Ben Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and film director. His film career took off in the early 1990s when he starred in Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" (1993) and two Kevin Smith-directed comedies, "Mallrats" (1995) and "Chasing Amy" (1997). With 1997's "Good Will Hunting," Affleck and his co-writer and longtime friend Matt Damon won the Academy Award for best original screenplay. The following year, Affleck had a supporting role in best picture winner "Shakespeare in Love." He jumped to Hollywood blockbusters starting with 1998's "Armageddon" from Michael Bay, and he gave the comic book genre a go with 2003's "Daredevil."

Affleck transitioned to directing with 2007's "Gone Baby Gone," which earned critical acclaim, and his follow-up directorial effort "The Town" (2010) was a box office hit for Warner Bros. with $154 million worldwide. Affleck directed and starred in 2012's "Argo," which won the Academy Award for best picture. Although he was not Oscar nominated for best director, he did win that prize at the BAFTA Film Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards and the Directors Guild of America awards. After the success of "Argo," Affleck headlined David Fincher's "Gone Girl" adaptation in 2014 alongside Rosamund Pike. He made his debut as Zack Snyder's Batman in the 2016 tentpole "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." He reprised the role in "Justice League" (2017) and "The Flash" (2023). Affleck's additional directing credits include "Live By Night" (2016) and "Air" (2023).