Ben Affleck (born August 15, 1972,Berkeley,California, U.S.) is an American actor and filmmaker who has played leading roles in action,drama, and comedy films but who is perhaps more renowned for his work as a screenwriter, director, and producer. His most acclaimed films includeGood Will Hunting (1997),The Town (2010), andArgo (2012).

Early life and career

Affleck grew up in Cambridge,Massachusetts, where he formed a lasting friendship with his neighborMatt Damon. Affleck’s first role was in aBurger King commercial, and in 1984 he appeared in thePublic Broadcasting Service’s miniseriesThe Voyage of the Mimi. He continuedacting as a teenager in the TVmovieHands of a Stranger (1987) and inThe Second Voyage of the Mimi (1988). Affleck brieflyattended both theUniversity of Vermont andOccidental College but left before graduating, to focus on acting. During his early career his height and stature often got him cast as a bully, and he played minor characters in independent films such as the cult hitsDazed and Confused (1993) andKevin Smith’sMallrats (1995). Smith was impressed by Affleck and cast him as the lead in his next film,Chasing Amy (1997).

Academy Award forGood Will Hunting

Affleck and Damon, who were living together in Los Angeles, were frustrated by the roles offered them and decided to develop a one-act play by Damon into a script. The result wasGood Will Hunting (1997), a drama that starred Damon as Will Hunting, a brilliant mathematician working as a janitor at MIT, and Affleck as his childhood friend; the film also featured Affleck’s brother,Casey, as well as MinnieDriver andRobin Williams. A critical and commercial success, the film received nineAcademy Award nominations, with Affleck and Damon winning theOscar for best original screenplay.

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Starring roles inArmageddon,Pearl Harbor, andThe Sum of All Fears

Good Will Hunting transformed Affleck’s career. He subsequently starred in the action filmArmageddon (1998);Shakespeare in Love (1998), a period piece written by playwrightTom Stoppard; and another Smith film,Dogma (1999), in which Affleck and Damon portrayed fallen angels. InPearl Harbor (2001) he played an enthusiastic American pilot fighting alongside the British inWorld War II. Although the film was largely panned by critics, it was a box-office success. Branching out, Affleck began working as a producer, most notably onProject Greenlight (2001, 2003, 2005), areality show that documented aspiring filmmakers. In 2002 he appeared as CIA agent Jack Ryan in the successful filmThe Sum of All Fears, which was based onTom Clancy’s espionagebest seller. Affleck then starred oppositeJennifer Garner inDaredevil (2003), the filmadaptation of thepopular comic book series.

Return to prominence

In 2003 Affleck costarred withJennifer Lopez inGigli, which received scathing reviews. He and Lopez became engaged, and the intense tabloid coverage of their two-year relationship overshadowed his career. Although he continued acting, it was not until 2006 that Affleck returned to prominence, this time as the formerSuperman actorGeorge Reeves in the biopicHollywoodland, a role that earned him critical praise and aGolden Globe Award nomination. In 2009 Affleck starred inHe’s Just Not That into You, aromantic comedy that also featuredJennifer Aniston; the crime thrillerState of Play; and the workplace satireExtract.

Roles of the 2010s and beyond

Affleck’s credits from the 2010s includedThe Company Men (2010), a drama about corporate downsizing;Terrence Malick’s impressionistic romanceTo the Wonder (2012); and the online-gambling thrillerRunner Runner (2013). In 2014 Affleck starred as a man implicated in his wife’s disappearance inDavid Fincher’s suspensefulGone Girl, based on thenovel byGillian Flynn. He later donned superhero gear again, this time asBatman oppositeHenry Cavill’sSuperman inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) andJustice League (2017); a different cut of the latter film was released in 2021 asZack Snyder’s Justice League. In 2016 Affleck also portrayed a mathsavant who works as a bookkeeper for gangsters and drug cartels in the thrillerThe Accountant. Movies from 2019 includedTriple Frontier, a thriller in which a team of formerSpecial Forces operatives face a series ofmoral dilemmas after staging an elaborate heist.

In 2020 Affleck starred inThe Last Thing He Wanted, a crime drama based on a novel byJoan Didion, andThe Way Back, about an alcoholic who becomes a high-school basketball coach. He later reteamed with Damon, onRidley Scott’sThe Last Duel (2021). Themedieval drama was based on a true story of a woman who accused a squire (Adam Driver) of rape, resulting in a trial by combat between thealleged attacker and her husband (Damon); Affleck played a debauched count. In addition to appearing in the film, Affleck and Damon wrote the script with Nicole Holofcener. Also in 2021 Affleck starred inThe Tender Bar, portraying a bartender who becomes a father figure to his nephew; the drama, which was based on a memoir by J.R. Moehringer, was directed byGeorge Clooney. Affleck later appeared alongsideAna de Armas inDeep Water (2022), a thriller inspired byPatricia Highsmith’s novel about a man accused of murdering his wife’s lovers.

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Film directing

In 2007 Affleck directed his first feature film,Gone, Baby, Gone. The crime drama, which was based onDennis Lehane’s novel about two Boston detectives’ search for a missing girl, was a critical success. He mined similarterrain for his next effort behind the camera,The Town (2010), casting himself as the head of a crew of Boston bank robbers. Affleck later directed and starred inArgo (2012), the true story of a fake film production that provided cover for a CIA rescue mission during theIran hostage crisis. For his direction of the critically acclaimed drama, Affleck won aGolden Globe Award, and the movie’sAcademy Award for best picture netted him a statuette as one of its producers.

Affleck returned to the director’s chair forLive by Night (2016), aProhibition-era drama that he adapted from a Lehane novel. Affleck also starred in the film, playing a gangster. In 2023 he received widespread praise forAir, a sports drama bout howNike signedMichael Jordan to a historic endorsement deal. The movie featured a stellar cast that included Damon as a Nike salesman,Viola Davis as Jordan’s mother, and Affleck as Nike cofounderPhil Knight.Air was the first film released by ArtistsEquity, a production company formed by Affleck and Damon.

Politics, causes, and personal life

Affleck was active in politics, and he frequently appeared atDemocratic rallies and as a guest on political talk shows, such asReal Time withBill Maher. In addition, he was involved with a number of causes, including efforts to end the violence inCongo (Kinshasa).

Affleck’s personal life also continued to be fodder for the tabloids. After breaking up with Lopez, he began dating Garner, and they married in 2005. The couple had three children before divorcing in 2018. Affleck and Lopez later rekindled their relationship, and they wed in 2022. However, two years later the couple announced that they were divorcing. Their divorce was finalized in 2025.