Matt Damon revealed that he and Ben Affleck ran out of money after winning the Oscar.

Matt Damon revealed that he and Ben Affleck were left nearly broke shortly after winning an Academy Award for their screenplay Good Will Hunting. The revelation came during a segment of an interview with the podcast New Heights, which has recently gone viral. According to Damon, the pair’s initial success with the film, released in 1997, was followed by severe financial strain despite the movie's eventual massive box office earnings. Damon recounted how they sold the screenplay for $600,000, which initially seemed like a fortune. However, after accounting for taxes, agent fees, attorney costs, and other expenses, each of them was left with less than $150,000. He recalled buying new Jeep Grand Cherokees, renting an apartment in Los Angeles, and quickly realizing that their finances would not last. “We thought, ‘Hey, we’re financially secure for life.’ But just over a year later, we were practically broke,” he said. When asked if they had truly been left with nothing, Damon chuckled and replied, “Well… we weren’t exactly at zero, but we were very close.” The duo’s financial struggles were a turning point in their careers. Last month, Damon discovered that their failure to land a role in the thriller The Fear ultimately pushed them to write Good Will Hunting. In an episode of GOAT Talk, he told Tom Holland that this moment was pivotal. Damon had auditioned for the role but lost it to Edward Norton, who he described as “fantastic” and “fully deserved” the part. After that, Damon and Affleck realized that waiting for someone else to offer them work might not be viable. They estimated that over ten thousand people applied for the role, making it highly competitive. As a result, the two decided to write their own screenplay. “We really threw ourselves into the job. We wrote Good Will Hunting almost out of desperation. It was a necessity. It’s hard to succeed in this business, and the hardest part is getting that first opportunity,” Damon explained. Good Will Hunting went on to become one of the most celebrated films in cinema history. With a budget of $10 to $16 million, it earned approximately $225 million worldwide. It was nominated for nine Oscars and won two, the Best Original Screenplay award for Damon and Affleck, and Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams. The film follows the story of Will Hunting, a janitor with extraordinary mathematical talent, and his relationship with a therapist helping him find his path. Damon and Affleck have remained friends since childhood and have collaborated on several projects, including The Last Duel, Air, and The Rip. In 2022, they co-founded their own production company, Artists Equity. Today, Damon is among Hollywood’s most sought-after actors, currently promoting Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, in which he plays the lead role. The film premiered in American theaters on July 17 and earned around $911 million in its first three weeks. Recently, Damon was in Seoul for the premiere of The Odyssey, accompanied by his wife, Luciana Barroso, and their daughters, Gia and Stella. The couple also shares daughter Isabella, and together they raise Luciana’s daughter, Alexei, from a previous relationship.