Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are famous for their decades-long friendship and their many collaborations.
But the 50-year-old Gone Girl star and the 52-year-old Ocean’s Eleven actor have revealed that they were once so closely entwined that they even shared a bank account.
During an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcastthe two admitted that the ‘unusual’ relationship helped them support each other when they first went to auditions in the late 1980s, via CNBC.
“It was unusual, but we needed the money for the auditions,” Damon said, adding that it was “kind of weird in hindsight.”
At the time they first went out to audition, they were still in their late teens.
Divided funds: Ben Affleck, 50, and Matt Damon, 52, revealed on The Bill Simmons Podcast that they used to share a checking account as teenagers and first attended auditions in the late 1980s; seen on March 18 in Austin, Texas
Whatever Works: “It was unusual, but we needed the money for the auditions,” Damon said, adding that it was “kind of weird in retrospect”; seen with Casey Affleck (second left) on Good Will Hunting
Affleck said that the two had been friends since high school and that their shared account was a way for them to support each other as they moved up in the industry.
“We were going to help each other and be there for each other,” he said. “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.'”
While the two were able to withdraw from the account to finance their work expenses, they also deposited back into it once they finally booked a role.
In the early 1990s, they began to get roles that were substantial enough to give them a comfortable mattress.
“As long as one of us had money, we knew they weren’t going to shut off the power,” Damon said. ‘After doing Geronimo (1992) I probably had $35,000 in the bank. I was like, “we’re good for a year.”
Still, for the system to work, they had to limit themselves to withdrawing money only for their auditions, although they allocated a small amount of money for entertainment, which increased as they found more success.
‘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,” Damon said. “Eventually, we were allowed to try and buy beer, which never worked.”
During the podcast appearance, the two friends noticed that the bank where they once kept their money closed.
But their friendship has endured, and the two have collaborated more closely in recent years than in some time.
‘I love working with this guy. I love hanging out with him,” Affleck said in another part of the interview. ‘If you can work with great people, who are also good people, it’s much more personally and professionally rewarding.’
Affleck and Damon’s most famous collaboration was on 1997’s Good Will Hunting, which they co-wrote and starred in together. The critically acclaimed film won two Oscars, one for Robin Williams for Best Supporting Actor and one for Best Original Screenplay for his work writing the film.
Helping out a friend: Affleck said the two had been friends since high school and their shared account was a way to support each other as they moved up in the industry. “We were going to help each other and be there for each other,” he said; frame from Good Will Hunting
Paying their way: Damon said they overpaid for New York auditions and minor entertainment, but once he booked a major part (1992’s Geronimo), he quipped that they were ‘good for a year’; seen in the air
Together on and off screen: The Oscar-winning collaborators return to the screen together in the film Air, about Nike’s quest to sign Michael Jordan to a contract, with Affleck also directing.
Although the two would appear in numerous films together over the years, it wasn’t until their 2021 film The Last Duel that they reunited as a writing duo, with filmmaker Nicole Holofcener joining them.
The film was a critical success, but it turned out to be a box office bomb.
Damon plays a French knight in medieval France whose wife (Jodie Comer) accuses his friend and squire (Adam Driver) of raping her. With the sanction of a dandy count (Affleck in a scene-stealing supporting role), they engaged in the last legally sanctioned duel to occur in France before the practice was outlawed for good.
The two are working together again on the upcoming film Air, in which Ben plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight (and also directs), while Matt plays executive Sonny Vaccaro, who has taken on the task of trying to convince Michael Jordan After signing a deal with Nike, it will produce the influential Air Jordan sneakers.