See the “Good Will Hunting ”Cast Then and Now

Jacqueline Weiss, Emily KrauserTue, July 28, 2026 at 10:45 AM UTC

0

From left: Cole Hauser as Billy McBride, Casey Affleck as Morgan O’Mally, Matt Damon as Will Hunting and Ben Affleck as Chuckie Sullivan in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’Credit: George Kraychyk/Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock -

Good Will Hunting hit theaters in the U.S. in December 1997

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co-wrote and starred in the Academy Award-winning film opposite the late Robin Williams, who died in August 2014

The drama marked the first feature screenplay longtime BFFs and collaborators Affleck and Damon wrote together, resulting in an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay

It’s been nearly 30 years since Matt Damon’s titular character went to see about a girl in Good Will Hunting.

Released on Dec. 5, 1997, the film follows Will Hunting (Damon), a recently paroled math whiz who works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After solving a complicated math problem, he impresses Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) but is arrested again for attacking a police officer. Lambeau arranges for Will to avoid jail time if he studies mathematics under his supervision and attends psychotherapy sessions with his college roommate, Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams).

Damon originally wrote the script in a playwriting class while he was a student at Harvard University. He later asked Ben Affleck, his longtime friend and fellow actor, for help developing it.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, the drama earned critical acclaim and received nine nominations at the 70th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Damon and Ben won for Best Original Screenplay, while Williams took home Best Supporting Actor.

Damon and Ben have maintained both a close friendship and working relationship over the years, appearing on-screen together in movies like Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), The Last Duel (2021), Air (2023) — the first film from their production company Artists Equity — and The Rip (2026).

The first-time screenwriters also developed a tight bond with the late Williams while filming the movie.

“He did so much for us by believing in us and doing that movie, and also by how warm and lovely and kind he was and collaborative,” Ben said in an interview with Jake’s Takesin December 2021.

Look back at the cast of Good Will Hunting, then and now.

01 of 10

Matt Damon as Will Hunting

From left: Matt Damon in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Matt Damon attends the ‘Oppenheimer’ premiere in Paris on July 11, 2023Credit: George Kraychyk/Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock ; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Damon stars as Will Hunting, a self-taught genius freshly paroled from jail.

Born and raised in Cambridge, Mass., Damon got his start in the 1988 film Mystic Pizza. He enrolled at Harvard that same year but left before completing his degree to pursue an acting career. He had several film roles, including in 1996’s Courage Under Fire, through the early to mid-1990s.

For Good Will Hunting, Damon and Ben won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for their screenplay. Ben was 25 at the time and holds the record for the youngest-ever winner of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, while Damon was the second-youngest winner at 27.

Damon also received Oscar and Golden Globe nods for his performance.

“Sometimes those moments sneak up on you,” Damon told GQ in September 2021, recalling how he cried during their first day on set. “And that was another one of those moments we never thought was going to arrive. To see not only actors, but those actors, saying the stuff that we wrote, was like ... f---.”

While filming Good Will Hunting, Williams introduced Damon to Steven Spielberg, who cast him in the titular role in 1998’s Saving Private Ryan. Through the 2000s, he appeared in the Ocean’s film trilogy (George Clooney has confirmed a fourth film is in the works) and starred as Jason Bourne in four Bourne films.

He has since received three more Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actor for Invictus (2009), Best Actor for The Martian (2015) and, as a producer, Best Picture for Manchester by the Sea (2016).

He’s continued to act in and produce several projects. Other on-screen roles include Stillwater (2021), The Last Duel, Oppenheimer (2023), Air, The Instigators (2024), The Rip andThe Odyssey(2026), as well as a voice role in IF (2024).

In April 2003, Damon met bartender Luciana Barroso in Miami while filming Stuck on You. The couple tied the knot in December 2005 and welcomed three daughters together: Isabella, Gia and Stella. (Barroso also has an older daughter, Alexia, from a previous marriage.)

Damon told PEOPLE in November 2019 that he had been unsuccessful in getting his girls to watch his films, including Good Will Hunting, saying, “I am kind of trying to force them; it’s not working.”

His update two years later was that Isabella had started watching his films — the ones panned by critics, that is.

