Ben Affleck Facts

Apart from his acting skills, Ben Affleck has also dabbled in the world of direction and screenplay. Over the years he has established himself as a leading actor in Hollywood and been a part of several big budget movies. He has also been actively been involved with A-T Children's Project, a non profit organization.

Facts About Ben Affleck
Born in Berkley, California to Christine Ann and Timothy Affleck, at the age of eight Ben shifted with his family to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Matt Damon was his neighbor just a few blocks away. The two attended the same school, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Later on, Affleck studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles and then at the University of Vermont.

Ben Affleck started his career in acting at a fairly young age. As a child artist he made several appearances in kids series, The Voyage of the Mimi. In the initial stage of his movie career, he got several small parts in various movies. The movie Jersey Girl featured him in the lead role. In the year 1997, the movie Good Will Hunting, in which Affleck co-starred with friend Matt Damon, received rave reviews from critics all over. The movie won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and had a significant contribution from Affleck. Soon after the success of this movie, Affleck along with his friend Matt Damon formed a production company called LivePlanet.

After the success of Good Will Hunting , Ben starred in several blockbuster films such as, Pearl Harbor, The Sum Of All Fears, Armageddon and Forces of Nature. Although Surviving Christmas and Gigli were big budget films, they failed at the box office. For a few years his movie career spiraled downwards. In the year 2006, Ben made a comeback with the film Hollywoodland, which was directed by veteran TV-series director Allen Coulter. His impressive performance in this movie won him the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival. He was also a Golden Globe nominee in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting role. The movie Gone, Baby, Gone," which starred his brother Cassey, was Ben's directorial debut. He also contributed towards the screenplay of the movie. This movie was very positively reviewed by the critics.

Ben Affleck had some high profile relationships with some of the leading ladies in the entertainment industry. He romanced Gwyneth Paltrow after her break up with Brad Pitt, and a few years later he was seriously involved with Jennifer Lopez. Although the two were engaged and had planned a wedding, things didn't work out and they parted ways. They blamed the media for the negative publicity about their relationship. In due course of time, Affleck fell in love with with his Daredevil co-star, the beautiful Jennifer Garner. After dating each other for nine months, the two finally decided to tie the knot on June 29, 2005. They have two daughters Violet Anne and Seraphina Rose Elizabeth, who are their constant source of inspiration.

Another lesser known fact about Ben Affleck is about his poker playing abilities. Affleck who is an ardent poker fan, has been coached by Annie Duke and Amir Vahedi. He also happens to be the winner of the first prize at the California State Poker Championships in the year 2004, pocketing a cool 356,000 dollars. This win qualified him for the World Poker Tour the same year.

Apart from his exploits in the entertainment industry, Ben Affleck is also closely associated with politics. He supports the principles of the Democratic party and joins political leaders in their political campaigns.