Profile
Birth Name: Benjamin Geza Affleck
Birth Date: August 15, 1972
Birth Place: Berkeley, California, USA
Height: 6' 2½
Sex: M
Nationality: American
Profession: actor
Education: University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont (dropped out after one semester)
Occidental College, Eagle Rock, California (was attending when he made School Ties in 1992; dropped out after one year; studied Middle Eastern Studies) .
Family Details
Wife: Jennifer Garner (actress; b. April 17, 1972; dating since 2004; married on June 29, 2005 at the Parrot Cay resort in the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos)
Father: Timothy Affleck (drug rehab counselor; divorced)
Mother: Christine Ann (née Boldt, a school district employee and teacher; divorced)
Brother: Casey Affleck (actor; born on August 12, 1975)
Sister in law: Summer Phoenix (actress; born on December 10, 1978; married on June 3, 2006), Susannah Kay Garner Carpenter (born on January 24, 1975), Melissa Garner Wiley (born in 1969)
Daughter: Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck (born on January 6, 2009; mother: Jennifer Garner), Violet Anne Affleck (born on December 1, 2005 at 6:26, mother: Jennifer Garner)
Claim to fame: as the writer of Good Will Hunting (1997)
BIOGRAPHY
Tall and handsome in a meat eating sort of way, Ben Affleck has the looks of a matinee idol and the resume of an actor who honed his craft as an indie film slacker before flexing his muscles as a Hollywood star. A staple of Kevin Smith films and such seminal indies as Dazed and Confused, Affleck became a star and entered the annals of Hollywood legend when he and best friend Matt Damon wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, winning a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for their work. Born in Berkeley, California on August 15, 1972 to a schoolteacher mother and drug rehab counselor father, Affleck was the oldest of two brothers. His younger brother, Casey, also became an actor. When he was very young, Affleck's family moved to the Boston area, and it was there that he broke into acting. At the age of eight, he starred in PBS's marine biology-themed The Voyage of the Mimi, endearing himself to junior high school science classes everywhere. The same year he made Mimi, Affleck made the acquaintance of Matt Damon, a boy two years his senior who lived down the street. The two became best friends and, of course, eventual collaborators. After a fling with higher education at both the University of Vermont and California's Occidental College, Affleck set out for Hollywood. He began appearing in made-for-TV movies and had a small role in School Ties, a 1992 film that also featured Damon. Further bit work followed in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused (1993) and Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995). Around this time, both Affleck and Damon were getting fed up with the lack of substantial work to be found in Hollywood, and they decided to write a screenplay that would feature them as the leads. Affleck's brother Casey introduced them to Gus Van Sant, who had directed Casey in To Die For. Thanks to Van Sant's interest, the script was picked up by Miramax, and in 1997 the story of a troubled mathematical genius living in South Boston became known as Good Will Hunting. Before the film's release, Affleck starred in Smith's Chasing Amy that same year; the tale of a comic book artist (Affleck) in love with a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams), it received good reviews and showed Affleck to be a viable leading man. The subsequent success of Good Will Hunting and the Best Original Screenplay Oscar awarded to Affleck and Damon effectively transformed both young men from struggling actors into Hollywood golden boys. Having won his own Golden Boy, Affleck settled comfortably into a reputation as one of the industry's most promising young actors. His status was further enhanced by widespread media reports of an ongoing relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow.The following year, Affleck could be seen in no less than three major films, ranging from his self-mocking supporting role in the Oscar-winning period comedy Shakespeare in Love to the thriller Phantoms to the big-budget box-office monster Armageddon. In 1999, Affleck continued to keep busy, appearing in a dizzying four movies. He could be seen as a dull bartender in 200 Cigarettes, an errant groom in Forces of Nature, a stock market head hunter in The Boiler Room, and a supporting cast member in Billy Bob Thornton's sophomore directorial effort, Daddy and Them. Finally, Affleck reunited with Smith and Damon for Dogma, starring with the latter as a pair of fallen angels in one of the year's more controversial films. In 2000, he would appear as an ex-con trying to mend his ways in Reindeer Games, with Charlize Theron. Re-teaming with Armageddon cohort Michael Bay again in 2001 for another exercise in overbudgeted excess, Affleck flew into action in Pearl Harbor. Despite unanimous lambasting from critics, Pearl Harbor blasted to number one at the box office, earning 75.2 million on its Memorial Day weekend opening and beginning a summer-2001 trend of high profile films with precipitous box-office runs. Following a self-mocking return to the Smith collective in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and spearheading, along with Damon, the innovative HBO series Project: Greenlight, Affleck returned to the Hollywood machine with roles in Changing Lanes and The Sum of All Fears (both 2002). Filling the shoes of