Ben Affleck Photo Gallery

Ben Affleck was born to actor Tim and Chris Affleck. He was raised in Cambridge, where he became childhood pals with Matt Damon. The young one-day-to-be heartthrobs, played Little League together and often attended drama classes.

As young teens, they began to explore the acting world. The two would take a train to New York City and audition. One particular day, Affleck recalls going to New York for an audition, showing up, and realizing it was for "The Mickey Mouse Club." Damon and Affleck were in their mid-teens at that point, so the idea of starring on the children's show was far from their idea of success. Ben says the two rode back to Boston in silence.

But occasionally, Ben did nail down some roles. He had a recurring role on the PBS show The Voyages of Mimi, grabbed a few commercials, and a few television movies. By the time he'd reached adulthood, life was growing tough, but Ben was determined to be an actor. His first feature film role came in 1993 on Dazed and Confused. The whole experience was enjoyable for Ben, as he made many friends (Dazed and Confused starred some of today's Hollywood hottest). He followed that up with School Ties, a film that costarred Damon and Brendan Fraser.

Still, stardom alluded Ben. He took roles in Kevin Smith's independent, but cult-worthy films Mallrats and Chasing Amy. Chasing Amy did get a lot of press, but mostly for costar Joey Lauren Adams, who was nominated for a Golden Globe.

At this point, the story becomes familiar. Matt and Ben, frustrated with the lack of good parts coming their way, decided to write their own. Thus the birth of Good Will Hunting.

After the film debuted to incredible critical praise and followed that with a superb box office pull, Ben's name was all over. He then took roles in many of the top Hollywood films and remains a top draw.

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