It’s 1997. Matt Damon is lean, wearing a baggy Harvard sweater that doesn't belong to him, and standing outside a Dunkin' Donuts in Cambridge. He taps on the glass. He holds up a piece of paper with a phone number on it. Then comes the line. You know the one. Good Will Hunting how you like them apples isn't just a bit of clever dialogue; it's the moment a janitor from Southie officially outsmarted the ivory tower.
Honestly, the scene shouldn't work as well as it does. It’s petty. It’s aggressive. It’s a guy rubbing a girl’s phone number in the face of a pretentious grad student who tried to humiliate his friend earlier that night. But that’s exactly why we’re still talking about it nearly thirty years later. It captures a very specific, very raw brand of Boston bravado that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon grew up seeing. It wasn't just movie magic. It was personal.
People forget that before this movie, Damon and Affleck were just two guys struggling to get a break. They wrote this script because they were tired of being passed over for roles. When they finally sold it to Miramax, they fought to keep the soul of the characters intact. The "apples" scene is the soul. It’s the underdog winning. It’s the rejection of the idea that a fancy degree makes you smarter than the guy fixing your sink.
The Anatomy of the Harvard Bar Scene
To understand the payoff, you have to look at the setup. Will Hunting is a genius, but he’s a defensive one. He’s sitting in a bar—the Bow and Arrow Pub, though it was filmed elsewhere—minding his own business while Chuckie (Affleck) tries to chat up two Harvard students. Enter the villain of the piece: Clark.
Clark is the archetype of the "I read the first chapter of a history book and now I own the world" guy. He tries to embarrass Chuckie by citing 18th-century economic history. He's talking about the "evolution of the market economy" and trying to make Chuckie look like a fool.
Then Will steps in.
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He doesn't just argue; he deconstructs. He identifies the exact book Clark is plagiarizing—Colonial Society by Pete Vickers—and calls him out for it. He points out that Clark is going to spend $150,000 on an education he could have gotten for $1.50 in late charges at the public library. It’s a brutal, intellectual beatdown. It’s the ultimate "mic drop" before mic drops were even a thing.
But the intellectual victory isn't enough for the narrative. The emotional victory happens later, on the street. Will gets Skylar’s number. Clark is sitting inside, defeated, watching through the window. Will approaches. He doesn't need to say anything, but he does. He asks if Clark likes apples. When Clark says yes, Will slaps the number against the glass.
"Well, I got her number. How you like them apples?"
Where Did the Phrase Actually Come From?
Most people think Matt Damon invented this. He didn't. The phrase "How do you like them apples?" actually dates back much further, likely to the early 20th century. Some linguists and film historians point to the 1959 film Rio Bravo, where a character uses a variation after throwing a grenade. It was a common idiom used to express a sort of "Take that!" sentiment.
In the context of Good Will Hunting how you like them apples, the phrasing was tweaked to fit the South Boston dialect. It’s shorter. Punchier. It feels like something a guy would say after winning a fistfight, only here, the fight was over a girl and a bit of intellectual property.
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There’s an old legend—often repeated in Boston circles—that the line was inspired by a real-life encounter one of the writers had. While Damon has played down the "one-to-one" reality of the scene, he’s admitted that the vibe of the scene came from the general friction between "townies" and "Harvard elities." Growing up in Cambridge, the duo lived in the shadow of the university. They saw the arrogance firsthand.
Why the Scene resonates in 2026
We live in an era of "receipts." Social media is basically built on the foundation of the "how you like them apples" energy. Someone says something arrogant, and someone else comes back with the facts to shut them down.
Will Hunting is the patron saint of the "Well, actually..." crowd, but with one major difference: he’s the underdog. Usually, the "Well, actually" guy is the annoying one. In this movie, he’s the hero because he’s punching up. He’s taking on the establishment.
- Class Warfare: The movie highlights the divide between the working class of Southie and the wealthy students across the river.
- Intellectual Honesty: Will values knowledge for the sake of knowledge, whereas Clark values it for the sake of status.
- The Power of the Reveal: The audience loves a secret. We know Will is a genius. Clark doesn't. Watching the reveal is pure catharsis.
It’s also about the vulnerability of Skylar, played by Minnie Driver. She isn't just a prize to be won; she’s the one who actually initiates the connection. She gives Will her number because she’s impressed by his mind, not just because he "won" the argument. That’s a subtle point that often gets lost in the memes.
The Impact on Matt Damon’s Career
This single scene helped propel Good Will Hunting to nine Academy Award nominations. It won two: Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Damon and Affleck.
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Think about that. Two kids from Boston wrote a scene about apples and ended up on the stage at the Oscars.
The success of the "apples" line also changed how Hollywood wrote "smart" characters. Before Will Hunting, geniuses were often portrayed as socially awkward or physically weak. Will was different. He was tough. He could fight. He worked construction. He was a "regular guy" who just happened to have a photographic memory and a gift for mathematics. It humanized the concept of high intelligence.
Common Misconceptions About the Scene
A lot of people think the scene takes place at a real Harvard bar. While the story is set in Cambridge, much of the movie was actually filmed in Toronto to save on production costs. The interior of the bar was the Upfront Bar and Grill in Toronto. The exterior—where the famous tapping on the window happens—was shot at a Dunkin' Donuts in the West End of Boston, which has since been renovated.
Another misconception is that the "apples" line was improvised. While Damon and Affleck were known for riffing, this specific beat was scripted. They knew they needed a "button" for the sequence. They needed something that felt like a schoolyard taunt but carried the weight of a social victory.
How to Channel Your Inner Will Hunting
You don't need to be a mathematical genius to appreciate the sentiment behind the line. It’s about confidence. It’s about knowing your worth even when the world tells you that you don't belong in the room.
If you're ever in a situation where you feel underestimated, remember the "apples" moment. It’s not just about being right. It’s about being authentic. Will didn't try to sound like a Harvard student to win the argument; he used his own voice to dismantle Clark’s facade.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Writers:
- Study the Pacing: If you’re a writer, watch how the scene builds tension. It starts small, with a look, and escalates into a full-blown intellectual assault before ending with a quiet, devastating punchline.
- Visit the Locations: If you’re in Boston, take the Red Line to Harvard Square. Walk around. You won’t find the exact bar (since it was a set), but you’ll feel the atmosphere that inspired the script.
- Read the Sources: Will mentions Colonial Society by Pete Vickers. While some of the specific citations in the film are slightly modified for dramatic effect, the historians mentioned (like Howard Zinn) are very real and worth a read if you want to understand the "subversive" history Will was championing.
- Practice the Delivery: There’s a specific rhythm to the line. It’s not "How do you like those apples?" It’s "How you like them apples?" The dialect is everything.
The legacy of Good Will Hunting how you like them apples is secure because it taps into a universal truth: there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a bully get outmatched by the very person they tried to look down on. It’s a reminder that talent can come from anywhere—even a janitor’s closet in an MIT hallway.