Matt Damon has revealed that he and longtime friend Ben Affleck were financially strained after selling the screenplay for their Oscar-winning film "Good Will Hunting." The actors sold the script for $600,000, which Damon described as a substantial sum, but after accounting for taxes, agents, and lawyers, their individual take was less than $150,000 each.
"The first thing we did was buy brand new Jeep Grand Cherokees," Damon recalled in a resurfaced clip from the "New Heights" podcast. He added that they were renting a place in Los Angeles at the time and quickly realized they needed to find more work. "It didn't take long for us to be like, 'Dude, we gotta get another job.'"
Damon further explained that they believed "Good Will Hunting" would be their breakthrough, but "we were broke a year later."
The impetus for writing "Good Will Hunting" stemmed from Damon's disappointment after losing out on a role in the 1995 film "Primal Fear." Damon had auditioned for the part that ultimately went to Edward Norton, who he acknowledged was "phenomenal in the movie." This experience led Damon and Affleck to focus on creating their own opportunities.
"There's never gonna be a role that good that comes down into the category of unknown actor, and we all can take a shot at it," Damon said of the competitive acting landscape. "So we really buckled down and wrote 'Good Will Hunting' a little more desperately. Out of necessity, it's very, very hard to break in, as you know. The hardest jobs to get are the first ones you get."
"Good Will Hunting" was released in 1997. Damon and Affleck not only penned the screenplay but also starred in the drama, directed by Gus Van Sant. The film, which follows a janitor with a genius IQ who is guided by a therapist, was a critical and commercial success, grossing approximately $225 million worldwide on a budget of $10-$16 million. The movie earned nine Academy Award nominations, securing wins for Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams and Best Screenplay for Damon and Affleck.
Damon and Affleck have maintained a decades-long friendship and have collaborated on several other films, including "The Last Duel" (2021), "Air" (2023), and the upcoming "The Rip" (2026). In 2022, they launched their own production company, Artists Equity.
Damon's latest film, "Oppenheimer," directed by Christopher Nolan, was released on July 17 and has grossed around $911 million globally in its first three weekends. Damon recently attended the film's premiere in Seoul, South Korea, with his wife, Luciana, and their daughters Gia and Stella.