Ben Affleck Reacts to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Grand Prize Win

Jennifer Garner’s Rare Throwback Photos of Ben Affleck, Their Kids Will Warm Your HeartBen Affleck is celebrating his glory daze. Indeed, the Academy Award winner is adding another achievement on his long list of accolades: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire champion. The 53-year-old partnered with Jeopardy! champ Jamie Ding to take home the $1 million grand prize in the ABC game show. Although the duo aren’t taking home the check themselves, with their prize benefitting the actor’s Eastern Congo Initiative, the first U.S.-based organization providing humanitarian aid to support communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. As for the winning question that Affleck and Ding had to answer to receive the top prize, they were asked on the July 29 episode of the show, “In an annual Thanksgiving tradition, all but which of these have been the names of turkeys pardoned by a U.S. president?” After guessing a pair of birds named Spaghetti and Meatballs, the duo were met with confetti and a giant check for Affleck’s charity. They jumped for joy and embraced for a big hug to celebrate the win.And the Good Will Hunting actor’s win came nearly a year after his longtime BFF Matt Damon won the game show alongside another iconic Jeopardy! star, former champion-turned-host Ken Jennings. “It is so awesome having Ken Jennings as your partner in a trivia game,” Damon remarked while answering the final question on his winning episode in July 2025. “I can't even tell you.”Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty ImagesAfter securing the grand prize, Damon and Jennings donated the proceeds to Water.org. In total, five celebrity pairings—which also include Oscar Nuñez and Kate Flannery; Ike Barinholtz and Alan Barinholtz; as well as David Chang with Phone-A-Friend assistance from Mina Kimes—have won the $1 million for various charitable organizations. Quipping on his frenemy Damon’s win, host Jimmy Kimmel said, “I have to say this was the least dramatic million-dollar moment in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire history.” While Affleck and Damon may not have been on the same team for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, they have celebrated many other milestones together throughout the years. Read on to revisit their sweetest bestie moments…Miramax FilmsHometown KidsDamon and Affleck share a scene as troubled genius Will and his devoted childhood pal Chuckie in their breakout hit Good Will Hunting, which was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Damon, Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay.SGranitz/Getty ImagesMade ItAwards season heats up in 1998 as Ben and Matt walk the carpet at the Golden Globes, celebrating Good Will Hunting's four nominations.HAL GARB/AFP/Getty ImagesHey, We Won!Affleck and Damon pose with their first Golden Globes, Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting. Affleck won another, in 2013, for directing Argo, and Damon won in 2016, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, for The Martian.AFP PHOTO/Timothy A. ClaryThank You, Boston!Best Original Screenplay winners Affleck and Damon make sure to give a shout-out to their formative hometown, which helped inspire the first-ever movie they wrote together, Good Will Hunting.Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImageGolden MenDamon and Affleck relish their Oscar win in 1998.Kevin Mazur/WireImagePrettiest Gals in the RoomAffleck and Damon show off their Oscar night dates—moms Chris Affleck and Nancy Carlsson-Paige—in 1998.View AskewFor LaughsDamon and Affleck teamed up as fallen angels Loki and Bartleby in Kevin Smith's 1999 comedy Dogma.Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImageJust a Couple of DudesMatt and Ben dress down in Miami Beach in 2006.E. Charbonneau/WireImage for Focus FeaturesSuper MenDamon supports his buddy in 2006 at a screening of Hollywoodland, in which Affleck played George Reeves, the tragic actor who played Superman in the 1950s-era TV series.John Parra/WireImageDate NightBoth pals got married in 2005, and in 2008 they enjoyed a night out all together in Miami Beach. Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who have three children together, split up in 2015 and eventually divorced in 2018. Damon and wife Luciana, parents of four daughters, will celebrate 15 years of marriage in December 2020.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesSame Old, Same OldMatt and Ben hang out, 'cause that's what they do.Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty ImagesYou Earned It, BuddyNaturally, Affleck was among the stars who feted (and roasted) Damon while presenting him with the American Cinematheque Award in 2010. "I kind of started out at the same time as the guy, so this is a special night for me, too," Ben quipped.Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagicBest BudsThey always look ready for a marathon poker tournament.Angela Weiss/Getty ImagesCreative ControlThe chums celebrate the return after 10 years of Project Greenlight, their HBO series about bringing indie films to fruition, in 2014. Todd Williamson/Getty Images for Swisher ProductionsFamily MatterAffleck is on hand to support brother Casey Affleck and honorary brother Damon at the 2014 premiere of Manchester by the Sea, which Affleck and Damon co-produced and for which Casey would go on to win the Oscar for Best Actor (and forget to thank Ben, which turned into a whole funny thing).Angela Weiss/Getty ImagesThe Good ShepherdsAffleck and Damon are on hand to support Project Greenlight's season four winner, The Leisure Class, at the film's 2015 premiere.Nicola Bailey for The New York TimesGood Will ReadingAffleck and Damon reprised their roles as Chuckie and Will for a live reading of Good Will Hunting in 2016, and enlisted some of their talented friends to sit in, including John Krasinski, who narrated; Emily Blunt playing Skylar; Keegan-Michael Key as Billy; and Margo Martindale filling the mighty shoes of the late Robin Williams as Dr. Maguire.WingmanDamon celebrates Affleck landing the Caped Crusader cowl in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and ensuing DC Universe films, 20 years after both actors auditioned for and didn't get the role of Robin back when Tim Burton was making Batman movies. (The sidekick eventually showed up in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever.)Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesWe're Back!Affleck and Damon reunite at the Oscars in 2017 to present the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, 19 years after their momentous win.Matt Sayles/Invision/APWait, What?And here they are looking as amazed as anybody to see that Moonlight was the actual Best Picture winner instead of La La Land.TwitterSporting SceneMatt and Ben enjoy a night out with fellow Boston sports nut Bill Simmons.Jerritt Clark/Getty ImagesWhat Curse?The lifelong Red Sox fans got emotional celebrating their team's 2018 World Series title.David Fisher/ShutterstockBuona SeraAffleck and Damon hit the 2021 Venice Film Festival in support of The Last Duel, their first screenwriting collaboration since Good Will Hunting.Gary Miller/WireImageSlam DunkThe Artists Equity co-founders celebrate the March 2023 premiere of Air at SXSW, the first film from their new studio. The feel-good true story stars Damon as Nike rep Sonny Vaccaro, the visionary who got a just-drafted Michael Jordan to sign with the shoe company in 1984 by convincing the future NBA superstar's mom (Viola Davis) that they were the right fit for her son. Affleck plays Nike founder Phil Knight. A bazillion pairs of Air Jordans sold later... JC Olivera/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty ImagesWalking on AirIn addition to co-starring and producing, Air marks Damon's first time acting with Affleck behind the camera. "He's a brilliant director, people are aware," Damon gushed to E! News about his pal at the film's L.A. premiere. "But it was really great working with him and I'm looking forward to doing it again soon."Courtesy of Amazon MGM StudiosAccounting on FriendshipThe Martian star attended the March 2025 SXSW premiere of his producing partner's new film The Accountant 2, and debuted a longer version of his beard in the process.For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App