How Earning $600,000 for Good Will Hunting Changed Everything for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

If you ever wanted a candid look at what fame (and your first big check) actually feels like, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are always happy to provide. The 'Good Will Hunting' duo dropped by The Howard Stern Show recently, and—no surprise here—they had some solid stories about their breakout payday, taxes, and bad movie choices. Would you expect anything less from two of Hollywood’s most outspoken old friends?

When $600,000 Isn’t Actually $600,000

So picture this: you’re in your twenties, you and your best friend just sold your first movie script for $600K (that’s 'Good Will Hunting' in 1997, if you weren’t keeping track), and you’re thinking you’ve hit the jackpot. But then Ben Affleck and Matt Damon discover what the rest of us already know: the government comes for their cut. Fast.

On Howard Stern, Affleck explained his reaction to the sudden reality check:

'Turns out, Howard, you have to pay these things called taxes. Which I wasn’t quite as familiar with. I was like, "So, who gets half, again? Explain this to me?"'

Damon, for his part, said it was a huge surprise. 'We were like, we understand this guy gets half, but wait—who else gets half? What’s happening?!' (I’m guessing Hollywood accounting never gets less baffling, even with more zeroes.)

Good Will Hunting by the Numbers

• Release year: 1997
• Director: Gus Van Sant
• Writers: Ben Affleck & Matt Damon
• Main cast: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård, Minnie Driver
• Production budget: $10 million
• Box office (worldwide): $225.9 million
• IMDb: 8.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes (critics): 97%
• Rotten Tomatoes (audience): 94%
• Streaming: Prime Video

Damon’s Bizarre Superpower: Saying No When You’re Broke

Now here’s something I didn’t expect: even when they were totally broke, Matt Damon was surprisingly picky about his projects. Ben Affleck told Stern that early on, he couldn’t understand why his best friend was saying no to gigs:

'To Matt’s credit, and I really learned this from him, I thought he was f***ing nuts. He’d be like, "I don’t think we should do that movie," "I’m not gonna do that movie," "I don’t like it," or "I don’t want to audition for that." And imma be like, "You don’t have any money! We are broke, dude. What the f**k you talking about?"'

Matt’s comeback? 'One of us had to pay rent.' (Relatable.)

As Affleck put it, his own strategy was to grab pretty much any job so he could survive acting for a living. But over time, he started to realize Damon might have had it right after all. He admitted, 'I did some movies I really liked, and I did some movies that, in retrospect, I’m not particularly proud of. But they were, like, somebody’s going to pay you $1 million, $2 million.' Not the worst problem to have, but (as he points out) not all good money is good for your career.

For the record, Damon’s more disciplined approach seems to have paid off: his net worth in 2025 clocks in at $170 million, comfortably ahead of Affleck’s $150 million (not that either of them are hurting). Apparently, sometimes it pays to say 'no', even if the rent is due.

Affleck’s $250K Monster Movie: 'Phantoms'

Affleck confessed that he once made a horror movie with a literal sewer monster ('Phantoms', based on a Dean Koontz book), strictly for the $250,000 paycheck. He joked, 'I thought I was gonna be set for life.' He made it pretty clear Damon would never have touched a film like that—not for all the sewer monsters in Hollywood.

The Damon-Affleck Team-up Machine Keeps Rolling

Through all the weird paydays, questionable scripts, and apparent bickering about rent, these two can’t stop collaborating. Their list of joint credits isn’t short, either. Here are a few highlights (and yes, some of these are deep cuts):

• Field of Dreams (1989): Both uncredited (IMDb: 7.5, RT: 88%/86%, Streaming: Amazon Video)
• The Last Duel (2021): Both wrote, both produced (IMDb: 7.3, RT: 85%/81%, Streaming: Amazon Video)
• Air (2023): Directed by Affleck, produced by their company Artists Equity (IMDb: 7.4, RT: 93%/97%, Streaming: Amazon Prime Video)
• Small Things Like These (2024): Damon produced, Affleck executive produced (IMDb: 6.7, RT: 93%/81%, Streaming: Amazon Video/Hulu)
• Unstoppable (2024): Damon produced, Affleck executive produced (IMDb: 6.8, RT: 77%/86%, Streaming: Amazon Prime Video)
• The Accountant 2 (2025): Affleck starring, Damon executive produced (IMDb: 6.6, RT: 75%/92%, Streaming: Amazon Prime Video)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025): Both executive produced (IMDb: 5.7, RT: 77%/67%, Streaming: Amazon Video / Apple TV)
• The Rip (2026): Both starring and producing, coming to Netflix (ratings TBD)

Oh, and in case you’ve somehow managed not to see 'Good Will Hunting', it’s still up on Prime Video. There’s your homework for tonight.