There have been a lot of incarnations of Ben Affleck . First there wasGood Will HuntingBenAffleck , the freshly - faced Bostonian Kyd who come through an Oscar for his collaboration with pal Matt Damon . Then there was " Bennifer " Ben Affleck , whose very public coupling with Jennifer Lopez and subsequent serial publication of cinematic flops ( rememberGigli ? ! ) quickly plump his stock . And now we have Comeback Ben Affleck , reinvented as one of Hollywood ’s hottest ( see : the Oscar - winningArgo ) and our modish Batman .
Despite his decade as a tabloid reparation , there ’s batch of lesser - known trivia you might not know about America ’s sweetheart - change state - pariah - turned - sweetheart again . Let ’s take a flavor :
1. He’s named after a Holocaust survivor
" Ben Affleck " is his white-hot - bread Leading Man name – his full name is Benjamin Geza Affleck - Boldt . That midway name honor a Magyar Holocaust subsister who was a friend of the family . Boldt is Ben ’s mummy ’s last name .
2. He got Matt Damon into the movie business
The pedigree of Affleck and Damon ’s friendly relationship is pretty well documented : The pair met when Affleck was 8 and Damon was 10 , and they go two blocks away from one another while attending the same Cambridge , Massachusetts high schools . But in addition to palling around in Hahvahd Yahd , it was really Affleck who precede Damon to a future career in film . Affleck , already a youngster star with a few character under his whack , introduced Damon to his New York agent , who then agreed to signalise Damon as well .
3. He and Matt shared a bank account
… which they used to pool money to travel to New York City for auditions . Even as teens , Matt and Ben were already well on their way to becoming an old married couple .
4. He wrote a story about condoms for a teen sex guide
Long before details of his intimate exploits were daub all over the yellow journalism , Affleck participated in a 1990 teen sexual activity guide calledRisky metre : How to be AIDS Smart and Stay Healthy , drop a line by Damon ’s stepmother . It let in a taradiddle about Affleck ’s first time buying prophylactic . " I felt so ego - witting and idiotic , but it was all over in a minute , " herecallsof the traumatic condom - buying experience . " I put them down and she looked at me with this stoic face and ring them up and put them in a pocketbook , and I run out of that stock really tight ! "
5. He got his first acting gig at age 12
Affleck ’s first foray into stardom was on the 1984 PBS educational dramaThe Voyage of the Mimi .
6. And then starred in aBurger King commercial
What happened to his bowl cut ? !
7. He and Matt were extras inField of Dreams
As teens , the two avid Red Sox fans were both extra in the Phil Alden Robinson flick ’s Fenway Park scenes . Later , ferment onThe Sum of All Fears , Affleck reportedly recognise Robinson with , " Nice shape with you again , " which believably made the music director middling illogical .
8. He kept Vince Vaughn from getting cast inDazed and Confused– twice
Not only did Affleck bewilder Vaughn for the role of schooling yob Fred O’Bannion , but Vaughn was also rejected from the part of Benny O’Donnell because director Richard Linklater think he and Affleck looked too standardized . Ouch .
9. His dad was a janitor at Harvard
You probably already knew that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck ’s big break , Good Will Hunting , was a personal project , but you may not realize just how personal . change state out that both Affleck ’s pappa and his college girl did least sandpiper as janitor at the Ivy League foundation , just like Damon ’s character reference in the movie . " Ben ’s pa was a janitor in the Yard and his girlfriend was a janitor in my dorm , so I was sensitive to kids make a mess , " Damonexplainedin a 2013 speech communication at Harvard . " All of that was in the soup ofGood Will hunt . "
10. He and Matt wrote a guy-on-guy sex scene forGood Will Hunting
In the original draft ofGood Will Hunting , Affleck and Damon wrote a conniption where two professors give each other blow jobs – just to figure out if White House were really understand their book . " We were so frustrated that Castle Rock was n’t read the script , so we felt like we had to develop this test , " Affleck toldBoston Magazineback in 2013 . " We started writing in screen focussing like , ' Sean talks to Will and unloads his sense of right and wrong . ' And then : ' Will takes a moment and then give Sean a soulful look and leans in and starting line ball up him ' … We would turn that in , and they would n’t ever mention all those scenes where Sean and Will were yank each other off . "
11. He couldn’t get on board with the Goop lifestyle
Before his much - publicized romanticism with Jennifer Lopez , Ben Affleck datedShakespeare in Loveactress and future wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow , but their lifestyles did n’t exactly jell . " The seed grass and speculation … that is not my thing , " hesaid in an interviewafter their separation . " I ’d say that we ’re not together because Gwyneth is much more evolved than I am . She is closer to inner - peace , whereas I have a very hard fourth dimension sitting still . "
12. Charlie Sheen made Ben go to rehab
When Affleck did a stint in rehab for alcohol contumely , back in 2001 , he had the moral support of rehab veteran Charlie Sheen , whopersonally droveAffleck to Malibu ’s promise rehab centre to check him in . Later , Affleck followed his friend ’s instance , andvisited Lindsay Lohanin rehab in 2013 to give her a peppiness talk of the town .