“If the reviews come out and they’re terrible, then she’ll watch it. If they come out and they’re good, she’s going to pass ... She’s looking for ammunition all the time,” he jokingly told E! Newsin July 2021.

02 of 10

Robin Williams as Dr. Sean Maguire

From left: Robin Williams as Sean Maguire in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Robin Williams attends a ‘Town Hall’ series event at SiriusXM Studios in New York City on Sept. 25, 2013Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock ; Robin Marchant/Getty

Williams starred as Dr. Sean Maguire, a psychology teacher at Bunker Hill Community College.

Born in Chicago, Williams got his start performing stand-up comedy before finding fame as the alien Mork in Mork & Mindy from 1978 until 1982. His first starring role on the big screen was in Popeye in 1980.

In 1998, Williams won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting after receiving nominations for his roles in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Fisher King (1991).

Williams jokingly said in his acceptance speech at the 70th Academy Awards ceremony: “This might be the one time I’m speechless. Thank you so much for this incredible honor. Thank you, Ben and Matt. I still want to see some ID.”

His impressive career also earned him multiple nominations and wins at the Emmy Awards, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, among many other accolades.

In addition to his acclaimed dramatic performances, Williams starred in comedy and family films, including Hook (1991), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Jumanji(1995). He also had a prolific career in animation, including voicing the Genie in 1992’s Aladdinand several characters in 2006’s Happy Feetand its 2011 sequel.

Williams married Valerie Velardi in 1978, and they had one child together, son Zachary Pym, known as “Zak.” The couple divorced in 1988, and he married Marsha Garces in April 1989. Williams and Garces later welcomed two children, daughter Zelda Rae and son Cody Alan, before finalizing their divorce in 2010. The actor-comedian married Susan Schneider in October 2011.

On Aug. 11, 2014, Williams died by suicide in his California home. He was 63. After his death, his representative shared that “he had been battling severe depression of late.” An autopsy revealed that the actor had Lewy body dementia, the second-most common type of progressive dementia.

03 of 10

Ben Affleck as Chuckie Sullivan

From left: Ben Affleck as Chuckie Sullivan in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Ben Affleck attends the world premiere of ‘The Flash’ at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on June 12, 2023Credit: George Kraychyk/Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock ; MICHAEL TRAN/AFP/Getty

Ben plays Will’s loyal best friend and working-class South Boston native Chuckie Sullivan.

Born in California, Ben grew up in Massachusetts and began his acting career at age 9 in 1981’s The Dark End of the Street.

Along with the close bond he shares with Damon, he frequently collaborates with Kevin Smith and has appeared in several of the writer-director’s films, including Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma and Jersey Girl (2004).

Ben starred in many movies throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including comedies like 1998’s Shakespeare in Love — opposite then-girlfriendGwyneth Paltrow — and dramas like Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001).

He made his directorial debut in 2007 with Gone Baby Gone, followed by The Town (2010), Argo (2012), Live by Night (2016) and Air (2023), all of which he also acted in. His sixth directorial outing, Animals, is set to be released by Netflix in 2026.

Ben’s other well-known credits include Gone Girl (2014), The Accountant (2016) and its 2025 sequel, and as Bruce Wayne/Batman in several DC Extended Universe films. He also reunited with Damon in 2026’s The Rip.

Ben married actress Jennifer Garner in June 2005, and they welcomed three kids together. The couple announced their separation in June 2015 and finalized their divorce in October 2018. In July 2022, Ben and Jennifer Lopez, whom he had previously dated and been engaged to from 2002 to 2004, tied the knot. The pair split in August 2024 and finalized their divorce in January 2025.

04 of 10

Stellan Skarsgård as Gerald Lambeau

From left: Stellan Skarsgård as Gerald Lambeau in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Stellan Skarsgård attends the 38th European Film Awards at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin on Jan. 17, 2026Credit: Photo 12 / Alamy; Andreas Rentz/Getty

Skarsgård plays Gerald Lambeau, a mathematics professor at MIT.

His first major role was on the Swedish television show Bombi Bitt and Me, which made him a teen idol. Throughout the 1970s, he appeared in several Swedish films before his American film debut in 1985’s Noon Wine.

