Driver had developed during the filming of “Good Will Hunting,” and they dated from 1997 to 1998. Matt Damon broke the news of their split on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” stating that they were no longer romantically involved but remained good friends.
In fact, Minnie herself chimed in to poke fun at the clip, commenting: “My face,” with a string of laughing emojis and a red heart.
Reflecting on the breakup years later, Minnie Driver criticized the public nature of Matt Damon’s announcement and called it “fantastically inappropriate.” She expressed the challenges of dealing with a public breakup and being cast as a wronged woman.
“Everything has to be made so mythic,” she told the LA Times. “I had to be the victim. It’s horrendous breaking up with someone anyway, but to have it be so public and to be cast in a role that I would never play if they were paying me — this wronged woman!”
“I don’t care who you are, that is agony and it’s like a strange, surreal dream,” she said. “It’s so tricky, because it’s not deliberate, he couldn’t have helped how famous he became and how his life was being picked over, in the same way that mine was.”
“We’re not friends, but I feel an enormous amount of love for him.”
Despite the difficulties, Minnie Driver and Matt Damon eventually moved on with their lives. Matt Damon married Luciana Barroso in 2005, while Minnie Driver has been in a relationship with filmmaker Addison O’Dea since 2019. Despite not being friends, Minnie Driver has mentioned feeling an enormous amount of love for Matt Damon.
“Matt had ended our relationship a few weeks before this, and was at the Oscars with his new gf,” she wrote. “I was devastated.”
Wish I could have celebrated more as it was an amazing moment for all of us, and for this wonderful film.”
