Ben Affleck jokes tax shock after Good Will Hunting payday

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are looking back on the financial reality check they faced after the success of Good Will Hunting.

Appearing in a recent episode of The Howard Stern Show, the longtime collaborators reflected on receiving a $600,000 payday for writing and starring in the 1997 film and quickly learning how much of it they wouldn’t get to keep. 

When Stern asked whether they “blew through” the money, Affleck answered, “Well it turns out, Howard, you have to pay these things called taxes.”

Damon added that the realisation came fast. “It was a big wake-up call,” he said, recalling their confusion over how the money was split. “We were like, ‘We understand this guy gets half, but who else gets half?’”

Affleck summed it up with a joke that stuck. “It was like having an ex-wife right away. You just divide, divide, divide,” he said, before clarifying that the remark was not aimed at anyone specific.

At the time, the two actors were in their mid-20s and fresh off winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. They have previously shared that they kept a joint bank account and split the proceeds evenly. Once taxes and agent fees were deducted, they were left with about $110,000 each.

Affleck later detailed the aftermath during a 2023 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. He said they each bought $55,000 Jeep Cherokees and used the remaining money to rent a $5,000-a-month house near the Hollywood Bowl. Within six months, the money was gone.

Despite the early financial missteps, Good Will Hunting launched both men into long, successful careers.