Ben Affleck Talks About the Director He Looks up To

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Ben Affleck first gained recognition for his acting in films like Dazed and Confused and Chasing Amy, quickly proving himself as a talented all-around creative. He and his close friend Matt Damon then collaborated on the screenplay for Good Will Hunting, which won them an Academy Award. This early success launched a decades-long career that has taken many surprising turns.

Before the year 2000, Ben Affleck was best known as an actor, but he quickly began directing as well. His first film, the 2007 crime drama Gone Baby Gone, was highly praised and led to further successful films like The Town and the Academy Award-winning Argo.

Through these projects, Affleck proved he had a talent for building suspense and creating compelling characters, establishing himself as a director with a unique and assured style. He recently shared that he considers Paul Thomas Anderson to be his biggest influence.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck confessed that Anderson is his all-time favorite director. He explained that he often turns to the director of There Will Be Blood for inspiration and even felt anxious sharing his own films with him.

Ben Affleck showed Paul Thomas Anderson his movie, Air, because he deeply admires Anderson’s talent. He admitted he was a little shaken when Anderson simply called it “a fun movie,” and it made Affleck question if he’d fallen short of making something truly special. Affleck explained that being around Anderson sometimes makes him feel like Mozart’s rival, Salieri – able to appreciate brilliance but unsure if he can ever achieve it himself.

This year, Ben Affleck is still working on directing projects while also taking on major acting roles. He recently appeared in the Netflix thriller The Rip, which premiered on January 16th and brought him back together with Matt Damon. The movie centers on a team of Miami narcotics officers whose bonds are strained when they uncover a large sum of seized cash, and it’s another successful film produced by Affleck and Damon’s company, Artists Equity.

Later this year, Ben Affleck will release the thriller Animals on Netflix, a film he directed and stars in with Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington. He’s also expected to return as Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2, which is currently finishing up post-production. With these projects, plus his work with the Eastern Congo Initiative, Affleck continues to be a very busy and accomplished figure in Hollywood.

The actor has been prioritizing his well-being and family since his divorce from Jennifer Lopez in late 2025. Friends say he’s focused on his children and building a strong support system as he moves forward.

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2026-02-17 21:15