December 4, 2017 | Shannon Quinn

42 Behind-The-Scenes Facts about Ben Affleck


“When I look up at the screen and see myself, I always have to laugh. Not because I think I'm doing a horrible job, quite the contrary, I just feel it's so surreal to feel like one person can entertain so many at one time.”


42. Just Call Me Ben

His full name is Benjamin Geza Affleck-Boldt, but he goes by the name of Ben Affleck because it’s easier for people to remember. His middle name, “Geza”, is after a family friend who was a Holocaust survivor.

Ben Affleck Facts

41. The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword

Ben Affleck has written 5 full-length movies, and several episodes on the TV show called Push, Nevada. His movies usually take place in Boston, since that’s where he grew up.

Ben Affleck facts

40. Lights, Camera, Action

He has directed 7 different movies. His most successful film was Argo, which he also starred in.

Ben Affleck facts

39. Lovely Melody

The song “Dear Ben” by Jennifer Lopez is about him. The lyrics include: "I just can't control myself
I can't be with no one else. Seems I am addicted to the way you like to touch me."

Ben Affleck facts

38. Never Forget

Affleck’s mother is an elementary school teacher. A little girl in his mother’s class was diagnosed with cancer. He visited her, and she died in 2002. Ever since then, he had been donating money to cancer research.

Ben Affleck facts

37. Friends Forever

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were best friends since elementary school. They grew up two blocks away from one another. When Affleck started getting bigger acting gigs, he recommended Matt Damon to his agent, and helped him break into the industry.

Ben Affleck facts

36. What’s Mine is Yours

When they were younger, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon shared a bank account. They used it to help get themselves to New York City for auditions.

Ben Affleck facts

35. In it Together

Ben and Matt wrote Good Will Hunting together, and they sold the script for $600,000.

Ben Affleck facts

Sources: 1 2 3

34. Inspired by Dad

Ben Affleck’s father worked as a janitor at Harvard University for a while, which is what inspired the idea of Good Will Hunting.

Ben Affleck facts

33. Batter, Up!

When Ben and Matt were teenagers, they both played extras in Field of Dreams. This was easy for them, because they were hardcore Red Sox fans.

Ben Affleck facts

32. Can I Get Fries With That?

When he was a teenage actor, he was in a Burger King commercial.

Ben Affleck facts

31. Hair Flip

Once he got famous, he started making a lot more money for commercials. Get gets paid over $1 million for acting in L’Oreal commercials.

Ben Affleck facts

30. Party Hard

After starring in the movie School Ties together, Ben and Matt earned a collective $75,000. They felt rich, and decided to rent a house in Venice Beach, where they invited over 800 people to a massive party. They were shocked to discover they owed $15,000 to the IRS, and quickly ran out of money with their new lifestyle. They downgraded to an apartment, and helped one another stay afloat until their next big gig.

Ben Affleck facts

29. Moving on Up

The boys thought they were “rich” after School Ties, but they had no idea what real money looked like. Affleck would eventually go on to make millions of dollars for every film he appeared in. He reportedly made $15,000,000 to be in “Paycheck” in 2003.

Ben Affleck facts

Sources: 1 2 3

28. Speed Racer

Affleck isn’t just a daredevil in the movies. He owns 5 different motorcycles, and drives them around whenever he can.

Ben Affleck facts

27. Cultured

He majored in Middle Eastern Affairs in college, and was learning how to speak Arabic.

Ben Affleck facts

26. Getting Fit

When he was cast as Batman, Ben Affleck had to work out two hours a day to build the muscle needed for the role.

Ben Affleck facts

25. Give Me Your Lunch Money

Before he started getting the roles of the leading hero, he was type-casted as a bully in a number of films.

Ben Affleck facts

24. Road Trips Are Better, Anyway.

He may be brave with a lot of things, but he’s afraid of flying. He fear stems from an event in his childhood: he was flying in a plane that was struck by lightening.

Ben Affleck facts

23. Over the Border

When he was a teenager, he lived in Mexico for a while and got fluent in Spanish. He flaunted his Spanish skills at the Batman Vs. Superman premiere in Mexico City when he answered interview questions entirely in Spanish.

Ben Affleck facts

22. Shortie

In his Freshman year of High School, Affleck was only 5-foot-1, and he described himself as “an awkward theater geek”.

Ben Affleck facts

Sources: 1 2 3

21. Inner Geek

He owns vintage arcade machines of Ms. Pacman and Millipede.

