Affleck, once a tabloid staple who risked becoming a laughingstock during his romance with Jennifer Lopez and their flop movie, Gigli, is back on top in Hollywood. The 40-year-old is winning accolades for his work, both in front of and behind the camera.
Fifteen years ago, Affleck shared an Oscar with actor and friend Matt Damon for their first screenplay, Good Will Hunting. The buzz is building over a likely second Academy Award nomination next month. It would be Affleck’s first since 1997.
Affleck’s latest film, Argo, a story of the real-life rescue of six American diplomats from Iran in 1980, this week picked up five Golden Globe nominations and a nod from the Screen Actors Guild for its top prize of best ensemble cast.
The film, which Affleck directed, produced and stars in, has also delighted critics and brought in some $160 million at the worldwide box office.
“It was tough to watch him get kicked in the teeth for all those years because the perception of him was so not who he actually was,” said Damon.
“It was upsetting for a lot of his friends because he’s the smartest, kindest, and an incredibly talented guy,” Damon said. “Ben deserves everything that he’s going to get.”
Selling magazines, not movies
Damon, by contrast, was seeing his career surge with The Bourne Identity, Syriana and The Departed.
He recalls Affleck’s pain. “He said [to me], ‘I am in the absolute worst place you can be. I sell magazines, not movie tickets’,” shared Damon. “I remember our agent called up the editor of Us Weekly, and begged her not to put him on the cover any more, ‘please stop — just stop’ the agent told the magazine,” said Damon.
After splitting with Lopez, Affleck married actor Jennifer Garner, and started a family. He wrote and directed small, but admired movies, like Gone Baby Gone and gritty crime film, The Town. Last month, Affleck was named Entertainment Weekly’s entertainer of the year.
“I had to synthesise comedic elements and the political stuff and this true-life drama thriller story,” said Affleck as he shared his experience of film Argo. “It was scary and daunting.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2012.
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