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~ Ben Affleck
Birth Name: Benjamin Geza Affleck |
Biography:
Benjamin Geza Affleck was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California, USA but raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was born to parents Tim Affleck, (now divorced from Ben's mother) Chris Affleck, and his younger brother (and only sibling) Casey Affleck, who is also an actor. Ben wanted to be an actor ever since he could remember and his first acting experience was for a Burger King commercial, when he was very young. At 8 years old Ben was given his first steady acting job on the PBS mini-series "Voyage of the Mimi, The" (1984). It was also at that age when Ben met his lifelong friend and fellow actor. He also struck up a friendship with Matt Damon, a boy two years older than himself who lived down the street. They played little league and took drama classes together. Ben's teen years consisted of mainly TV movies and small television appearances including Hands of a Stranger (1987) (TV) and "Second Voyage of the Mimi, The" (1988).
After Graduating high school the young Affleck dabbled in higher education at both the University of Vermont and California�s Occidental College. He found it all too restricting and opted to give Hollywood a try. He made his big introduction into feature films in 1993 when he was cast in Dazed and Confused (1993). After that he did mostly independent films like Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997) which were great for Ben's career, receiving renowned appreciation for his works at the Sundance film festival. Affleck began feeling frustrated with being turned down for the big roles in films and being given the forgettable supporting ones. He received a phone call from long time friend Matt Damon. Damon wanted Ben to help him work on a screen play he had started while at Harvard. Affleck agreed and together they came up with a brilliant story that featured them in the lead characters. They were reportedly offered large sums of money to allow more established actors to play the main roles, but Ben and Matt never sold out, eventually the script was picked up by Miramax and in December of 1997 ''Good Will Hunting'' was released.The movie was a huge success and so were Affleck and Damon. The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won two, including an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Ben became one of Hollywoods most promising young men, and marked Ben's breakthrough role.
With literally his pick of scripts, Affleck undertook an image change by co-starring as a hotshot oil driller who is part of a crew selected to save the world from the threat of an asteroid in "Armageddon" (1998). Switching gears, he donned period garb to play a wastrel actor in Elizabethan England in "Shakespeare in Love" (also 1998). Continuing his string of work, Affleck landed the role of a bartender amid the ensemble of hot players in "200 Cigarettes", reteamed with Damon as renegade angels in "Dogma" and was paired with Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature" (all 1999). The actor continued to impress with "Reindeer Games", a small yet critical role in the hit "Boiler Room", and offered perhaps his most complex screen characterization to date in "Bounce" (all 2000). Affleck rose to superstatus when he starred in the much-anticipated "Pearl Harbor" (2001). Continually working, the actor went on to appear in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001). Affleck next delivered one of his most compelling performances in the psychological thriller "Changing Lanes" (2002). The actor next took on the weight of a struggling film franchise when he stepped into the shoes of Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford by essaying the Tom Clancy hero Jack Ryan in "The Sum of All Fears" (2002).
Even as the actor was offered an increasing succession of leading man parts in major motion pictures, he kept a hand in the behind-the-scenes field that earned him an Oscar. Affleck and Damon also teamed as executive producers and writers for the ABC 2002 midseason replacement series "The Runner" which was delayed and has yet to air; and the two friends executive produced (and Affleck co-created) the Fall 2002 ABC series "Push, Nevada". Perhaps most prominantly, Affleck and Damon are also co-founders of Project Greenlight, an organization that funds and assists aspiring filmmakers. Which resulted in an HBO TV series (aired in 2002) and the promised feature "Stolen Summer" (2002), starring Kevin Pollak and Aidan Quinn. The response was so strong, a second "Project Greenlight" was planned for 2003.
In addition to his box office star power and behind-the-scenes clout, Affleck also became a magnet for media attention, partly as a result of his high-profile romances. His on-again, off-again relationship with "Bounce" co-star Gwyneth Paltrow put him in the spotlight, and the media's curiosity seemed to escalate in 2001 after Affleck voluntarily checked himself into a posh Malibu rehab clinic and underwent a one-month program to curb his alcohol abuse. Shortly thereafter, Affleck met fellow superstar Jennifer Lopez, the two began dating and fueled a feeding frenzy of media scrutiny about their relationship, coverage that peaked with the announcement of the two stars' engagement in November of 2002.
Meanwhile, Affleck agreed to tackle yet another major role, starring in "Daredevil" (2003), an adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero, paired with leading lady Jennifer Garner. With these hits to his credit, Hollywood can't seem to get enough of Ben, with directors wanting him in their movies and companies wanting his screenplays. His inspirational story of hard work and amazing climb to the top has brought him what he deserves and he has shown no sign of slowing down.
Filmography:
� Paycheck (filming)..... as Jennings (2004)
� Surviving Christmas (post-production).....(2004)
� Jersey Girl (post-production).....as Ollie Trinke (2003)
� Gigli (post-production).....as Larry Gigli (2003)
� Daredevil.....as Matt Murdock/Daredevil (2003)
� The Third Wheel.....as Michael (2002/I)
� The Sum of All Fears.....as Jack Ryan (2002)
� Changing Lanes.....as Gavin Banek (2002)
� Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back..... as Holden McNeil/Himself (2001)
� Daddy and Them.....as Lawrence Bowen (2001)
� Pearl Harbor.....as Capt. Rafe McCawley (2001)
� Bounce.....as Buddy Amaral (2000)
� Joseph: King of Dreams (V) (voice).....as Joseph (2000)
� Reindeer Games.....as Rudy Duncan (2000)
� SNL Fanatic (TV).....as Jason (2000)
� Boiler Room.....as Jim Young (2000)
� Dogma.....as Bartleby (1999)
� Forces of Nature.....as Ben Holmes (1999)
� 200 Cigarettes.....as Bartender (1999)
� Shakespeare in Love.....as Ned Alleyn (1998)
� Armageddon.....as A.J. Frost (1998)
� Phantoms.....as Sheriff Bryce Hammond (1998)
� Good Will Hunting.....as Chuckie Sullivan (1997)
� Office Killer(scenes deleted).....as Man in Office (1997)
� Chasing Amy..... as Holden McNeil (1997)
� Going All the Way..... as Tom 'Gunner' Casselman (1997)
� Glory Daze..... as Jack (1996)
� "Lifestories: Families In Crisis" TV Series..... as Aaron Henry (1995)
� Mallrats..... as Shannon Hamilton (1995)
� A Body to Die for: The Aaron Henry Story (TV)..... as Aaron Henry (1994)
� "Against the Grain" TV Series..... as Joe Willie Clemons (1993)
� Dazed and Confused..... as Fred O'Bannion (1993)
� School Ties..... as Chesty Smith (1992)
� Buffy the Vampire Slayer (uncredited)..... as Basketball Player #10 (1992)
� Daddy (TV)..... as Ben Watson (1991)
� "The Second Voyage of the Mimi" TV Series..... as C.T. Granville (1988)
� Hands of a Stranger (TV)..... as Billy Hearn (1987)
� Wanted: The Perfect Guy (TV)..... as Danny Coleman (1986)
� "The Voyage of the Mimi" TV Series..... as C.T. Granville (1984)
� The Dark End of the Street .....(1981)