Ben Affleck is one of the foremost figures in Hollywood. His name has recently been grabbing headlines due to his reunion with actress and music sensation Jennifer Lopez.
Affleck and childhood friend Matt Damon gained fame with their drama film Good Will Hunting, which they co-penned and featured in.
Following their triumph in winning the Academy Award for best screenplay, the pair became renowned as promising young talents.
Affleck then directed and starred in Argo, clinching another Oscar – this time for best picture.
He and Lopez have been making waves in the tabloids since they reunited over the summer, and it appears that this time, their relationship will endure.
Ben Affleck’s Early Roles
Affleck’s debut was in the independent film Dark End of the Street when he was 7.
At 9, he starred in the educational series Voyage of Mimi. Affleck went on to star in the show’s sequel.
After a series of minor roles and a stint in college, Affleck was cast in Kevin Smith’s 1995 film, Mallrats.
The actor was mainly cast as the school bully due to his larger build and chose to capitalize on his typecasting to search for the perfect role.
The two cultivated the ideal working relationship, and Affleck’s breakthrough role came in the director’s subsequent film, Chasing Amy, two years later.
At the age of eight, Affleck met and befriended Matt Damon, and the two took acting classes together throughout their adolescent years.
The Triumph of Good Will Hunting
Affleck and Damon frequently co-wrote plays while in college.
They attended the same playwriting class at Harvard University and crafted a 40-page script as an assignment.
While cohabiting in Los Angeles, the friends decided to expand the script and pitch it around Hollywood as a feature film.
Tired of being cast in supporting roles, Damon and Affleck resolved to star in the film alongside screen icon Robin Williams.
Miramax accepted the script in 1994, and Affleck and Damon negotiated to retain artistic control over the project.
In 1997, the film was released to widespread critical acclaim, with the script garnering high praise.
Good Will Hunting follows Will Hunting (played by Damon), a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hunting, who has a genius-level IQ, solves a complex math problem left on a chalkboard. Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) strikes a deal with the police to have Hunting treated by therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) in exchange for leniency after Hunting is involved in a brawl with an officer.
The film was allotted a budget of only $10 million and managed to gross an impressive $225 million, defying the studio’s expectations.
Affleck and Damon – The Dynamic Duo
Regarding his friendship with Damon, Ben Affleck divulged to Parade.
“Before Matt, I was by myself. Acting was a solo activity where I’d just go off and do something, act in a little TV show or something, and no one understood it,” Affleck confessed. “None of the other kids knew what it was I did, how it worked, or anything. All of a sudden, I had this friend, Matt, and he gets it and wants to do it and thinks it’s interesting and wants to talk about it. Soon both of us are doing it.”
Prior to the film’s success, the once-struggling actors had nothing but aspirations of hitting it big, even sharing a bank account to pool their savings and earnings from modest acting jobs.
The duo recently collaborated to write the script for The Last Duel, featuring Jodie Comer and Adam Driver.
This is the first script Affleck and Damon have worked on together in 25 years and humorously remarked that the hiatus was due to their uncertainty about what to do following Good Will Hunting.
What Is Ben Affleck’s Net Worth?
After a lengthy and prolific career in filmmaking, it is estimated that Affleck has a net worth of $150 million.
This figure can be attributed to his contributions as an actor, screenwriter, producer, and director.
Following Good Will Hunting, Affleck starred as the lead in the preceding chapters of the Batman series, portraying the role in the Justice League films.
Deadline estimated that for Batman, Affleck received between $10 million and $20 million to play Gotham’s hero.
His star power meant that his contract stipulated he would only accept roles offering an eight-figure salary.
Ben Affleck’s Relationship Rollercoaster
Affleck and Lopez were one of Hollywood’s power couples from 2002 to 2004.
Their highly-publicized romance was predicted to last, as Lopez had recently divorced choreographer Criss Judd.
Affleck wedded Jennifer Garner in 2005, after appearing in Pearl Harbor and Daredevil together.
In 2015, tabloids reported that the couple was separated, and Garner filed for divorce three years later.
Following a brief romance with actress Ana de Armas, news outlets reported that Lopez had been spotted with her former fiancé after her split from Alexander Rodriguez in April 2021.
Since the reconciliation, the two have openly demonstrated their reunion and are frequently seen supporting each other in public.
The couple spends time with each other’s children, and Lopez was recently seen with a coffee cup bearing the letter ‘B’ on it.
The press recently criticized Affleck for his remarks about Garner, alleging he felt he was being held hostage during the marriage.
He claimed he would still be addicted to alcohol if the marriage had endured.
Many members of the public came to his ex-wife’s defense, sharing paparazzi images of Garner driving Affleck around after multiple rehab stays.
They said Affleck was unappreciative and emphasized that the marriage ended due to his infidelity.
