“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.”
43. 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.
42. 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.
41. Lights, Camera, Action
He has directed 7 different movies. His most successful film was Argo, which he also starred in.
40. 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.”
39. 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.
38. 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.
37. 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.
36. In it Together
Ben and Matt wrote Good Will Hunting together, and they sold the script for $600,000.
35. 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.
34. You’re My Hero
Ben Affleck says that the actor he aspires to be like the most is Harrison Ford.
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.
32. Can I Get Fries With That?
When he was a teenage actor, he was in a Burger King commercial.
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.
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.
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.
28. Speed Racer
Affleck isn’t just a daredevil in the movies. He owns 5 different motorcycles, and drives them around whenever he can.
27. Cultured
He majored in Middle Eastern Affairs in college, and was learning how to speak Arabic.
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.
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.
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.
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.
22. Shortie
In his Freshman year of High School, Affleck was only 5-foot-1, and he described himself as “an awkward theater geek”.
21. Inner Geek
He owns vintage arcade machines of Ms. Pacman and Millipede.
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.
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.
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.
17. Just a Number
He was the oldest actor to ever be cast as Batman. He was 40 years old at the time.
16. All in the Family
He got married to actress Jennifer Garner, and they have three children together.
15. Bling
Before marrying Jennifer Garner, he was engaged to Jennifer Lopez. He gave her a ring worth over $1 million.
14. MTV
Ben Affleck was in the Jennifer Lopez music video “Jenny from the Block”.
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.
12. Going Separate Ways
In 2015, on their 10-year anniversary, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner announced their divorce.
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.
Or not?
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.”
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. “
8. Trolling
When Ben and Matt were submitting drafts of Good Will Hunting, they had a feeling that the producers weren’t actually reading it, since they weren’t getting feedback. To test this theory, they began adding explicite guy-on-guy sex scenes. They were right. Most of the producers never noticed.
Harvey Weinstein of Miramax actually read the script and told them, "I just have one really big note. About page 60, the two professors give each other oral sex and they're on their knees and this whole big sex scene. What the hell is that? Because the guys are straight, and there's no hint of anything like that ... I don't get that scene.'"
The duo were thrilled that he actually read the script and asked him to make the movie.
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 was directed by Denis Villeneuve
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
1. 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."
