Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reveal tax shock from ‘Good Will Hunting’ payday and the story of being 'broke in six months'

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon recently dished on a hard financial lesson from their breakout-hit ‘Good Will Hunting’. The lifelong friends appeared on a chat show recently, reminiscing about selling their Oscar-winning script in 1997 for $600,000. What felt like a jackpot quickly vanished thanks to Uncle Sam and Hollywood fees.

The paycheck split

On 'The Howard Stern' Affleck quipped to Stern, “It turns out, Howard, you have to pay these things called taxes.” The duo, then in their mid-20s, split the check evenly through their joint Cambridge bank account. After agent cuts and IRS bites, roughly $110,000 landed with each. Damon called it a “big wake-up call,” puzzled over who grabbed the other half.




They burned cash fast. Each snagged a $55,000 Jeep Cherokee, then pooled leftovers for a $5,000-per-month “party pad” near the Hollywood Bowl. “We were broke in six months,” Affleck confessed with a laugh. Affleck later echoed this on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2023, noting the wild spending marked their naive leap into stardom.


‘Good Will Hunting’ launched them sky-high. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film starred Damon as genius janitor Will Hunting, with Affleck as his loyal buddy Chuckie. Robin Williams won a Supporting Actor Oscar for his therapist role, while the script nabbed Best Original Screenplay. The Miramax production grossed over $225 million worldwide on a $10 million budget.

Beyond the bank account

Beyond finances, the chat highlighted their unbreakable bond. Damon supported Affleck through alcohol struggles and divorces from Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez. “I was there for all of it,” Damon shared. Affleck praised Damon as the epitome of a “real friend.”

From broke dreamers to powerhouses running studios, their story inspires. Affleck directs hits like Argo; Damon stars in blockbusters. Early tax woes? Just fuel for their empire.