Ben Affleck booking

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According to People Magazine (and J-Lo of course), he is one of the 50 most beautiful people in the
world. He’s also a very fine actor and Oscar winning screenplay write Benjamin Géza Affleck was born
to actor-father Timothy Affleck, and mother Chris Boldt, a school teacher. Tim worked with big name
stars such as Dustin Hoffman, and joined the Theatre Company Of Boston. It was therefore Tim’s
influence and connections that got Affleck started in TV in the early years of his life. Affleck’s first strike
for fame was appearing in adverts for Burger King and, by the age of 12, he had appeared in the
educative mini-series ‘The Voyage of the Mimi’. At this point in his life though, Affleck suffered an
emotional setback when his parents divorced. The relationship break-up was blamed on Tim’s
“severe, chronic problem with alcoholism”. Tim left for the Recovery Centre in Palm Springs, got back
on his feet, and today works as a drugs counsellor for people in rehabilitation. Significantly, it’s worth
noting that at age 8, Affleck had met and befriended a boy called Matt Damon, and together they
attended Little League and also acted. While at the Rindge and Latin High School, they were both
members of a group who won a drama award from the Boston Globe and here their future ambitions
were founded. But it was Damon who possessed the work-ethic and once he’d gained a place to
Harvard, Affleck’s school career began to slide. Affleck’s high B average wasn’t enough for entry to
Harvard as well so he instead enrolled at the University of Vermont.
Affleck soon decided to eschew his studies in favour of a more practical approach to job-winning by
heading straight to Hollywood. Putting this plan to his mother, she agreed so long as he stayed with
friends of hers and continued his studies at the Occidental College. Affleck submitted to his mother’s
conditions and took up Middle Eastern Studies. Throughout the early 90s, Affleck’s career aspirations
failed to alight. After appearing in an uncredited role as Basketball Player number 13 in the film version
of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, there were a number of low-key TV series. So he took the decision to
venture into the world of independent cinema instead. Affleck’s first film in 1992 was ‘School Ties’. By
this time, Matt Damon had left Harvard and joined him in LA and, despite debuting alongside Julia
Roberts in ‘Mystic Pizza’, he too was finding the going tough. With offers still slow off the ground,
Affleck took a part in Richard Linklater’s classic ‘Dazed And Confused’ (1993), a brilliant comic study of
Seventies teens, where Matthew McConaughey also made his debut. While Affleck’s move into
independent film did manage to secure him a few roles, it also helped him establish vital contacts who
would later contribute to his success.
In 1995, Affleck appeared in Kevin Smith’s ‘Mallrats’. Smith was already renowned thanks to his
underground hit film ‘Clerks’ (1994), and this new movie took the audience into the dark heart of the
American mall, with Affleck playing the slick manager of Fashionably Male, seducing Shannon
Doherty, to the despair of her would-be lover. Kevin Smith was so impressed that that he set about
writing his next movie around Affleck – ‘Chasing Amy’ (1997), about a cartoonist (Affleck) who falls for
a lesbian played by Joey Lauren Adams. In 1996, Affleck landed a larger part in ‘Glory Daze’ but the
film wasn’t a success. While studying at Harvard, Matt Damon had begun writing a story during one of
his English classes, but had put the idea on hold for a year or so. Picking it up again, Damon decided
to turn the tale into a screenplay and enlisted Affleck’s help. They called the final edit ‘Good Will
Hunting’, and at this time Affleck’s connections proved their worth. He showed the script to Kevin
Smith who loved it and took it straight to Harvey Weinstein at Miramax. Before they knew it, Miramax
had signed the film, Robin Williams came on board, as did director Gus Van Sant (‘To Die For’), and
Damon and Affleck found themselves $600,000 richer, and starring in their own screenplay. Good Will
Hunting grossed over $130 million after its release in 1997 and won Affleck and Damon an Academy
Award for Best Screenplay. By the time of its release, the hype surrounding the duo was already
immense leading to Damon taking the title role in ‘Saving Private Ryan’, and Affleck starring in the hit
‘Armageddon’ (1998), which grossed over $200 million.Soon the parts came flooding in. He starred once more with Damon in the cult-hit (and another Kevin
Smith film) ‘Dogma’ (1999), played a ruthless dealer in ‘The Boiler Room’ (2000), and starred
alongside Gary Sinise as an ex-con in ‘Reindeer Games’ (2000).