13. He plays a key (handsy!) role in a hip-hop video
Affleck cradling J.Lo ’s butt in her 2002 " Jenny From the Block " TV was the top of the famous person mating make out as Bennifer – and a career low for Affleck . ( He has since called the year he date J.Lo his " annus horribilis . " )
14. He revealed his affair with J.Lo in a newspaper ad
" You have exhibit kindness , dedication , diligence , humility , benignancy of purport , sweetheart in courage , great empathy , stupefying natural endowment , real poise and true state of grace , " Affleck wrote in an several - thousand - dollar full - pageHollywood Reporteradin 2002 , pride a then - get hitched with J.Lo on being advert ShoWest ’s Female Star of the Year ( also known as the most expensive pickup line ever ) . His effusive sign - off : " I only wish I were lucky enough to be in all your movies … With sexual love , esteem and gratitude , Ben Affleck . ''
15. And then she wrote a song about him
" I recall God made you for me , a mix of passionate fidelities , " J.Lo sings in her 2002 track"Dear Ben . ““I save this Sung dynasty to let you know that you will always be my lustfulness , my love , my military personnel , my child , my friend , and my king . " Did n’t exactly work out that room , but we respect the thought .
16. He has some seriously terrible tattoos
After his breakup with Jennifer Garner , Affleckshocked his exesby splurging on the quintessential midlife - crisis tattoo : a monolithic back piece of aphoenixrising from the flames . But this is n’t Affleck ’s only ink mishap . Among many others , he has : adolphinon his right pelvic girdle , which he got stress to cover up an older tattoo of a high school girl ’s name , and an unsightly splotch on his right shoulder joint from another bad determination . " I was 16 , " he says , blushing . " I got a fake ID , go out and got a tattoo of barbed telegram . Then I decide I did n’t like the tattoo , " Affleck distinguish theNew York Times , explain that he got roses etched over it . " I did n’t like the pink wine , either . "
17. He and Matt Damon started a viral video war before it was cool
After Sarah Silverman trolled her then - boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel with a viral telecasting call " I ’m Fucking Matt Damon , " Kimmel and Affleck collide with back with their own fame - studded video , " I ’m Fucking Ben Affleck . " Sadly , Silverman and Kimmel break up – but Damon and Affleck are still going strong .
18. He’s played three different superheroes
In summation to his much - derided stint as Daredevil and his upcoming bout as Batman , Ben Affleck played worker George Reeve – the whiz of the 1950s television seriesAdventures of Superman– in the 2006 dramaHollywoodland . This make him the first major histrion to wear both Batman and Superman ’s costumes on screen .
19. He got busted counting cards at a casino
Not only is he an devouring poker player , Affleck is such an avid risk taker that he was actuallybannedfrom the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in 2014 for card - count at the high - rollers table .
20. He was almost inClueless
Ben Affleck + Cher Horowitz ? ! As if ! In an unwritten history forVanity Fair , the moving picture ’s roam film director , Carrie Frazier , explain that she adjudicate to nab Affleck for the part of Cher ’s boyfriend and stepbrother , Josh , which eventually went to Paul Rudd .
21. He had slave-owning relatives – which he didn’t want us to know about
Affleck ’s reformist certification number under fire last twelvemonth when it was revealed that he asked PBS genealogy showFinding Your Rootsto suppress the discovery that he had a slave - owning ancestor . " I did n’t want any television show about my sept to let in a guy who possess slaves . I was embarrassed , " Affleck wrote in anapologyafter the incident . " The very thought of it get out a bad taste in my mouth . "
22. He shut downGone Girlproduction over a Yankees hat
Affleck is such a snuff it - gruelling Red Sox fan that he refuse David Fincher ’s request for his fictional character to wear upon a Yankees chapeau in aGone Girlscene . Affleck ’s hate for the team runs so rich that Fincher end up shut out down production for four days until a compromise was reached ( they went with a Mets hood ) . " I say , ' David , I make out you , I would do anything for you , ' " Affleck toldtheNew York Times . " ' But I will not wear out a Yankees hat . I just ca n’t . I ca n’t have on it because it ’s going to become a matter , David . I will never hear the oddment of it . I ca n’t do it . ' And I could n’t put it on my head . " Seems a little wimpish when you consider thatLeo eat a bison liver and slept in a gymnastic horse , but we get it .
23. He rewrote theBatman v Supermanscript while wearing a Batsuit
While he did n’t purposely don his Batsuit to get inspired during rewrite sessions ( although we like to imagine that scenario ) , a source revealed toUs Weeklythat Affleck was often found work out on the script while primp as the caped crusader . He “ would go into closet and get all suit up for the day in his Batman suit of clothes , ” the sourcesaid . “ Then he would sit around reworking the script . Ben was n’t thrilled with it and would find himself on multiple occasions fixing it the day of . "
bless up herefor our daily Thrillist electronic mail , and get your repair of the safe in food / drink / fun .
Anna Silmanis a faculty author at Thrillist Entertainment . She is nostalgic for both Bennifer eras . get her on Twitter:@annaesilman .
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Ben Affleck on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno with the Spice Girls in 1997 | Margaret Norton/NBC Universal/Getty Images
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