Ben Affleck

Biography:

American actor and filmmaker Benjamin was born on August 15, 1972. Among his honors are two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. When he starred in the educational PBS series The Voyage of the Mimi (1984–1988), Affleck’s career officially began. Later, he starred in a number of Kevin Smith films, including Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), and Dogma (1999), as well as the indie comedy Dazed and Confused (1993).

When he and Matt Damon won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for penning the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, in which they both acted, Affleck’s fame grew. He became a leading guy in studio movies, such as the thriller The Sum of All Fears (2002), the war drama Pearl Harbor (2001), the action crime thriller Reindeer Games (2000), and the disaster blockbuster Armageddon (1998). Following a period of decline in his career, Affleck returned by playing George Reeves in the 2006 movie Hollywoodland, where he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

He co-wrote and directed his first film, Gone Baby Gone (2007), which was warmly praised. After that, he directed and starred in two critically and financially successful films: the political thriller Argo (2012) and the criminal drama The Town (2010). Affleck received both the Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Picture and the BAFTA Award for Best Director for the latter. After that, Affleck portrayed the superhero Batman in the DC Extended Universe (2016–2023) and featured in the psychological thriller Gone Girl (2014). He starred in the sports drama The Way Back (2020) and the thriller The Accountant (2016). In the dramas, Affleck played supporting parts. He also directed The Last Duel (2021), The Tender Bar (2021), and Air (2023).

Affleck is a co-founder of the nonprofit Eastern Congo Initiative, which focuses on lobbying and grantmaking. He is a Democratic Party supporter. In addition to being co-owners of Pearl Street Films, Affleck and Damon co-own the production business Artists Equity. He and Jamie Ding won the $1,000,000 top prize for their charity, Eastern Congo Initiative, on July 29, 2026, making them the fourth team and fifth celebrities overall. They were also the eighteenth million-dollar winners on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.