Skarsgård is well known for his longtime friendship and working relationship with Danish director Lars von Trier, including in his movies Breaking the Waves (1996) and Nymphomaniac (2013).

Advertisement

He has also had roles in major film franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean as Bootstrap Bill Turner and Mamma Mia! as Bill Anderson, as well as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Dr. Erik Selvig. He’s also starred in many Swedish films and shorts, including 2021’s The Ape Star (Apstjärnan).

Skarsgård has nabbed two Golden Globes, first winning in 2020 for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Television Film for his role on the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl, and again in 2026 for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for 2025’s Sentimental Value.

Between filming the two parts of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies (2021 and 2024) and the second season of the Star Wars drama Andor, the Swedish actor suffered a stroke in 2022.

“I feel a little more like I live under the sword now. Because I’ve lived a naughty life. And I’m 74, which is already on overtime,” he told Vulture in October 2025.

Skarsgård was married to Swedish physician My Skarsgård from 1975 until 2007. They share five sons and one daughter: Alexander, Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter. He married Irish producer Megan Everett in January 2009, and they have two sons together, Ossian and Kolbjörn.

05 of 10

Minnie Driver as Skylar

From left: Minnie Driver as Skylar in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Minnie Driver attends a special screening of ‘Chevalier’ at El Capitan Theatre in L.A. on April 16, 2023Credit: George Kraychyk/Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock ; Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic

Minnie Driver plays Skylar, a British student at Harvard and Will’s love interest.

Driver was born in London and raised in Barbados until she was 6. Before Good Will Hunting, for which she received Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award (now the Actor Awards) nominations, she had her breakout role in 1995’s Circle of Friends.

After filming, Damon and Driver dated until 1998. The exes didn’t see each other again until a chance encounter on the beach in 2020, as Driver recounted during an appearance on the Keep It! podcast the following year.

“It was actually very nice to see him and his kids and his wife, and it all felt quite middle-aged, actually, which was reassuring,” she said in September 2021. “I feel like so much of the folly of youth went on with our initial relationship, like it was amazing and tabloidy. So that was nice to just have sort of a middle-aged conversation about the weather and stuff.”

Driver went on to voice Jane Porter in Disney’sTarzan (1999) and later appeared in films such asElla Enchanted(2004), The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Cinderella (2021), The Beekeeper (2024) and Finding Emily (2026).

On the small screen, Driver had a recurring role on Will & Grace and starred on the sitcoms About a Boy and Speechless. She’s also appeared on shows like Web Therapy, Modern Family, The Witcher: Blood Origin, Starstruck and Emily in Paris. Her lead role in The Riches earned her Golden Globe and Emmy nods.

Driver has one child, son Henry, whom she shares with TV producer Timothy J. Lea. She has been in a relationship with filmmaker Addison O’Dea since 2019.

06 of 10

Casey Affleck as Morgan O’Mally

From left: Casey Affleck as Morgan O’Mally in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Casey Affleck attends the silver medallion ceremony for Yorgos Lanthimos during the 50th Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colo., on Sept. 2, 2023Credit: Photo 12 / Alamy ; Vivien Killilea/Getty

Ben’s younger brotherCasey Affleck played Morgan O’Mally, a friend of Will’s.

The Massachusetts-born actor appeared in local commercials and films as a child, but his first major role came at age 20 in To Die For(1995).

In addition to Good Will Hunting, Casey has been in three other movies with his brother: Chasing Amy, 200 Cigarettes (1999) and Gone Baby Gone. He also appeared alongside Damon in the Ocean’s franchise, Gerry (2002), Oppenheimer and The Instigators.

Casey became known for films like Lonesome Jim (2006), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and Oppenheimer, and he received critical acclaim for his starring role in Manchester by the Sea (2016) alongside Michelle Williams, which earned him an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA.

A prolific actor like many of his fellow Good Will costars, Casey’s other credits include Interstellar (2014), The Finest Hours (2016), A Ghost Story (2017), Light of My Life(2019) and Slingshot (2024).

Casey began dating Summer Phoenix in 2000 after being introduced by her brother, actor Joaquin Phoenix. The couple married in 2006 and welcomed two children together, sons Indiana August and Atticus. In August 2017, Casey and Summer divorced after 11 years of marriage. He began dating actress Caylee Cowan in 2021.

