Kevin Costner remembers meeting young Ben Affleck, Matt Damon on 'Field of Dreams' set

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon didn’t strike out when they met their idol Kevin Costner in their early acting days.

During a Wednesday appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Costner recalled meeting the young actors on the set of his 1989 baseball drama “Field of Dreams.”

Costner had an exchange with Affleck and Damon, who were 16 and 18 respectively at the time of the film’s release, during a scene shot at Boston's Fenway Park. In their roles as extras, Affleck and Damon played baseball fans visiting the famous stadium.

“They were sitting in the stands,” Costner told host Jimmy Kimmel. “And they would both lean in at the same time, lean back at the same time, look at each other at the same time. We talked, and they had this big enthusiasm. They were on fire.”

Kimmel then revealed he had texted Damon about the encounter, and the “Oppenheimer” star gushed about his interaction with Costner.

“I literally had an ‘Untouchables’ poster on my wall,” Damon wrote to Kimmel, referring to Costner’s 1987 film “The Untouchables.” “He came out and hung around with the extras in between setups. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, ‘Shootin’ the (expletive).’ And I laughed like a 12-year-old girl.”

'He was a genius': Kevin Costner 'loved' John Mulaney's 'Field of Dreams' Oscars bit

“Field of Dreams” grossed $64.4 million at the global box office and received a trio of Academy Award nominations, including best picture. Affleck and Damon would go on to have their cinematic breakthroughs with 1997’s “Good Will Hunting,” which earned them an Oscar for best original screenplay.

“It was a big deal for us because he had the exact career that we wanted,” Damon said of Costner in his message to Kimmel. “He was very nice to us.”

Kevin Costner moved to tears with standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival

While attending the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, Costner got emotional during a prolonged standing ovation for his new film "Horizon: An American Saga."

The actor received a warm reception to his first directorial effort in 11 years, with the crowd chanting and clapping for between 7 and 11 minutes, which brought the 69-year-old to tears, as seen in video shared by Variety.

Kevin Costner at Cannes: Actor gets epic standing ovation for 'Horizon: An American Saga,' moved to tears

The film serves as the first installment in Costner's four-part "Horizon: An American Saga" franchise. The "Yellowstone" actor directs, produces, co-writes and stars in the Western film series.

"Such good people. Such a good moment, not just for me, but for the actors who came with me, for people who believed in me, who continued to work," Costner said, according to HuffPost and People magazine. "It's a funny business, and I'm so glad I found it. There's no place like here."

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Costner met Ben Affleck, Matt Damon as 'Field of Dreams' extras