Biography of actor Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck's combination of good looks and charm make him a huge draw to the box office. Born in 1972 in Berkeley, California, both he and his younger brother Casey grew up to be actors. Affleck’s best friend from childhood is actor Matt Damon. Ben was an actor as a child, appearing in a television series and numerous TV movies.

Ben Affleck then moved into theatrical films. His early films include the teen hit Dazed and Confused, directed by Richard Linklater and featuring Jason London. Mallrats and Chasing Amy followed, which started his continuing collaboration with cult director Kevin Smith. Other notable films include Armageddon, directed by Michael Bay and starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton. Changing Lanes was a morality tale directed by Roger Michell and co-starring Samuel L Jackson. Another Michael Bay film, the blockbuster Pearl Harbor, cemented Ben as an A-List star, and co-starred Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. Ben played a blind comic book hero in Daredevil, directed by Mark Steven Johnson and co-starring Jennifer Garner and Colin Farrell as the villain.

In 1997, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon took the unusual move of writing their own screenplay. The result was Good Will Hunting, starring Damon and Robin Williams. The screenplay was widely praised and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Ben Affleck has been a keen political campaigner for the Democrats, supporting both Al Gore and John Kerry in their bids to become president. He introduced Hillary Clinton at a rally at Cornell University and joined Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen, and Rob Reiner in a campaign to persuade people to vote in elections.

Ben Affleck’s romantic liaisons have caused a great deal of media interest, especially his relationships with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez. In 2004, Ben married Daredevil co-star Jennifer Garner and their daughter Violet was born a year later.

If Ben Affleck ever got tired of making movies he could always earn a living on the poker circuit. Ben is an expert player, having been taught by professionals Annie Duke and Amir Vahedi. Affleck won the Californian State Poker Championship in 2004.

The future looks busy for Ben Affleck. In 2006, Affleck was reuinted with writer and director Kevin Smith, in his sequel Clerks 2. Ben is also set to make his directorial debut in 2007, in a film adapted from a Dennis Lehane novel, Gone, Baby, Gone.

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