Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Have won awards both together and separately, like the Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting, and they will reunite to accept another prize in Robin Williams’ memory.
The pair will travel to San Francisco to receive the 9th Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award. It will be presented by Glenn Close‘s nonprofit Bring Change to Mind at the organization’s Revels & Revelations Celebration. The fundraiser is set to take place at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture on April 27.
Affleck and Damon will receive the award from Robin’s own children, Zak, Zelda, and Cody Williams. It’s an honor designed to recognize “their impact and the power of storytelling and connection to spark real change.”
“Robin wasn’t just someone we admired. He made our dreams come true. We owe everything to him. He said yes to our movie and we got it made. Receiving the Legacy of Laughter Award, created in honor of Robin Williams, is incredibly meaningful to us. His legacy isn’t just about his talent and how much he made the world laugh — it’s about how deeply he cared. This honor carries his spirit, and that means everything to us.”
The two said in a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter
The pair starred opposite the late legend in Gus Van Sant‘s 1997 film. The movie earned Williams an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. At the 70th Academy Awards, Good Will Hunting received nine nominations and won Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Affleck and Damon.
What Williams Meant to Them
The bond between the three went far deeper than the set. In a previous interview with E!, Damon recalled watching Williams perform on their very first day of shooting.
“We weren’t working that day and we just saw them rehearse and we were kind of sitting off to the side of the camera,”
“By the time they said, ‘Action,’ tears were just falling down my face. I couldn’t believe it. I was just looking at Robin start to speak and say these words that Ben and I had just worked on for five years.”
Damon said in his interview with E!
After Williams passed away in 2014, both men paid tribute publicly. Affleck wrote “Thanks chief—for your friendship and for what you gave the world,” on social media, while Damon said in a statement, “Robin brought so much joy into my life and I will carry that joy with me forever.”
The event also marks a milestone for Bring Change to Mind as it celebrates 15 years of impact and a decade steering student programming. Philanthropist Pam Baer will also be honored with a Champion of Change Award. She is being acknowledged for her leadership in advancing mental health awareness.
Prior recipients of the Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award include Amy Poehler and Ryan Reynolds. Affleck and Damon most recently teamed on The Rip for Netflix, while Damon next toplines Christopher Nolan‘s star-packed The Odyssey.