Harrison Ford as a green version of Ford's famous Jack Ryan persona, The Sum of All Fears contemplated a radical group's plan to detonate a nuclear weapon at a major sporting event during a time of particularly sensitive public distress at such an idea. With the massive success of Spider-Man in the summer of 2002 prompting numerous comic-book superhero revivals, Affleck would next suit up for the role of Daredevil. As a lawyer turned into a true public defender following a mishap involving radioactive waste, Daredevil's incredibly enhanced senses enable him to get the jump on New York City evil-doers and with his athletic physique and heroically protruding chin Affleck seemed just the man to suit-up for the job. If Affleck's turn as a blind crimefighter found dedicated comic book fans turning up their noses in disgust, the lukewarm performance of that particular effort would hardly compare to the critical lashing of his subsequent efforts Gigli, Paycheck, and Jersey Girl. A notorious flop that couldn't be mentioned to movie lovers without fear of derisive laughter, Gigli alone would have likely sunken the career of a lesser star. Though Hollywood gossip rags were indeed talking about Affleck, it was more the result of his turbulent relationship with singer and Gigli co-star Jennifer Lopez than it was anything to do with his acting career. Just when it seemed that the ubiquitous "Ben and Jen" gossip that fueled the tabloids couldn't get more tiresome, the celebrity power-couple broke up their frequently discussed engagement to the surpirse of only the most optimistic E! Channel viewer. Wed to Alias star Jennifer Garner in 2005, Affleck subsequently skewered Hollywood materialism in the showbiz comedy Man About Town before making a cameo in pal Smith's eagerly-anticipated sequel Clerks II. By this point Affleck was certainly no stranger to Hollywood controversy, a fact that likely played well into his decision to strap on the famous red cape to portray original television Superman George Reeves in the 2006 Tinseltown mystery Hollywoodland. In addition to acting and screenwriting, Affleck has also directed a short feature, the provocatively titled, I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meathook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney (1993).
Career As a Director
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Austin Film Critics Award for Best First Film
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Filmmaker
Hollywood Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Director of the Year
National Board of Review Award for Best Directorial Debut
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Filmmaker
Gimme Shelter (2008)
short film
Career As a Producer
Project Greenlight (2001-2005)
Executive ProducerNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program (2002, 2004, 2005).
Push, Nevada (2002)
Executive Producer
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
Producer
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Producer
Reporter (2009)
Executive producerDocumentary
Career As a Writter
Good Will Hunting (1997)
All the following shared with Matt Damon:Academy Award for Writing Original
ScreenplayBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Writer
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Newcomer of the Year
Golden Globe Award for Best ScreenplayHumanitas Prize(Feature Film Category)National Board of Review Special Achievement in FilmmakingSatellite Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for Screenwriter of the Year
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
Push, Nevada (2002)
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
The Town (2010)
Movies List
The Dark End of the Street (1981)
The Voyage of the Mimi (1984)
Hands of a Stranger (1987)
The Second Voyage of the Mimi (1988)
Almost Home (1991)
Daddy (1991)
School Ties (1992)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Against the Grain (1993)
Mallrats (1995)
Glory Daze (1996)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Going All the Way (1997)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Phantoms(1998)
Dogma (1999)
Forces of Nature (1999)
200 Cigarettes (1999)
Bounce (2000)
Reindeer Games (2000)
Boiler Room (2000)
Joseph: King of Dreams (2000)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Daddy and Them (2001)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Changing Lanes (2002)
Daredevil (2003)
Gigli (2003)
Paycheck (2003)
Surviving Christmas (2004)
Jersey Girl (2004)
Elektra (2005)
Clerks II (2005)
Hollywoodland (2006)
Man About Town (2006)
Smokin' Aces (2007)
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
State of Play (2009)
Extract (2009)
The Company Men (2010)
The Town (2010)
Awards
2004 - Razzie Award Worst Actor
2004 - Razzie Award Worst Screen Couple
2001 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actor
2001 - Teen Choice Award Film - Choice Actor
2000 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actor
1999 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actor
1999 - Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by a Cast
1998 - Academy AwardBest Writing, Screenplay Written Directly
1998 - BFCA Award Best Screenplay, Original
1998 - FFCC Award Newcomer of the Year
1998 - Golden Globe Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
1998 - Golden Satellite Award Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Original
1998 - Humanitas Prize Feature Film Category
1997 - NBR Award Special Achievement in Filmmaking
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