Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck or Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. Ben Affleck accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Ben Affleck began his career as a child when Ben Affleck starred in the PBS educational series The Voyage of the Mimi (1984, 1988). Ben Affleck later appeared in the independent coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993) and various Kevin Smith films, including Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997) and Dogma (1999). Affleck gained wider recognition when Ben Affleck and childhood friend Matt Damon won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Good Will Hunting (1997), which they also starred in. Ben Affleck then established himself as a leading man in studio films, including the disaster film Armageddon (1998), the war drama Pearl Harbor (2001), and the thrillers The Sum of All Fears and Changing Lanes (both 2002).

After a career downturn, during which Ben Affleck appeared in Daredevil (2003) and Gigli (2003), Affleck won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and received a Golden Globe nomination for portraying George Reeves in the noir biopic Hollywoodland (2006). Ben Affleck directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007), which Ben Affleck also co-wrote, was well received. Ben Affleck then directed, co-wrote and starred in the crime drama The Town (2010) and directed and starred in the political thriller Argo (2012); both were critical and commercial successes. For the latter, Affleck won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Director, and the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Academy Award for Best Picture. Ben Affleck has since starred in the psychological thriller Gone Girl (2014), the thriller The Accountant (2016), the action-adventure Triple Frontier (2019), the sports drama The Way Back (2020), and the comedy-drama The Tender Bar (2021). In 2016, Ben Affleck began portraying Batman in superhero films set in the DC Extended Universe.

Affleck is the co-founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a grantmaking and advocacy-based nonprofit organization. Ben Affleck is also a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party. Affleck and Damon are co-owners of the production company Pearl Street Films.