sliding doors Jan. 13, 2019

Office Space Almost Starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

Portrait of Bethy Squires

By Bethy Squires, a Vulture news blogger who covers comedy

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Mike Judge nostalgia is gripping the nation! King of the Hill came out 22 years ago this month, and February is the 20th anniversary of Office Space. Entertainment Weekly compiled an oral history of Office Space for you live action Judge-heads. One of the biggest reveals: Fox wanted Matt Damon to play Peter, the beleaguered cube jockey eventually played by Ron Livingston. “This was post-Good Will Hunting,” says casting director Nancy Klopper. “They weren’t exactly unknown.” Luckily, Livingston was hot from being third billed in Swingers, and he knocked his audition out of the park. Judge says his wig was snatched by Livingston’s tape. Well, not exactly that, just that he was wowed: “I met with Matt, who was really nice and liked the script. But I’d found Peter.” As a concession, they cast Jennifer Aniston as the romantic lead. Aniston was excited to be in the film, and to reunite with former classmate David Herman. “I was a sophomore when he was a senior,” she says. “He was a quiet, genius actor-type back then. I was sort of madly in love with him, and also terrified of him.” It’s staggering to think there are alternate universes out there where Office Space starred Matt & Ben. And where Jennifer Aniston married her high school sweetheart, the guy who voices Mr. Frond.

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Entertainment Weekly

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Office Space Almost Starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

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