American actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck began his career as a child, appearing in several television shows, including the PBS educational program The Voyage of the Mimi (1984). [1] He played an antisemite in the sports film School Ties (1992) and featured as a regular on the television drama Against the Grain (1993). [2] [3] He gained attention for playing the supporting part of a high-school senior in Richard Linklater's cult film Dazed and Confused (1993), after which he had his first leading role in Rich Wilkes's comedy Glory Daze (1995). [3] [4] In 1997, Affleck played a comics artist in Smith's art-house success Chasing Amy . He co-wrote the script and starred with Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant's drama film Good Will Hunting , for which they won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. [5] [6]
Affleck emerged a star with Michael Bay's top-grossing science fiction film Armageddon (1998). [7] [8] In 2000, Affleck co-formed a production company named LivePlanet, which produced Project Greenlight (2001–05, 2015), a television series that provides training to first-time filmmakers. [9] [10] [11] Affleck starred in Bay's war film Pearl Harbor (2001), which despite negative reviews was a box office hit. [12] [13] His career subsequently went through a period of decline when he starred in a series of critical and commercial failures, including Gigli (2003). [14] [15] He made a comeback with the biopic Hollywoodland (2006), in which his portrayal of George Reeves earned him a Golden Globe nomination. [14] [16]
In 2007, Affleck made his feature film directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone , a thriller adapted by Affleck from the Dennis Lehane novel, which was critically praised. [17] [18] He went on to act in and direct two acclaimed features for Warner Bros. —the crime drama The Town (2010) and the thriller Argo (2012). [19] The latter, about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis in which he played the intelligence agent Tony Mendez, won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Affleck won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Director. [a] [16] [20] [21] In 2014, Affleck played a man accused of murdering his wife in David Fincher's thriller Gone Girl . [22] Two years later, he starred as Batman in the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), which grossed $873 million to rank as his highest-grossing release; he reprised the role in a few installments set in the DC Extended Universe. [8] [23] He subsequently gained praise for playing a recovering alcoholic in the sports drama The Way Back (2020), Peter II, Count of Alençon in the period film The Last Duel (2021), and a caring father-figure in the drama The Tender Bar (2021). [24] [25] Affleck returned to direction with the acclaimed sports drama Air (2023), in which he also portrayed Phil Knight. [26]
Acting roles
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Feature film
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Good Will Hunting | No | Yes | No | [36] |
2007 | Gone Baby Gone | Yes | Yes | No | [97] |
2010 | The Town | Yes | Yes | No | [98] |
2012 | Argo | Yes | No | Yes | [99] |
2016 | Live By Night | Yes | Yes | Yes | [100] |
2021 | The Last Duel | No | Yes | Yes | [101] |
2023 | Air | Yes | No | Yes | [102] |
Producer
| Executive producer
|
Short film
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney | Yes | No | No | [117] |
2008 | Gimme Shelter (Documentary) | Yes | No | No | [118] |
2023 | For People In Trouble | No | No | Yes | [119] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | The Voyage of the Mimi | C.T. Granville | 6 episodes | [120] |
1986 | ABC Afterschool Special | Danny Coleman | Episode: "Wanted: The Perfect Guy" | [121] |
1987 | Hands of a Stranger | Billy Hearn | Television film | [122] |
1988 | The Second Voyage of the Mimi | C.T. Granville | 12 episodes | [123] |
1991 | Daddy | Ben Watson | Television film | [124] |
1993 | The Torkelsons | Kevin Johnson | Episode: "Is That All There Is?" | [125] |
Against the Grain | Joe Willie Clemons | 8 episodes | [126] | |
1994 | Lifestories: Families in Crisis | Aaron Henry | Episode: "A Body to Die For: The Aaron Henry Story" | [127] |
2000–2013 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | 7 episodes | [1] |
2001–2005 & 2015 | Project Greenlight | 15 episodes | [10] [128] | |
2008 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Customer | Episode: "Officer Krupke" | [129] |
2024 | The Roast of Tom Brady | Himself | Netflix comedy special | [130] |
As producer
Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2001–2005 & 2015 | Project Greenlight | Executive producer | [10] [131] |
2002 | Push, Nevada | Executive producer and writer 2 episodes | [132] |
2015 | The Leisure Class | Television film; executive producer | [133] |
2016 | The Runner | Executive producer | [134] |
Incorporated | Executive producer | [135] | |
2019–2022 | City on a Hill | Executive producer and story concept | [136] |
2024 | We Were the Lucky Ones | Executive producer | [137] |
Year | Title | Role | Performer | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | "Jenny from the Block" | Himself | Jennifer Lopez | [138] |
2020 | "Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe" | Residente | [139] | |
2022 | "Marry Me (Ballad)" | Jennifer Lopez, Maluma | [140] |
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film tells the story of janitor Will Hunting, whose mathematical genius is discovered by a professor at MIT.