After starring in ‘Bounce’ (2000) with Gwyneth Paltrow and Billy Bob Thornton’s ‘Daddy and Them’
(2001), Affleck took his first major action role since Armageddon – ‘Pearl Harbour’, playing the romantic
lead, opposite Kate Beckinsale in 2001. Pearl Harbour was panned by the critics though and for a
while it seemed his career had ground to a sudden halt. ‘Changing Lanes’ (2002), thankfully was a
surprise chart-topper once more. As was Affleck’s role in ‘The Sum of All Fears’ (2002), stepping into
Harrison Ford’s shoes playing the character of Jack Ryan in the Tom Clancy series. ‘Daredevil’ (2003),
the latest in a string of super-hero movies, saw Affleck star as Matt Murdock, a man blinded by
radioactive waste but still able, due to his other now-enhanced senses, to foil villains with his acrobatic
stunts and ninja-type abilities. Co-incidentally, Kevin Smith had earlier written some of the Daredevil
comics, and would appear in the movie as a laboratory assistant. Affleck’s role in the film ‘Gigli’ (2003)
was to spark interest of another kind though- when he began a romance with his co-star, Jennifer
Lopez. The media couldn’t get enough of the pair and Gigli was internationally torn apart – creating a
new record in the US with a takings drop of 81.9% in its second weekend.
Fans would lay blame of Affleck’s sudden fall from favour at Lopez’s door. An engagement between
the two was announced, then called off in September 2003 with Affleck later describing the period of
his life with Lopez as a “car wreck.” Affleck next appeared in John Woo’s thriller ‘Paycheck’ (2003),
before being reunited with Kevin Smith once more on ‘Jersey Girl’ in 2004, based on Smith’s own
experience of fatherhood. Jersey Girl unfortunately dragged old headlines out of the woodwork for
Affleck as the film also starred Jennifer Lopez. He kept his head high though and simply let the ruckus
burn itself out while he got on with life outside of film. Throughout 2005, Affleck was still a major
attraction in the press, but only due to his relationship with actress Jennifer Garner, who’d earlier
played Elektra to his Daredevil. Garner’s profile had been raised after Elektra and the TV show ‘Alias’
and Affleck once more found himself one half of a tabloid-friendly couple. He had learnt his lesson
though and both shied away from the publicity. The couple married in June 2005 in a low-key
ceremony and the birth of their daughter, Violet Anne, in December, was also announced quietly
without the usual 10-page magazine spread.
2006 would see his attempt at a comeback, first making a brief cameo in mate Kevin Smith’s ‘Clerks
II’. But it was ‘Hollywoodland’, where Affleck plays George Reeves, a failed screen actor who found
belated fame as Superman on TV, that Oscar rumours started to circulate again. Affleck’s
performance was rated highly, winning him the Volpi Cup as Best Actor at Venice, and a Golden
Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. At last, Affleck was back on
the radar. With Affleck’s wages having risen from $20,000 for Danielle Steele’s ‘Daddy’ in 1991 to tens
of millions, it seems that Affleck’s success pact with Matt Damon many moons ago has finally paid off.
Affleck made his directorial debut in 2007 with the movie ‘Gone Baby Gone’, which he also co-wrote.
The film also starred Affleck’s younger brother, Casey. The film was widely praised by critics when it
opened in October of that year. Commenting on his decision to direct a film, he said: “Directing a
movie was really instructive for me. I think I learned a lot about writing, and a lot about acting, and I
learned how all the pieces fit together from the inside. That was really valuable. It was a good thing.” In
2009, the actor returned in front of the cameras for the films ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’, ‘State of
Play’ and ‘Extract’. The multi-talented Affleck directed his second film the following year. Entitled ‘The Town’, it is based
on an adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s ‘Prince of Thieves’ novel. Like ‘Gone Baby Gone’, the film was a
commercial and critical success. Affleck’s marriage to actress Jennifer Garner is still going strong, with
the pair welcoming their second daughter Seraphina Elizabeth Rose into the world in January 2009. In
2010, Affleck played one of the main roles in the film ‘The Company Men’, which features three men
coping with the downsizing at a major company where they work and the impact this has on their
families. He then directed and starred in ‘The Town’, which also featured Blake Lively, Rebecca Hall
and Jon Hamm. It tells the story of a long-time thief planning his next bank job while balancing his
feelings for the bank manager and an FBI agent determined to bring his gang down.
Affleck will be playing the lead male role in an untitled Terence Malick production and starring in ‘Argo’,
which is about the Iranian Revolution next year. The actor and his wife Garner will also be welcoming
their third child early next year to join their two daughters. They announced Garner’s pregnancy in
August and stated they were “thrilled” with the news. A source close to the couple has also revealed
that the pair have started thinking of names for their new arrival, with most of them stolen from their
favourite Disney characters.