page_title: Ben Affleck
section_title: 2006–2015: Emergence as a director
hierarchical_section_title: Ben Affleck / Career / 2006–2015: Emergence as a director
caption_attribution_description: English: The town affleck
context_page_description: Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. His accolades include two Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educational series The Voyage of the Mimi. He later appeared in the independent coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused and various Kevin Smith films, including Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma. Affleck gained wider recognition when he and childhood friend Matt Damon won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Good Will Hunting, which they also starred in. He then established himself as a leading man in studio films, including the disaster film Armageddon, the war drama Pearl Harbor, and the thrillers The Sum of All Fears and Changing Lanes.
  After a career downturn, during which he appeared in Daredevil and Gigli, Affleck received a Golden Globe nomination for portraying George Reeves in the noir biopic Hollywoodland. His directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, which he also co-wrote, was well received. He then directed, co-wrote and starred in the crime drama The Town and directed and starred in the political thriller Argo.
context_section_description: After marrying actress Jennifer Garner in 2005, and welcoming their first child, Affleck began a career comeback in 2006. Following a starring role in the little-seen Man About Town and a minor role in the crime drama Smokin' Aces, Affleck won acclaim for his performance as George Reeves in the noir biopic Hollywoodland. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised "an award-caliber performance ... This is feeling, nuanced work from an actor some of us had prematurely written off." Geoffrey Macnab of The Guardian said he "beautifully" captured "the character's curious mix of charm, vulnerability and fatalism". He was awarded the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Also in 2006, he made a cameo in Smith's Clerks II.
  In 2007, Affleck made his feature film directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone, a crime drama set in a working-class Boston neighborhood, starring his brother Casey as a private investigator searching for a young abductee. Affleck co‑wrote the screenplay, based on the book by Dennis Lehane, with childhood friend Aaron Stockard, having first mentioned his intention to adapt the story in 2003. It opened to enthusiastic reviews. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praised the film's "sensitivity to real struggle", while Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "thoughtful, deeply poignant, [and] splendidly executed".
  While Affleck intended to "keep a primary emphasis on directing" going forward in his career, he acted in three films in 2009. In the ensemble romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You, the chemistry between Affleck and Jennifer Aniston was praised. Affleck played a congressman in the political thriller State of Play. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe found him "very good in the film's silliest role," but David Edelstein of New York Magazine remarked of Affleck: "He might be smart and thoughtful in life [but] as an actor his wheels turn too slowly." He had a supporting role as a bartender in the little-seen comedy film Extract. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone described his performance as "a goofball delight", while Manohla Dargis of The New York Times declared it "a real performance". In 2010, Affleck starred in The Company Men as a mid-level sales executive who is made redundant during the financial crisis of 2007–2008. David Denby of The New Yorker declared that Affleck "gives his best performance yet", while Richard Corliss of Time found he "nails Bobby's plunge from hubris to humiliation".
  Following the modest commercial success of Gone Baby Gone, Warner Bros. developed a close working relationship with Affleck and offered him his choice of the studio's scripts. He decided to direct the crime drama The Town (2010), an adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. He also re-wrote the screenplay and starred in the film as a bank robber. The film became a surprise box office hit, and gained further critical acclaim for Affleck. A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised his "skill and self-confidence as a serious director," while Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times noted: "Affleck has the stuff of a real director. Everything is here. It's an effective thriller, he works closely with actors, he has a feel for pacing." Also in 2010, Affleck and Damon's production company, Pearl Street Films, signed a first-look producing deal at Warner Bros.
  Affleck soon began work on his next directorial project, Argo (2012), for Warner Bros. Written by Chris Terrio and starring Affleck as a CIA operative, the film tells the story of the CIA plan to save six U.S. diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis by faking a production for a large-scale science fiction film. Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said the film offered "further proof that we were wrong about Ben Affleck". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone remarked: "Affleck takes the next step in what looks like a major directing career ... He directs the hell out of it, nailing the quickening pace, the wayward humor, the nerve-frying suspense." A major critical and commercial success,
caption: Affleck on the set of The Town in 2010
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