在好莱坞明星中，马特•达蒙跟本•阿弗莱克相交甚密几乎无人不晓。二人因为出演《心灵捕手》而共获奥斯卡奖，马特•达蒙也表示一直觉得两人相处就像家人一样。上个月，“新英格兰族谱社交团体”公布的一项研究结果发现，原来两人在几百年前真的是一家人。研究人员称，他们二人均是17世纪英格兰伊普斯威奇市一名砖瓦匠的后代，是相隔十代的表兄弟。马特•达蒙对此表示很欣喜，并称还有些嫉妒本•阿弗莱克，因为他们这段亲戚关系只是阿弗莱克庞大家族谱的一小段，这次研究还发现他还和现任美国总统奥巴马，以及已逝的戴安娜王妃是亲戚呢。

Matt Damon was delighted to find out he is related to his best friend Ben Affleck - because the actor has always felt like family.

Matt Damon was delighted to（很高兴） find out he is related to his best friend Ben Affleck - because the actor has always felt like family.

Researchers from the New England Historic Genealogical Society delved¹（探究，考察） back through the pair's ancestry²（祖先，家系） and uncovered a common 10th great-grandfather, William Knowlton, a bricklayer（砖匠） who hailed from 17th century Ipswich, England.

The society said that Affleck has lots of other famous relatives, including U.S. president Barack Obama and the late（已故） Princess Diana.

The news broke last month and Damon admits he felt giddy（发昏，发晕） when he read the reports, because he has always believed he is linked to Affleck.

He tells the Boston Herald³, 'I always felt like we were kin⁴. He always felt like kin. I remember when I got that story on my phone, I e-mailed it to him and at the same time he was e-mailing it to me.'

But Damon couldn't help feeling envious⁵（嫉妒的） when the research revealed Affleck is also distantly related to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Damon adds, 'And then, it turns out, Ben is even related to Barack Obama! I'm very jealous.'

Affleck and Damon were friends growing up in the Boston area and teamed up as writers and co-stars for the 1997 film “Good Will Hunting.”