Matt Damon shares why 'AIR' almost didn't happen
At a press conference for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's movie ‘AIR,’ Damon related the phone call he received from Affleck where he explained the only way the movie could be created.
Before reaching A-list status in Hollywood, some celebrities were once roommates in the early years of their careers.
Many celebrity roommates, such as Dianna Agron and Lea Michele, met and lived together because they starred in the same show. In this case, Agron and Michele were both actors of "Glee," and decided to room together while filming.
Other Hollywood elites, like Brad Pitt and Jason Priestley, were aspiring actors on the hunt for their big break. This pair decided living together could cut expenses as they worked to make it on the big screens.
Judd Apatow, left, and Adam Sandler were roommates for a time in their careers. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Here is a list of celebrities who lived together for a time in the early stages of their careers while working within the entertainment industry.
1. Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow
Before Adam Sandler joined "Saturday Night Live," he was the roommate of Hollywood director and producer Judd Apatow.
During a 2012 episode of "60 Minutes Overtime," the two spoke about their time together as roommates while they were both up-and-coming comedians. Apatow explained that their days under one roof came to an end when Sandler packed up his things and headed to New York City for "Saturday Night Live."
Sandler continued to pay rent at the place he shared with Apatow in the event he was fired from 'SNL.' However, Apatow said that Sandler never came back.
By 2009, Sandler had a number of successful comedies like "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore" and "The Waterboy" under his belt. In the summer of that year, Sandler starred in Apatow's film "Funny People."
2. Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake
Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake go way back.
Before Gosling starred as Ken in the 2023 summer blockbuster "Barbie" and prior to Justin Timberlake becoming a Grammy-winning artist, they both were part of the children’s series "Mickey Mouse Club."
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Justin Timberlake, left, and Ryan Gosling lived together when they were children. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
While Gosling was on the show, his mom had to go back to work in Canada, so Gosling moved in with Timberlake and his mom in order to continue with the program.
"[Gosling's] mother had to keep her job in Canada the second year that we were on the television show and my mom was his guardian for, like, six months," Timberlake explained while on "The Ellen Show" in 2011. "So we actually lived together when we were that age. So, we were probably a little closer than the rest of the kids that were on the show just because we had to share a bathroom."
3. Brad Pitt and Jason Priestley
Brad Pitt and Jason Priestley were roommates in Los Angeles at the beginning of their careers. Priestley talked about living with Pitt in his 2014 book "Jason Priestley: A Memoir."
"We lived on Ramen noodles and generic beer — the kind that came in white cans labeled 'beer' — and Marlboro Light cigarettes," he wrote. "We were broke."
In an interview 10 years later, Priestley uncovered even more details about living with the Oscar-winning actor.
"Brad wasn’t as bad as my other roommate, who was an absolute disaster," he shared during an appearance on "Live With Kelly and Mark" in January. "We used to play this game, all of us, to see who could go the longest without showering."
4. Jennifer Coolidge and Eddie Kaye Thomas
The "American Pie" co-stars were platonic roommates for a time in the early 2000s for a year or two.
"I wasn’t the love of his life," Jennifer Coolidge jokingly said during an interview with British GQ in 2023.
"He had girlfriends," the "White Lotus" star said. "My bedroom was across the hallway from his."
5. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
It comes as no surprise that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were once roommates.
The Hollywood duo are a favorite of many fans, having worked together on a number of successful projects. Their most famous, of course, is "Good Will Hunting," the 1997 Oscar-winning movie Damon and Affleck wrote and starred in together.
Both Massachusetts natives, Ben Affleck, left, and Matt Damon have known each other since they were children. (Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
Sometimes, living with a good friend doesn’t go quite as planned, though. In a 2023 interview, Affleck shed light on what it was like having Damon as a roommate.
"Matt's never paid a bill to this day, that I know of. We're like, 'Why are the lights not working?,' and that's because the utility company needs money to continue to fund our electricity," Affleck joked during an appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Corden."
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"Matt's a beautiful guy. I love him. He's my best friend. He's been great to me my whole life. He's a brilliant guy. I would not suggest living with him," Affleck went on to say. Affleck noted that Damon’s ability to "block things out," specifically in terms of cleaning, is one contributor that made him a difficult roommate to have.
Even though Damon and Affleck did not work out as roommates, their friendship was maintained through those years living under the same roof.
6. Jason Segel and Kevin Hart
"How I Met Your Mother" actor Jason Segel ended up living with comedian Kevin Hart on a recommendation from Apatow.
Segel, Hart and many other now famous faces were part of a TV pilot, and for just a few short months, Hart and Segel became roommates. Apatow thought that their living together would be good for the show.
"None of us had really had that much success yet, and Judd Apatow, in a weird move, made Kevin Hart live with me for, like, six months," Segel recalled on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in a 2022 interview. "I just lived in a one-bedroom apartment ... So, all of a sudden, Kevin Hart was just living with me, and he'd be, like, ‘Hey man, are you making breakfast? I’d like some, too.'"
7. Raven-Symoné and Lindsay Lohan
While both were part of different Disney projects, Raven-Symoné and Lindsay Lohan lived together — sort of.
Even though Lohan paid rent and technically lived in the apartment, she didn’t spend much time there.
"She paid rent, and she was there probably three times," Symoné told Us Weekly about her former roommate in 2008.
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8. Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick
While Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick were playing best friends Nate Archibald and Chuck Bass on "Gossip Girl," they were simultaneously real-life roommates.
The two lived together when they began filming the popular New York City-based drama.
During "Gossip Girl's" beginnings, Ed Westwick, left, and Chace Crawford were roommates. (Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images)
9. Dianna Agron and Lea Michele
Even though Dianna Agron and Lea Michele played enemies on "Glee," off-screen they were actually quite close.
While they were working on a show, the two lived together.
10. Chase Stokes and Rudy Pankow
The cast of Netflix's "Outer Banks" has proven to be a tight-knit group, often posting together on social media.
During the first season of the show specifically, a large majority of the core cast lived in very close proximity. Chase Stokes and Rudy Pankow, in fact, actually lived together.
The entire cast of "Outer Banks" are close, specifically Chase Stokes, right, and Rudy Pankow, who were roommates. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)
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"Rudy and I were roommates. [Jonathan Daviss] lived down the hall. Maddie [Cline] was a floor below us. Austin [North] was three doors down," Stokes revealed during an interview with Refinery 29 in 2020. "In our house, we had this giant beanbag chair, and whether it was UFC fights or jamming out to music, or going to the beach, there was so much to do. … It was a constant party, hanging out with each other. You never knew who was going to be asleep in the living room in the morning."
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