Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Shared a Bank Account for Years Before ‘Good Will Hunting’ Oscar Win
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon shared their goodwill for years prior to winning Oscars.
Early in their respective careers, the longtime friends and collaborators had a joint bank account beginning in the late 1980s to help fund auditions.
“It was unusual, but we needed the money for auditions,” Damon said during “The Bill Simmons Podcast” (via CNBC), adding that it was “a weird thing in retrospect.”
Damon continued, “As long as one of us had money we knew the power wasn’t going to get shut off. After doing [1992’s] ‘Geronimo’ I probably had 35 grand in the bank. I was like, ‘We’re good for a year.'”
There were rules to the account, though, with Damon adding, “You were allowed to go to [auditions in] New York with the money. You were allowed to take out $10 and get quarters and go to [the arcade] and play video games. Eventually we were allowed to try to buy beer, which never fucking worked.”
Affleck, who recently co-founded Artists Equity production company with Damon, said that he will always have his friend’s back.
“We were going to help each other and be there for each other,” Affleck shared. “It was like, ‘You’re not going to be alone. I’m not going to be alone. Let’s go out there and do this together.'”
The duo later went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for 1997 film “Good Will Hunting.”
Affleck said of collaborator Damon, “I love working with this guy. I love hanging out with him. If you can work with great people, who are good people too, it’s so much more rewarding personally and professionally.”
Affleck’s latest film “Air,” which he directed and produced, also stars Damon. The film charts the beginning of Nike’s collaboration with rising NBA superstar Michael Jordan to craft the Air Jordan sneakers. However, “Air” does not show Jordan in the biopic.
“The one sure way to ruin the movie and have the audience understand that the whole thing is a fraud is to point the camera at anybody that’s not Michael Jordan and say, ‘Hey, that’s Michael Jordan!'” Affleck said during a special NYC screening. “Because all of a sudden, they’re like, ‘This is the knockoff Michael Jordan!’ He’s too famous, and I like him being the guy above it. It’s how our relationship is with these icons and idols, they’re not in our living rooms, in our lives, they’re people who are in our fantasies.”