Ben Affleck facts

20. Show Me Your Hand

Screenwriting and acting aren’t his only talents. He is so good at poker that he won the California State Championships, winning $356,000.

Ben Affleck facts

19. Kaboom

In 2013, Ben Affleck was quoted saying “God help me if I ever do another movie with an explosion in it. If you see me in a movie where stuff is exploding you'll know I've lost all my money.” ...He became Batman in 2016, where the movies have lots of explosions.

Ben Affleck facts

18. They Just Click

Ben Affleck has worked with director Kevin Smith in a total of 6 movies. Clearly, they must work well together. He was supposed to be a cameo in two more of Smith’s movies, but couldn’t because of scheduling.

Ben Affleck facts

17. Just a Number

He was the oldest actor to ever be cast as Batman. He was 40 years old at the time.

Ben Affleck facts

16. All in the Family

He got married to actress Jennifer Garner, and they have three children together.

Ben Affleck facts

15. Bling

Before marrying Jennifer Garner, he was engaged to Jennifer Lopez. He gave her a ring worth over $1 million.

Ben Affleck facts

Sources: 1 2 3

14. MTV

Ben Affleck was in the Jennifer Lopez music video “Jenny from the Block”.

Ben Affleck facts

13. Want Some Green Juice?

Before dating the two Jens, Ben Affleck was dating Gwyneth Paltrow. They broke up, because their lifestyles were far too different. Gwen loves healthy living and meditation, and Ben always loves to be on-the-go. He generously describes her as being “more evolved” than him.

Ben Affleck facts

12. Going Separate Ways

In 2015, on their 10-year anniversary, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner announced their divorce.

Ben Affleck facts

11. You’re Getting Very Sleepy

When Affleck knew that he was going to have a baby with Jennifer Garner, he wanted to quit smoking. He wasn’t able to do it on his own, so he went to a hypnotist. It worked. He never smoke a cigarette since.

Ben Affleck facts

10. Pay it Forward

In 2001, Charlie Sheen drove him to rehab for alcohol abuse. In 2013, after he had been sober for a long time Affleck decided to follow in Sheen’s footsteps and visit Lindsay Lohan when she was in rehab to give her a pep talk.  He was quoted saying, “I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step.”

Ben Affleck facts

9. Money Isn’t Everything

During an interview, Ben Affleck compared materialism to Christmas time, where people feel obligated to spend money and buy new things. He says that material things won’t buy happiness. “Obviously that stuff doesn't make you happy, otherwise there wouldn't be all these unhappy rich people. “

Ben Affleck facts

8. You’re My Hero

Ben Affleck says that the actor he aspires to be like the most is Harrison Ford.

Ben Affleck facts

Sources: 1 2 3

7. Killing the Dream

He was quoted saying that he would love to direct something like Blade Runner. However, the 2017 movie Blade Runner 2049 is being directed by Denis Villeneuve

Ben Affleck facts

6. Busted

In 1999, he was given a $135 traffic ticket for driving with a suspended license in Massachusetts. He was probably too busy working to get renewed.

Ben Affleck facts

5. Out Cold

In the movie Reindeer Games, Ben Affleck was knocked unconscious by actor Dana Stubblefield, who is a real-life football player. Affleck was rushed to the hospital, but he was totally fine.

Ben Affleck facts

4. Heathens

Since Ben Affleck made an appearance as Batman in Suicide Squad in 2016, that makes him the first actor to play the character in two movies in the same year. The Other was Batman vs. Superman.

Ben Affleck facts

3. Twenty One

Poker isn’t Affleck’s only game. He was banned from the Las Vegas Hard Rock Casino for life after he was caught “counting cards” in blackjack. Counting cards isn't illegal, but it can get you barred from casinos.

Ben Affleck facts

2. Family Man

Ben Affleck was quoted saying, “Having a family makes things you have that much richer. It's much nicer to share it with the people you love.”

Ben Affleck facts

1. Life Well Lived

Ben Affleck gave this summary of his Hollywood career: “I was nobody auditioning, and then I was seen as this young, emerging talent, writer, Oscar-winner, and then I was seen as this blockbuster actor, and then I was seen as this train-wreck actor, and then I was seen as this resurgent director. And now I think I'm kind of seen as just sort of somebody in Hollywood who works.”

Ben Affleck facts

Sources: 1 2 3


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