Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who rose to fame together after winning an Oscar in 1998 for their film Good Will Hunting, have revealed that they once shared a bank account.
In an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the Cambridge-born actors explained the “unusual” arrangement they had while pursuing their careers in Hollywood.
Damon revealed that they needed the money for auditions, which made it necessary for them to have a joint account. They decided to help each other out and stick together.
“It was unusual, but we needed the money for auditions. It was a weird thing, in retrospect,” Matt Damon said.
Affleck then explained further: “We were going to help each other and be there for each other. 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’.”
Affleck added that they had some ground rules about the shared account, including how the money could be spent. Initially, they could only use the money to travel to New York and play arcade games with the change.
Later, they attempted to buy beer, but it never worked.
“You were allowed to go to New York with the money. You were allowed to take out $10 and get quarters and go to the arcade and play video games…”, they said, adding “eventually, we were allowed to try to buy beer, which never f***ing worked.”
Damon shared that his role in Geronimo: An American Legend in 1993 was his first major financial boost, and as long as one of them had money, they knew they wouldn’t be in financial difficulty.
“As long as one of us had money, we knew the power wasn’t going to get shut off. After Geronimo, I probably had 35 grand in the bank. I was like, ‘we’re good for a year'”, he said.
The actors are currently promoting their upcoming film Air, which will be released in 2023.