Alex Russell and James Elliott are like the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of Australia ... kind of

YOU could see Alex Russell and James Elliott as the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of Australia — in their early days anyway.

Actors (L-R) James Elliott and Alex Russell at Darlington, Sydney. Picture: Craig Wilson

YOU could see Alex Russell and James Elliott as the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of Australia — in their early days anyway.

Best mates who forged a strong friendship studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the pair have set up a production company — Rockpool Films — as a creative outlet and a way of telling stories.

Elliott and Russell have been working together since attending NIDA together and Russell played a role in Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. Picture: Craig Wilson

Affleck and Damon were best mates well before they became famous and went on to score countless awards with 1997 breakthrough film, Good Will Hunting.

“We’ve been working together collaboratively since we first started at NIDA,” Russell, currently seen on the big screen in Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, said.

“All we’ve wanted to do is work together. We have very specific stories that we want to tell.”

Elliott and Russell are likened to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the early years. Picture: Craig Wilson

And the duo have several projects in the works, the biggest of which is a film called Sons of Salt with Animal Kingdom scriptwriter Duncan Thompson helping develop the project and Sleepy Hollow producer Adam Schroeder on board.

Their other projects include a film to go into production next month titled Any Girl Who Loves The Beatles Is Bound To Break Your Heart, a television series called Campus TV and a short film titled Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees.