Ben Affleck

When Ben Affleck and childhood friend Matt Damon enthusiastically accepted the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, everyone wanted to know more about them. It seemed as if they had appeared out of nowhere, writing and starring in the blockbuster Good Will Hunting. Actually, Ben and Matt had been struggling to succeed in show business since they were youngsters in Boston. When Ben was only eight years old, he landed a recurring role in a PBS series called The Voyage of the Mimi. Parts in commercials and television movies soon followed. But in his teens and early twenties, having been typecast as the high school bully, Ben was having trouble landing that breakout role that would get him noticed in Hollywood. So he and roommate Matt Damon began writing Good Will Hunting, planning to get a big movie studio to buy it. The two believed so strongly in their work that they turned down a lucrative offer that required a change in setting. They wanted their story filmed on the streets of their Boston hometown. Luckily, the gamble paid off when Miramax bought the film. Since his Oscar win, Ben has starred in many films, including Armageddon and Forces of Nature. His talent acknowledged, the accomplished actor and writer now gets to pick and choose his roles, or create them from scratch. With one Oscar already on his shelf, Ben will no doubt add many more nominations in years to come. Book jacket.