Famous Actors Ben Affleck

Birth Name: Benjamin G. Affleck

Birthdate: August 15, 1972
Birthplace: Berkeley, CA
Occupations: Actor, Director, Writer

Claim to Fame: In 1997 he co-wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting

Significant Other(s):
Cheyenne Rothman: have dated on and off since high school
Gwyneth Paltrow: actress; dated January 1998 to January 1999

Family:
Father: Tim Affleck, social worker, former actor; divorced from Affleck's mother
Mother: Chris, teacher; divorced
Brother: Casey, actor; born 1975

Famous Actors Ben Affleck Biography
This dark-haired, handsome young actor first appeared in front of the cameras a the young tyke visiting the Mayan ruins in the PBS production The Voyage of the Mimi. As a a strapping young man, Affleck began his feature career often cast as the teen heavy in features ranging from School Ties (1992), in which he was one of the anti-Semetic preppies, to Dazed and Confused (1993), wherein he was cast as the senior who terrorizes freshman students on the last day of school and eventually meets his match.

After appearing in the ensemble of Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995), Affleck starred opposite Joey Lauren Adams in Smith's surprisingly affable romance Chasing Amy (1997). As his profile increased, the actor slipped into more conventional leading man roles that traded on his dark good looks: as a smooth-talking Korean War vet in Going All the Way (1997) and as an heroic astronaut in Armageddon (1998).

In 1996, Affleck and long-time best buddy Matt Damon made headlines in the trades when Miramax purchased the rights to Good Will Hunting, a film script they co-wrote about a troubled math genius. Gus Van Sant was tapped to direct with Damon in the leading role and Affleck portraying his best friend. The resulting feel-good film proved to be a box-office success and garnered several Oscar nominations. Affleck and Damon went on to win the Best Original Screenplay award to sign a development deal with Miramax for future projects. On the acting front, Affleck played one of the team selected to combat an oncoming meteor in the big-budgeted Armageddon and then offered an incisive comic turn as an egotistical actor in the period romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love (both 1998).

Continuing his string of work, Affleck landed the role of a bartender amid the ensemble of hot players (e.g., Christina Ricci, Courtney Love, Paul Rudd, Jay Mohr) in 200 Cigarettes, reteamed with Damon as renegade angels in Kevin Smith's Dogma, and was paired with Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy Forces of Nature (all lensed in 1998).

Filmography
Stolen Summer (2002)
Changing Lanes (2002)
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
The Third Wheel (2002)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Reindeer Games (2000)
Boiler Room (2000)
Bounce (2000)
Joseph: King of Dreams (2000)
200 Cigarettes (1999)
Forces of Nature (1999)
Dogma (1999)
Daddy and Them (1999)
Armageddon (1998)
Phantoms (1998)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Going All the Way (1997)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Glory Daze (1996)
Hoogste Tijd (1995)
Mallrats (1995)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
School Ties (1992)
Daddy (1991)
Hands of a Stranger (1987)

Awards:
1998: Academy Award: Best Original Screenplay, Good Will Hunting (cowritten with Matt Damon)

Factoids:
1993: Directed the short film I Murdered My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook

Education:
University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
Occidental College, Eagle Rock, California (was attending when he made School Ties in 1992)