Kevin Smith reveals why he refused to direct Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Good Will Hunting
American filmmaker Kevin Smith recently explained why he refused to direct Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Good Will Hunting, despite playing a key role in getting the 1997 film produced. In an interview published on June 7, 2025, by People, the 54-year-old filmmaker recalled how he first met Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the mid-1990s and helped them bring their script to Miramax after it was initially sold to Castle Rock Entertainment.
Smith's comments came as part of a conversation around the 25th anniversary of Dogma, his 1999 film that also featured Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in major roles.
Though closely involved in Good Will Hunting’s early production journey, Kevin Smith made it clear that he did not feel he was the right choice to direct a film that Affleck and Damon had written themselves.
“The first question I was asked by Ben and Matt, and the Miramax folks was, ‘Do you wanna direct it?’ Naturally, I was like, ‘Oh my God, no. If I were to direct this, I would just turn around to Ben and Matt the whole time and say, ‘Is this what you saw when you wrote it?’"
More about Kevin Smith's involvement in Good Will Hunting
According to Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and some other Miramax executives initially asked him to direct Good Will Hunting once the project was brought into Castle Rock. However, Smith said he immediately declined.
He felt that because Affleck and Damon had written the screenplay, they should be allowed to shape its creative direction. While he did suggest to Miramax that they should consider letting the actor duo direct the film themselves, that idea was rejected:
“I was told that the lunatics would not be running that particular asylum, so the search for a director began at Miramax."
Smith noted that several high-profile directors expressed interest in directing the project after he turned it down. Speaking to People, he said over 20 directors showed interest, including Michael Mann and Mel Gibson.
Eventually, Gus Van Sant became the director of Good Will Hunting, who had previously worked with Casey Affleck on To Die For (1995).
According to Smith, Casey Affleck's experience with Van Sant had an influence on the final decision.
Van Sant's direction of Good Will Hunting was a success. The film received nine Academy Award nominations.
It won two of them, including Best Original Screenplay for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams.
Kevin Smith talks about Dogma
The success of Good Will Hunting, along with Ben Affleck’s earlier work in Kevin Smith’s 1007 film Chasing Amy, gave the director-actor trio the push they needed to move forward with Dogma.
Smith recalled giving Affleck the scripts for both Dogma and Chasing Amy years earlier, but had let him know that Dogma would need a lot of backing to produce:
“I said, ‘This one’s going to need movie stars.’”
Kevin Smith recounted how the production team was finally able to secure funding for Dogma after Damon and Affleck were nominated for Academy Awards.
Smith said that Ben Affleck acknowledged news of his Academy nomination with humor on the sets of Dogma.
"Ben looks me dead in the eyes, and he goes, ‘Guess who became a movie star just to do your stupid movie’”
Recalling the time, Kevin Smith said the news of the nomination came in just before the first take, and that he'll "never forget the first day."
Kevin Smith also shared more about Dogma in honor of its 25th anniversary and theatrical re-release. He described the film as his expression of faith at the time, framing it as “my idea of church."
Smith also said he was surprised by the early backlash, including “400,000 pieces of hate mail” and death threats, which he sees as misplaced reactions to his comedic approach
