Ben Affleck worked as a child actor, appearing on the PBS kids' series The Voyage of the Mimi, as well as in several movies made for television. Throughout the 1990s, he had roles in Lifestories: Families in Crisis, as a steroid-abusing athlete, as well as in several films, including 1992's School Ties (with Damon), the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie (uncredited), 1993's Dazed and Confused, 1995's Mallrats, and 1997's Chasing Amy. Mallrats and Amy marked the beginning of his collaboration with writer/director Kevin Smith. He had the starring role in Smith's Jersey Girl and has appeared in every View Askewniverse-Jersey film Smith has made to date, with the exception of Clerks.
Recently in 2009, Ben Affleck returned to acting, starring in three features, He's Just Not That into You, State of Play, and Extract. In He's Just Not That into You, a romantic comedy, he was part of an ensemble cast that included Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long, and Jennifer Connelly. The film generated mostly mixed reviews, but was a box office success, earning $165 million worldwide. In State of Play, an adaptation of the British television serial State of Play, Ben Affleck played Congressman Stephen Collins. The film is a political thriller which explores the relationship between politicians and the media. In the comedy film Extract, Ben Affleck played Dean, a bartender, and the best friend to Jason Bateman's character. His performance in the film was well-received, with Barbara Vancheri of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporting that "Affleck is a hoot as a long-haired fount of bad advice and drugs he keeps in a little tin behind the bar. After playing a square-jawed crimefighter, an actor turned Superman and a congressman, he is actually loose and funny."
Ben Affleck directed his second feature, The Town, an adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves, that was both a critical and commercial success when it was released in theaters in 2010. Along with directing and co-writing the film, he was part of the cast that includes Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Chris Cooper and Blake Lively.
Ben Affleck will star in an upcoming romantic drama written and directed by Terrence Malick, alongside Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz. Filming took place in fall 2010 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Ben Affleck will also be directing his third feature, Argo, for producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film tells the story of a CIA operation to save six ambassadors during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis by faking a production for a large-scale science fiction film.
Following Argo,
Ben Affleck was selected to replace David Yates as the director for Warner Bros.' upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Stand.
