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Ben Affleck Biography

Courtesy of Fox

Ben and Casey Affleck

Birthdate: August 16, 1972
Hometown: Berkeley, California

Ben Affleck's Boston Beginnings

Although Benjamin Geza Affleck was born in Berkeley, California, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts at a young age. While growing up in Boston, Ben Affleck became good friends with a kid who lived only a few blocks away, Matt Damon. One of the things Ban Affleck and Matt Damon had in common was their interest in acting.

Ben Affleck: Actor for Hire

After high school, buddy Matt Damon headed off to Harvard and Ben Affleck decided to skip college and do the auditioning thing. At this point, Ben Affleck had already landed some acting gigs, like a part in the sci-fi TV show The Voyage of the Mimi. At 19 Affleck scored a role in the TV movie Daddy. Following a tiny role in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie, Ben Affleck scored another good role alongside Brendan Fraser, Chris O'Donnell, and his buddy Matt Damon in the 1992 movie School Ties.

Ben Affleck is the Indie King:

Matt Damon's career got more coverage than Ben Affleck's after School Ties, but Ben didn't give up. Affleck started doing smaller budget flicks, like Dazed and Confused, Mallrats, Glory Daze and Chasing Amy. During this time Ben Affleck became friends with the super-popular indie director, Kevin Smith. Kevin decided to help Ben with a little project he was working on - a little screenplay Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were writing called Good Will Hunting.

Ben Affleck's Good Will

Good Will Hunting was a major success. The two childhood buddies from Boston won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for their movie. Ben Affleck then starred in the blockbuster hit Pearl Harbor, as well as Daredevil and Gigli, where Affleck met his fiance, Jennifer Lopez.