Ben Affleck: 'I wish to God' Matt Damon got Robin role as child actor

Ben Affleck stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night to reminisce about his days as a child actor with close friend Matt Damon. He also talked about a belly dancer at his birthday party when he was 12, staying consistent with the birthday theme of the episode: The late-night host celebrated his 50th birthday with many surprises — Affleck and director J.J. Abrams premiered a star-studded trailer, and Kimmel got roasted by a barrage of mean tweets, including a notable one from Kanye West.

Affleck specifically recalled an audition for a “secret project” that both he and Damon read for in their youth. The two shared the same agent — Damon apparently hired the same one as Affleck after complaining about his lack of an agent — and subsequently auditioned for many of the same roles. The secret project ultimately turned out to be for the part of Robin in Tim Burton’s Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Although Affleck says “we were both pretty sure we got the part,” neither did in the end, with Robin not making the final cut. Even so, he still wishes that Damon landed the role.

“I wish to God he had gotten that part,” Affleck emphasized.

Of course, Kimmel couldn’t pass up taking a jab at his frenemy before the end of the clip. “That’s so sad though, in a way, that you went on to become Batman — not only didn’t he get to be Robin, he’s like begging for little bit parts in Thor,” he joked.

Watch the full clip above.