Joey Magidson
I’m a Ben Affleck fan. Now, I know some folks aren’t as high on him as I am, but for me, he’s not only one of the more underrated actors out there, he’s a fascinating one as well. There’s the quirk of how he has two Academy Awards and yet neither of his nominations, which both turned into Oscars, are for acting or directing, what he’s primarily known for (he won Best Original Screenplay with Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting and Best Picture as a producer for Argo). I’ve written about his talents before, including here, but with The Accountant 2 now in theaters, it felt like a good time to pay tribute to the man and his talents. So, that’s what I did!
In my review of The Accountant 2 (here), I said the following about Affleck:
Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal have a really enjoyable chemistry here, one that generates consistently amusing sibling banter. Affleck still is mixing in more serious work, though it’s largely a more easy-going performance. Bernthal gets to have the most fun of the lot, especially with his introduction scene. Together, they’re an unlikely delight, especially the longer things go on.
Below, you can see where I come down on Affleck, and yes, I’m a bigger fan than most, so I could be more enthusiastic than you would be here. Still, I will go to the mat that The Way Back is a stunning performance. Moreover, Chasing Amy is a tremendous early performance, as is Good Will Hunting, will Gone Girl is a perfect use of Affleck. The Town is also an excellent turn that Affleck directed himself to. There’s way more here than you might expect. Take a gander and perhaps use this as an opportunity to revisit some of his work.
Here now is my ranking of the best performances from Ben Affleck so far. Behold:
Honorable Mention: Air, Boiler Room, Extract, Jersey Girl, The Last Duel, and State of Play
10. The Company Men
9. Argo
8. Shakespeare in Love
6. Hollywoodland
5. Chasing Amy
4. The Town
3. Good Will Hunting
2. Gone Girl
1. The Way Back
What are your favorite Ben Affleck performances to date? Let us know!
Hi Joey. I love Ben and find him to be a very imposing actor that always captures the scene. With each role he takes he’s not afraid to try different genre’s or paint himself as one type of character.
I feel like my all-time favorite performance by Ben is in Hollywoodland, he just captured a sense of self loathing and trapped saddness that I don’t think I’ve seen from a male actor with such a stoic demeanour.
His best performances to me are Drama’s but he’s such a funny dude as well, and I wish him and his family nothing but the best cause we all know how dam vicious the film world can be to people they label as “Bad” when we all should know that films and acting are a very subjective world where everyone’s allowed to enjoy and or disagree without labels thrown around like it’s a sports game.
Thanks for the comment!