Benjamin Géza Affleck is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educational series The Voyage of the Mimi (1984–1988). He later appeared in the independent comedy Dazed and Confused (1993) and several Kevin Smith comedies, including Chasing Amy (1997).
Matthew Paige Damon is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
Casey Affleck is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. The younger brother of actor Ben Affleck, he began his career as a child actor, appearing in the PBS television film Lemon Sky (1988). He later appeared in three Gus Van Sant films: To Die For (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997), Gerry (2002), and in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's film series (2001–2007). His first leading role was in Steve Buscemi's independent comedy-drama Lonesome Jim (2006).
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place, for which Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He has since written and directed the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
The Bourne franchise consists of action-thriller installments based on the character Jason Bourne, created by author Robert Ludlum. The franchise includes five films and a spin-off television series. The overall plot centers around Jason Bourne, a CIA assassin suffering from dissociative amnesia, portrayed by Matt Damon.
The Town is a 2010 American crime thriller film co-written and directed by Ben Affleck, adapted from Chuck Hogan's 2004 novel Prince of Thieves. The film stars Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper and Slaine. Its plot follows a Boston bank robber who begins to develop romantic feelings for a victim of one of his previous robberies, while he and his crew set out to get one final score by robbing Fenway Park.
Jennifer Lopez has starred in over thirty-five feature films during a career that spans four decades as an actor and a producer. With critical and commercial success across numerous genres, Lopez has been nominated for Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes and Film Independent Spirit Awards, alongside accolades from the likes of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Pearl Street Films was an American film and television production company based at Warner Bros. Studios.
Julianne Moore is an American actress who made her acting debut on television in 1984 in the mystery series The Edge of Night. The following year she made her first appearance in the soap opera As the World Turns, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series in 1988. Following roles in television films, Moore had her breakthrough in Robert Altman's drama film Short Cuts (1993). Her performance garnered critical acclaim as well as notoriety for a monologue her character delivers while nude below the waist. She played lead roles in 1995 in Todd Haynes' drama Safe and the romantic comedy Nine Months. In 1997, Moore portrayed a veteran pornographic actress in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama film Boogie Nights, which earned her her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared in Steven Spielberg's adventure sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park—Moore's biggest commercial success to that point. Two years later, she played a wartime adulteress in The End of the Affair, for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.
American actor Matt Damon made his film debut with a small role in Mystic Pizza (1988), after which he played several supporting roles. His first leading role was in the legal drama film The Rainmaker (1997). His breakthrough came later that year when he played the title role of an unrecognized genius in Good Will Hunting, which he also co-wrote with Ben Affleck. They won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Damon was nominated for Best Actor. He followed it by playing the title roles of a soldier in Steven Spielberg's war drama Saving Private Ryan (1998) and of the criminal Tom Ripley in the thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), both of which gained critical and commercial success. Damon and Sean Bailey worked on the television series Project Greenlight since 2000, helping newcomers make their first film.
Live by Night is a 2016 American gangster film written, directed, produced by and starring Ben Affleck. Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, the film follows an ambitious Ybor City bootlegger (Affleck) who becomes a notorious gangster. The film also stars Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldaña, and Chris Cooper.
The Accountant is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Gavin O'Connor, written by Bill Dubuque and starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J. K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow. The storyline follows Christian Wolff, a certified public accountant with autism who makes his living (un-)'cooking the books' of criminal and terrorist organizations around the world that are experiencing internal embezzlement.
Manchester by the Sea is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan that stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, and Lucas Hedges. Revolving around the themes of depression, guilt, grief, responsibility, dysfunctional families, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the plot follows a depressed and grief-stricken man who becomes the legal guardian of his teenage nephew after the death of his brother.
The Last Duel is a 2021 historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. Set in medieval France, the film stars Damon as Jean de Carrouges, a knight who challenges his former friend, squire Jacques le Gris, to a judicial duel after Jean's wife, Marguerite, accuses Jacques of raping her. The events leading up to the duel are divided into three distinct chapters, reflecting the contradictory perspectives of the three main characters. Affleck also stars in a supporting role as Count Pierre d'Alençon.
Air is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery. The film is based on true events about the origin of Air Jordan, a basketball shoeline, of which a Nike employee seeks to strike a business deal with rookie player Michael Jordan. It stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis.
Artists Equity is an American production company founded by actors and filmmakers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in November 2022.
The following is a list of unproduced Ben Affleck projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker Ben Affleck has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.
RIP is an upcoming American crime thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Nestor Carbonell, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins, and Lina Esco.