The Heart-Pumping True Story of “The Rip”: Inside the Real-Life Event That Inspired the Netflix Crime Drama
- - The Heart-Pumping True Story of “The Rip”: Inside the Real-Life Event That Inspired the Netflix Crime Drama
Christopher RudolphJanuary 16, 2026 at 8:00 AM
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Claire Folger/Netflix
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in 'The Rip' -
The Rip, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, premiered Jan. 16 on Netflix
Writer-director Joe Carnahan was inspired by a friend who worked for the Miami-Dade police department
According to Carnahan, the title of the movie is slang for "taking the bad guy's stuff"
The Rip puts a friendship to the test.
The action thriller reunites longtime friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who play Miami cop partners Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, respectively.
After discovering millions of dollars hidden in a safehouse, the officers start to question whom on their team they can trust, including each other.
What began as a wild idea turns into a full-blown operation that quickly gets out of hand when personalities clash at intense crime scenes.
The movie's trailer states that it's "inspired by true events," but how real is The Rip? Here's everything to know about the experiences that influenced the project.
What is The Rip about?
Claire Folger/Netflix
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in 'The Rip.'
In The Rip, Damon and Affleck play Miami police officers who are part of a team that finds millions of dollars in cash stashed in a deserted safehouse.
"As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question — including who they can rely on," reads a synopsis for the film.
Is The Rip based on a true story?
Warrick Page/Netflix
Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor in 'The Rip.'
The Rip is inspired by a friend of the film's writer and director Carnahan.
"The Rip came out of a deeply personal experience that my friend went through, both as a father and as head of tactical narcotics for the Miami-Dade police department,” Carnahan told Tudum.
In a January 2026 appearance on Today, Affleck spoke about how Carnahan was "friends with the officer this whole thing is based on."
"It's loosely based on one officer in Miami and an event ... if you called in and reported illegal money stored somewhere, you could get a piece of it, if they captured it," he explained.
"So, of course, all of a sudden they started getting calls, and there was one time where they showed up at this house, and there was $20 million there," Affleck continued, adding that the police have to count the cash on the premises.
Meanwhile, "There's the fear of the people whose money it is might show up, so that was the basis for this," he said.
Another inspiration for the script was "an unbelievably bad breakup" Carnahan went through, as he revealed to GQ.
"It was really fraught with a lot of pain and anger. And in the weirdest way, man, it just reconstituted — I kept thinking of Back to the Future II, like give me trash and I'll create fusion," the filmmaker recalled. "I found this to be very therapeutic, and that script just kind of flew out of me."
Are Matt Damon and Ben Affleck playing real people in The Rip?
Warrick Page/Netflix
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in 'The Rip.'
No, Damon and Affleck are not playing real police officers in The Rip.
In the thriller, Damon portrays Lt. Dane Dumars, and Affleck stars as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne.
While the actors aren't bringing to life specific people, they did travel to Miami to spend time with the type of officers featured in The Rip.
"We went down and met the people who do this work and rode along with them and spent some time there, and that was great," Damon told the Today show in January 2026. "Joe, the director, had spent a lot of time with them. A lot of the language, the way the cops relate to each other, all that was already baked into the script.
"That research piece is always the fun stuff for us," the actor added.
Affleck also shared that "a lot" of those people "are in the movie in little supporting parts."
When does The Rip take place?
Warrick Page/Netflix
Matt Damon in 'The Rip.'
The Rip appears to take place in the present day, but it is inspired by "classic ‘70's cop thrillers," as Carnahan told Tudum.
The director explained that those movies "really valued the character and interpersonal relationships and became touchstones of that era," naming films like Serpico, Prince of the City and Heat.
During a surprise appearance at the Next on Netflix Special Presentation in January 2025, Affleck teased that The Rip was going to be a mix of Heat, Narc and Training Day.
What does the title The Rip mean?
Claire Folger/Netflix
Teyana Taylor in 'The Rip.'
The title The Rip is slang for "taking the bad guy's stuff," something known as "'ripping' it," Carnahan explained to Tudum.
"In the event of a seizure of cash or drugs or weapons, the confiscation itself is known as the 'rip,' " he told the outlet.
Where can I watch The Rip?
Claire Folger/Netflix
Ben Affleck in 'The Rip.'
The Rip is available to stream on Netflix.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