07 of 10

Cole Hauser as Billy McBride

From left: Cole Hauser as Billy McBride in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Cole Hauser attends the 80th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2023Credit: Photo 12 / Alamy ; Todd Williamson/NBC/NBC/Getty

Cole Hauser plays Billy McBride, another friend of Will’s.

His film debut came inSchool Ties (1992), which also starred Damon and Ben. He went on to appear in numerous films, including Dazed and Confused (1993) — which Ben was also in — Pitch Black (2000) 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and A Good Day to Die Hard(2013).

Hauser starred as Rip Wheeler on all six seasons of the acclaimed drama Yellowstone, from 2018 to 2024. He’s currently reprising the role on the spinoff Dutton Ranch, which premiered in 2026.

In his personal life, the California native has been married to actress and photographer Cynthia Daniel since 2006. They share three children together: sons Ryland and Colt Daniel and daughter Steely Rose.

08 of 10

Scott William Winters as Clark

From left: Scott William Winters as Clark in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; Scott William Winters attends the world premiere of ‘Beautifully Broken’ at The Factory in Franklin, Tenn., on Aug. 20, 2018Credit: Miramax ; Rick Diamond/Getty

Scott William Winters plays Clark, a Harvard student who Will intellectually bests.

Winters, whose brothers are actor Dean Winters and writer-producer Bradford Winters, grew up on New York’s Long Island and in Arizona. Good Will Hunting was his first major project; he reprised his role alongside Damon and Ben in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

He first appeared on HBO’s Oz as a guest star in 1998 and became a supporting cast member on season 3 through the end of the series in 2003. He starred on the short-lived series 10-8: Officers on Duty and has appeared on multiple procedurals and dramas, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Dexter, NCIS and Memory of a Killer.

Winters and his wife Jennifer Logan share two children, daughters Faith and Grace.

09 of 10

John Mighton as Tom

From left: John Mighton as Tom in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; John Mighton appears onstage during his ‘The Math of Learning’ TEDxCern Talk in October 2014Credit: Miramax ; TEDx Talks/YouTube

Real-life famed mathematician John Mighton plays Professor Lambeau’s assistant Tom.

Mighton began tutoring children in math to support himself financially as a playwright. Tutoring helped him discover a new interest in math, a subject he struggled with as an undergraduate. He went on to earn a master’s degree and doctorate in math, he told the University of Toronto.

Though Mighton’s only film role is Good Will Hunting, his plays have been performed around the world and won several awards, including the Canadian Governor General’s Award for Drama, the Dora Award, the Chalmers Award and the Siminovitch Prize.

He is the founder of JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies) Math, a program that aims to help students succeed in math in Canada and the U.S., according to its website.

Mighton is married to playwright and actress Pamela Mala Sinha. He has one daughter, Chloe, who is a genetics researcher, per LinkedIn.

10 of 10

George Plimpton as Henry Lipkin

From left: George Plimpton as Henry Lipkin in 1997’s ‘Good Will Hunting’; George Plimpton attends the Royal Oak Foundation Benefit Gala at the Equitable Building in N.Y.C.Credit: Miramax; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

George Plimpton plays Henry Lipkin, Will’s court-ordered psychologist.

Born in 1927, Plimpton grew up in N.Y.C. and studied at Harvard and Cambridge. He was best known for his work as a writer and for establishing The Paris Review in 1953, serving as its editor-in-chief from its founding until his death.

In addition to his cameo in Good Will Hunting, Plimpton made appearances in films like Volunteers (1985) with Tom Hanks and on TV series like ER and The Simpsons. He also hosted Mouseterpiece Theater on the Disney Channel from 1983 to 1990.

Plimpton shared two children, daughter Medora Ames and son Taylor Ames, with his first wife, Freddy Medora Espy, whom he was married to from 1968 to 1998. He then had twin daughters, Laura and Olivia, with his second wife, Sarah Whitehead Dudley. The pair wed in 1991 and were together until his death from a heart attack in September 2003, per TheNew York Times. He was 76.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”