Acting was definitely in the family genes, as both Affleck brothers (Ben is 3 years older than Casey) wanted to become actors early on. By the age of 8, little Ben landed his first role, as a regular in the series The Voyage of the Mimi after an appearance in a Burger King commercial (thanks to his dad's connections).

In addition to his first acting role, 8-year-old Ben also met his future partner in crime, Matt Damon , who lived a few blocks away in Cambridge. The two had more than little league in common; they both also wanted to become actors.

Affleck was receiving bit parts here and there, such as in 1986's Wanted: The Perfect Guy , 1987's Hands of a Stranger , 1988's The Second Voyage of the Mimi , and the made-for-TV movie Daddy , in 1991. In the meantime, Affleck and Damon attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School while taking drama lessons, and auditioning and answering casting calls while studying.

The bosom buddies parted ways when Damon went to prestigious Harvard, and Affleck attended the University of Vermont and the Occidental College Eagle Rock, where he studied Middle Eastern studies. Affleck never made it as far as graduation since his desire to act was more appealing than classrooms and exams.

He did get a small part as a student in a prestigious college in the 1992 film School Ties , in which Damon had a larger role. Affleck then appeared in Dazed and Confused in 1993, and co-starred with Claire Forlani and Shannen Doherty in Kevin Smith's Mallrats , which marked the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

So impressed was Smith with the latter role, that he offered Affleck his first starring role in Smith's Chasing Amy , where he portrayed a comic book artist in love with a lesbian, played by Joey Lauren Adams (incidentally, both Matt Damon and Casey Affleck appeared in the film). Despite Chasing Amy 's eventual cult following, Affleck and Damon were both broke and hard on their Hollywood luck.

The dream team took matters into their own hands, and wrote the screenplay for what would become Good Will Hunting . Castle Rock was going to take the script at first, but was not going to give Affleck and Damon enough control (they wouldn't have the starring roles), but after director Kevin Smith took the script to Miramax's Harvey Weinstein, they were given the go-ahead.

With Damon in the starring role and Affleck as his Boston homeboy, the dynamic duo picked up the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for 1997's Good Will Hunting , the sleeper hit of the year.

The success of Good Will Hunting , and Affleck's macho looks and boy-next-door attitude were all it took to catapult Affleck into the Hollywood mainstream. The new golden boy had roles lined up, including 1998's mega-blockbuster Armageddon , as Liv Tyler 's boyfriend, and the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love , where he appeared with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow .

1999 saw Affleck appearing in the flop 200 Cigarettes (which also featured brother Casey), the romantic comedy Forces of Nature , co-starring Sandra Bullock , and pairing up with Matt Damon for Kevin Smith's controversial Dogma .

Affleck had a small yet critical role in the 2000 hit Boiler Room , and starred opposite sexy Charlize Theron in Reindeer Games and co-starred with Gwyneth in Bounce , also that year.

Although it was considered a bomb, Affleck rose to superstatus when he starred in the much-anticipated Pearl Harbor ; he chose the role thanks to Gwyneth's encouragement. Inching his way to the $13 million mark (his last film garnered him a $12.5 million paycheck), Affleck accepted a meager $250,000 for his Pearl Harbor role, opting instead to take a larger percentage of the film's profit -- could have been a great opportunity had the film been good.

In addition to being a Hollywood heartthrob and an alleged womanizer (he has been linked with Senfeild's ex, Shoshanna Lonstein and actress Famke Janssen , and seems to leave a trail wherever he shoots a movie), Affleck also has directing experience with the 1993 short, I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney . Affleck and Damon are also co-founders of Project Greenlight, an organization that funds and assists aspiring filmmakers.

Affleck will next be seen in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (with a star-studded cast consisting of Shannon Elizabeth , Eliza Dushku and Matt Damon, Changing Lanes with Samuel L. Jackson, The Third Wheel with Matt Damon and Denise Richards , and The Sum of All Fears , with Morgan Freeman.

