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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are longtime friends who both acted and won an Academy Award together, so perhaps it’s not surprising to learn that they even shared a bank account as young actors. The duo appeared on a recent episode of “The Bill Simmons podcast” (via CNBC) and revealed that they had one bank account between them starting in the late 1980s in order to fund auditions and start their acting career.
“It was unusual, but we needed the money to get the tests done,” Damon said, describing it as “a weird retrospective thing.”
“We were helping each other and being there for each other,” Affleck said. “It was like, You won’t be alone. I won’t be alone. Let’s go out there and do this together.”
Anytime Affleck or Damon books a role, money from the gig will be deposited into the bank account. As Damon explained, “As long as one of us has money, we know the power won’t go out. After doing [1992′s] Geronimo, I probably had 35 grand in the bank. I said to myself, “We’re doing well for a year.”
Of course there were rules, but they were a bit of a stretch.
“You are allowed to go [auditions in] New York with money. You were allowed to get 10 bucks and get a shelter and go to [the arcade] And I play video games,” Damon said. “Eventually we were allowed to try and buy beer, which never worked.”
“I love working with that guy. I love hanging out with him,” Affleck later said of Damon. “If you can work with great people, who are good people too, it will be more rewarding personally and professionally.”
Affleck and Damon are doing the press rounds in support of their new drama, “Air.” Affleck directs and stars opposite Damon in the film, which traces Nike’s mission to save the basketball division by landing a young Michael Jordan to be the new face of the brand. Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, and Chris Tucker co-star in the film, which garnered rave reviews from its SXSW world premiere. “Air” will open in theaters April 5, courtesy of Amazon.
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