Affleck, Ben(jamin) Geza (1972- )

US film actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence in a series of US independent productions in the 1990s, working with such leading young film-makers as Richard Linklater on Dazed and Confused (1993) and Kevin Smith on Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), and Jersey Girl (2004). Affleck's performance in Chasing Amy, together with his Academy Award for the screenplay of Good Will Hunting (1997), launched him to international celebrity. He subsequently broke into mainstream cinema, featuring in the blockbuster sci-fi thriller Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001), while continuing to work in independent cinema, notably in the award-winning Shakespeare in Love (1998).

Affleck began his acting career as a child, appearing in a number of television productions, including The Voyage of the Mimi (1984) and Daddy (1991). Among his other film credits are School Ties (1992), Phantoms (1998), 200 Cigarettes (1999), Boiler Room (2000), Bounce (2000), Daredevil (2003), Paycheck (2003), and Surviving Christmas (2004).

Affleck was born in Berkeley, California. As a young child he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he met Matt Damon, a fellow actor and screenwriter with whom his own career has been closely associated; they have appeared in several films together and co-authored the screenplay for Good Will Hunting, in which Damon starred and Affleck played a supporting role.