Named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2000, Affleck was active in Gore's Presidential campaign, and enjoys reading poetry, collecting motorcycles (so far he has 5) and vintage video-arcade games, smoking Camel Lights, and just being one of the guys.

Ben Affleck is more than just a movie star and the leading man du jour in Hollywood, he is a walking, talking, breathing entertainment complex. Why, you ask? Simple, Ben's ability to make all those around him drown in fun and laughs makes him seem more like an amusement park than a world-famous celebrity.

Ben's rise to fame can be traced back to 3 things: his charm, his looks and impeccable luck. All the big names in acting have had some measure of these 3 items. Ben seems to have this in abundance (in Thailand, they are considering selling a Ben Affleck-inspired cologne called Ben's Mojo).

The success of Pearl Harbor has cemented his status as a leading man capable of carrying a movie . His dalliances with the opposite sex (especially his romance with Gwyneth Paltrow ), have kept him under the media's keen eye. His antics, quotes and lavish lifestyle have made him the envy of almost every full-bodied male in the land.

Of course, he gets a kick out of all this idolization. Let's face it, the general perception is that Ben is a good boy , a guy to take home to mom and dad, and that is generally true as long as the camera is turned on. When it's off, Ben is a world class partier and philanderer.

Is Ben Affleck a flash in the pan, or a serious actor with enough range to outlast his "it" status? Only time will tell, but we are glad to report that he has at least stepped out from under Matt Damon's shadow. It seemed that he would never distance himself from him, after the duo quite deservedly won an Academy Award for their screenwriting of Good Will Hunting . Ben has not only gotten respect on his own merits, but in fact has surpassed Matt Damon in popularity.

As much as we are jealous of everything Ben has (and apparently so is our voting panel), we must admit that we like the guy. He is the kind of guy that you want at every party, gathering and sporting event. He is a character that we can go on and on about, because it's nice to see someone who speaks his mind and has fun with his fame and fortune. No more gushing, or you'll think you are reading Out magazine.

Ben's talent though is not on par with his stature. We blame the ever-present smirk that Ben has that keeps people from taking him seriously. He tried very hard in Pearl Harbor to be a method actor, but the audience kept thinking, "Come on Ben, crack a joke, make fun of all the guys in white sailor uniforms." He is going to really have to take it up a notch acting-wise to get on the podium for an acting Oscar.

Women love Ben Affleck. It's that simple.

Even one of the editors at AskMen.com has come face-to-face with this reality. When his wife found out that Ben was staying in the same city as she was while he was shooting the upcoming Tom Clancy movie Sum Of All Fears , she practically ran out of the house with a make-up kit in hand, and more cleavage than our editor had seen since his honeymoon.

Again, we blame it on the smirk . It's a babe magnet. It has even gotten Britney Spears and Chelsea Clinton. It should be registered as a dangerous weapon liable to make women of all ages succumb to moments of hysteria and giddiness.

He makes $10 million a movie. Isn't that accomplishment enough?

And of course he has appeared in Boiler Room (a great cameo), Bounce (a dial-it-in performance), Dogma (not as funny as everyone thinks it is), Armageddon (with a couple of years of perspective, we realize how cheesy this movie is), and Shakespeare in Love (he is funny as hell in his role).

The other award of note he has won was the 1997 Golden award for Best Screenplay, for Good Will Hunting .

Ben's mouth is too big to fall in the classic meaning of "cool," but don't dismiss him outright. His charisma, spunk, and energy (we've seen him go days on end with 3 hours of sleep and with more gusto than anyone with a mile's range), make him the kind of personality you want to hang out with.

During a recent stay in Montreal, during Grand Prix weekend, Ben even decided to don a bartender's apron, and make drinks for patrons at the ultra-chic Globe restaurant. Somehow, we don't see Harrison Ford swallowing his pride and becoming a waiter again.

Ben has slicked up, cleaned up and generally wears outfits and accessories worth a small BMW. He has grown into a stylish and even trendy man that we'd likely give him more points for, if it wasn't for his smirk.

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