Ben Affleck Biography

Ben Affleck, actor

Birthdate: August 15, 1972

Birthplace: Berkeley, California

Sign: Leo

With his movie-star good looks, actor Ben Affleck shot to stardom when he and friend Matt Damon co-wrote and co-starred in the movie "Good Will Hunting." While he has established himself as a Hollywood leading man, Affleck's personal life, political involvement and attachments to leading ladies has garnered him just as much attention.

Affleck was born August 15, 1972, as Benjamin Geza Affleck-Boldt, in Berkeley, California. His mom was a school teacher and his father a drug rehab counselor and he has a younger brother, Casey, who is also an actor. His father was a former actor with the Theater Company of Boston.

While still young, his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and his parents divorced in 1984. When he was 8-years-old, Affleck met neighbor Matt Damon who was two years older. They became friends and remain so today.

Affleck worked as a child actor on the PBS kids' series "The Voyage of the Mind" and also appeared in several made-for-television movies. During the 1990s he appeared in movies such as "School Ties," "Dazed and Confused," "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy."

The movies "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy" marked the beginning of his collaboration with writer/director Kevin Smith. With the exception of Smith's movie "Clerks," Affleck has appeared in every film Smith has made.

But it was the movie "Good Will Hunting" that changed Affleck's career. He and Damon both received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the movie and both actors found themselves in the enviable position of being sought after actors.

Affleck, Damon, and producers Chris Moore and Sean Bailey also developed "Project Greenlight," a contest and documentary series focusing on amateur filmmaking. The series was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Following "Good Will Hunting," Affleck starred in a several successful movies including "Armageddon," "Forces of Nature," "Pearl Harbor," "Changing Lanes," "The Sum of All Fears" and "Daredevil."

His career is equally marked by box-office flops including "Gigli," "Jersey Girl" and "Surviving Christmas."

Although he continues to act, Affleck has turned his attention to directing and had his directorial debut with "Gone, Baby, Gone" for which he co-wrote the screenplay. The film appeared on several movie critics' top ten lists of Best Films of 2007.

Affleck's high-profile romances with actresses began when he started dating Gwyneth Paltrow in 1998 after she had ended her relationship with Brad Pitt. In 2002, he began dating singer/actress Jennifer Lopez. The two became an instant tabloid sensation and were dubbed "Bennifer" and their every move was followed. The couple became engaged and were planning a wedding when they broke up, blaming media attention on their breakup.

Affleck then started dating Jennifer Garner, his "Daredevil" co-star. The two became engaged after nine months of dating. They announced Garner was pregnant in May of 2005 and were married one month later on the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos. They have a daughter named Violet Anne Affleck.

Affleck is an avid poker player and won the California State Poker Championship in 2004. He is also an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots and Boston Celtics.

He supports a non-profit organization called the A-T Children's Project, and has spoken to Congress on behave of the project.

Affleck has strong political aspirations, and has not ruled out running for office at some point in the future. He campaigned for Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.