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How Ben Affleck survived 'Bennifer'

How did Ben go from embarrassing joke to respected Hollywood player?

'Brangelina', 'TomKat', Bennifer... There's nothing the tabloids love more than a 'Super Couple', apart from close ups of bikini'd celebrities' cellulite, obviously. But while mega-famous pairings can make plenty of money for newspapers and magazines, the dazzling glare of the paparazzo's bulbs are often damaging for the stars themselves.

This week sees the 40th birthday of Hollywood star Ben Affleck, the chiselled superstar whose glittering Hollywood career almost came to a standstill during his two year relationship with the Latin lovely, Jennifer Lopez. Huge media interest in the two of them threatened to overshadow his impressive acting career.

Once Hollywood's most bankable star, Affleck starred in smash hits actioners like 'Armageddon', 'The Sum Of All Fears' and 'Pearl Harbour'. But he also gave turns in indie hits like 'Mallrats' and even won an Oscar for co-writing 'Good Will Hunting' with Matt Damon. The behemoth that was 'Bennifer' seemed to dwarf all that and upset his flow. In 2008, Affleck told American gossip rag Now Magazine:

"I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible. I don’t think either of us anticipated the degree to which it would take on a world of its own. The tabloids and Internet are everywhere."

[Related feature: Star couples that met on set]
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J-Lo's big screen business faltered too. Since 'Bennifer' ceased to be in 2004, she's barely been in a single movie worth watching (unless you're into flimsy rom-coms or are some sort of cinematic sadist). Pre-Ben, Lopez had appeared in some top films like Bob Rafelson's 'Blood and Wine', the visually stunning 'The Cell', the sexy 'Out of Sight' and sweaty Oliver Stone thriller, 'U-Turn'. During and post-Ben - nada. Still, her pop career's soared. And luckily for her, music has always been the priority for the Bronx-born beauty from The Block.




Great Hollywood couples often star together in great Hollywood movies. Just think of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the epic 'Cleopatra' or Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in 'The Big Sleep'. Perhaps the couple were always doomed to fail when you consider the two films the couple made together. Arguably they were the two worst movies of the noughties; the abyssmal flop 'Gigli' ('Gobble! Gobble!' Remember that? Let's hope not...) and Kevin Smith's 'Jersey Girl' (the fourth and worst Smith effort that Affleck had starred in). Toxic stuff.

In between these two stinkers, Affleck even won the Golden Raspberry for his part in the daft sci-fi, 'Paycheck'. Affleck had become a joke... the poster boy for bad acting.

But not long after cancelling their wedding just four days before the event was scheduled, things started looking up again for the Boston-raised Ben.

Just a year after he split from J-Lo, Affleck married 'Daredevil' co-star Jennifer Garner, another well-known actress. But the 'Alias' star isn't quite the draw that J-Lo is. The relative peace and quiet that the pair have been left in seems to have contributed to the re-birth of the 'Dogma' star.



His renaissance started with rave reviews for his performance as '50s Superman actor George Reeves in the biopic, 'Hollywoodland'. It was ironic that his first decent write-ups in years came for playing a man all-too familiar with press intrusion and who had a career that suffered under the strain of media scrutiny.

Perhaps it was this success and insight that gave Affleck the confidence to tackle his first directorial project, the crime-mystery 'Gone Baby Gone'. And fans of tightly-plotted, suspenseful capers with great performances and unexpected twists were glad that he did - it was fantastic.

The film won several awards, including ‘Best First Film’ for Ben Affleck from the Austin Film Critics Association and the Daily Mail’s usually very harsh critic Christopher Tookey gave it five stars, saying: “Ben Affleck keeps his actors under control, and they respond with some of the most truthful performances they have ever given.” Ben Affleck the movie director, eh? Who knew?



He followed it up with the equally assured 'The Town'. Another Boston-set crime drama, it was brutal, tense and full of wonderful performances from the likes of Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm. New York Times critic A.O. Scott said ‘The Town’ was “lean, brutal and efficient... evidence of Mr. Affleck’s skill and self-confidence as a director.”

Ben is now so well regarded behind the camera that he was allegedly offered the chance to direct ‘The Justice League’ the big budget comic film that will unite Super Man, Batman and other DC characters. Reports suggest he turned it down. That’s confidence for you.

Affleck’s next film is the upcoming 'Argo', about a CIA agent, played by Affleck, who attempts to rescue six Americans trapped in the home of the Canadian ambassador during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The trailer generated positive buzz.

Watch the trailer for 'Argo'


The star’s acting career is also looking up after he nabbed the lead role in Terrence Malick’s new film ‘To The Wonder’. Malick is perhaps the most respected ‘artiste’ in Hollywood. Back in 2006 it would have been unthinkable and a bit ridiculous for Affleck to get a role on one of his films. Not now.

Affleck was awarded the Chairman's Award in the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Commenting on the award, festival bigwig Harold Matzner said: “If there is truly a renaissance man in today’s cinema, it’s Ben Affleck.” 

From ‘Gigli’ to ‘renaissance man’ in just six years. Kudos, Ben.

What do you think of birthday boy Ben's bouncebackability? Let us know below.