Ben Affleck (Actor)
Born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California, Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Timothy Byers Affleck, a social worker and Chris Anne Boldt, a school teacher. His younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, was born in 1975.
Affleck aspired to be an actor from a young age, and his first gig was a Burger King commercial. He also worked on the PBS mini-series The Voyage of the Mimi (1984) at that time, and it was around then that he met lifelong friend and fellow actor Matt Damon. The pair played Little League and took acting classes together.
As a teenager, Affleck appeared in television shows like Hands of a Stranger (1987) and The Second Voyage of the Mimi (1987). He took on feature film roles starting in 1993’s Dazed and Confused. He then appeared in independent films like Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997).
Affleck and Damon wrote the script for Good Will Hunting (1997) motivated by the lack of roles coming their way, and director Kevin Smith took it to the head of Miramax after Castle Rock wouldn’t give Affleck and Damon the creative control they wanted. Miramax did give the pair creative license, and after the film’s release in December 1997, they became famous with the film’s nine Academy Awards nominations and two wins — including Best Original Screenplay for them.
From here, Affleck starred in Armageddon (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Pearl Harbor (2001). Box office hits included Changing Lanes (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002) and Daredevil(2003). He received a Golden Globe nomination for Hollywoodland (2006). He began directing with Gone Baby Gone (2007) which starred his brother Casey, and he directed, co-wrote and starred in The Town (2010). He won an Academy Award for Best Picture for Argo (2012) which he directed and starred in, also receiving Golden Globes and BAFTAs for both Best Director and Best Picture.
He headlined Gone Girl (2014), adapted from the best-selling book by Gillian Flynn, and he stared as Bruce Wayne aka Batman the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016) and he reprised the role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) as well as The Flash (2023). More recent projects include The Way Back (2020) and The Last Duel (2021) for which he also co-wrote the script. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in The Tender Bar (2021). Affleck most recently directed Air (2023) in which he also starred as Phil Knight, former Nike CEO. The film involves Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) as he pursues a shoe deal with basketball player Michael Jordan.
Ben Affleck was married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2015 after the pair co-starred in Daredevil (2003), and they share three children — Violet, Seraphina and Samuel. He dated Jennifer Lopez before marrying Garner, and they were engaged in 2002 before they called off their marriage. He and Lopez — who co-starred in Gigli (2003) and Jersey Girl (2004) — later rekindled their flame and got married in 2022, though Lopez just filed for divorce.
- First Name
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Ben
- Last Name
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Affleck
- Additional Name
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Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt
- Date of Birth
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August 15, 1972
- Place of Birth
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Berkeley, California
- Notable Work
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Dazed and Confused (1993), Good Will Hunting (1997), Armageddon (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), Hollywoodland (2006), one Baby Gone (2007), The Town (2010), Argo (2012), The Way Back (2020), The Last Duel (2021), The Tender Bar (2021), Air (2023)
- Notable Awards
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2 Academy Awards, one for Best Original Script for Good Will Hunting and one for Best Picture for Argo (2012), Golden Globes and BAFTAs for both Best Director and Best Picture for Argo (2012)
