A lasting Affleck

NEW YORK There are times when it doesn't pay to be Ben Affleck.

"You wouldn't want to be me in a male maximum security prison," he says.

Imagine the looks Affleck got last winter when he spent three days at a Canadian penitentiary researching his convict role in "Reindeer Games," opening Feb. 25.

"You regret every beefcake still," Affleck moans. "I saw my cover of GQ up on a few walls."

One thing got him through the scary times: "I kept thinking about how my friend Matt Damon wore that green Speedo in `The Talented Mr. Ripley.' I thought, `If the positions were reversed, he'd be in real trouble!' "

Speaking of which, Affleck was almost in some dire straits when he decided to sleep over at the prison to get the whole authentic experience. But he wasn't allowed to do that kind of time.

"The warden called me over and said, `Ben, a lot of these guys really liked you in "Good Will Hunting." We're worried if you stay over, you might be taken hostage.' I said, `Yes, thank you, I'll be sleeping at home.' "

Sequestered in a luxury suite at the Essex House, Affleck stares longingly out the window like he might want to stage a breakout. After all, it's 7 o'clock on a Saturday night and the town is hopping.

"You know when I was in jail, most of the inmates had two questions: `Did you sleep with Liv Tyler during "Armageddon"? Are you still dating Gwyneth (Paltrow)?' "

He laughs.

"You know, prisoners and celebrity journalists have a lot in common."

Affleck won't squeal. He will talk about his hot career, which finds him with two movies coming out this month within a week of each other. Opening Friday, there's "Boiler Room," a taut drama in which he plays a fast-talking corporate recruiter at a shady stock brokerage firm.

The following week, "Reindeer Games" opens. Affleck plays a con who gets out of prison and, through a case of mistaken identity, is taken hostage by a band of thugs.

"I think I'm lucky, but I'm not always happy. As far as fame and fortune go, I generally believe one should understand that none of it is deserved," Affleck says. "Look, the phone stopped ringing for better actors than me."

Affleck is driven, working virtually nonstop these days.

"I like quiet and the idea of rest, but I can't seem to stop moving," he says. "The truth is, I don't really feel like I've made it, which is why I can't say no to things."

Certainly that Oscar for "Good Will Hunting" helped. Didn't it?

"I've found it difficult to enjoy success," Affleck admits. "It's strange because when you're a young, struggling actor you have to convince yourself that someday when you get to the point where you have money and roles, you'll relax and be happy.

"But I've got those things and now I've found out something depressing. The struggle is more satisfying than getting what you want. It's the struggle that makes you happy."

In "Reindeer Games," he is struggling. Affleck is in a prison riot one minute; the next he's shaking down a casino with guns and knives. Legendary director John Frankenheimer always wanted Affleck to play the lead.

"Ben was my first choice for this movie. We needed an everyman," Frankenheimer says. "Most of all, I was looking for a young man who men could relate to and women enjoyed, too. I needed someone who was intelligent and a bit cocky.

"Ben reminds me of a young Warren Beatty. I worked with Warren when he was 27, and now Ben is 27. They're both extremely intelligent, good looking and talented, but they're full of self- doubts. Warren didn't realize he was that good at that age, either."

Affleck says he's confused on several fronts.

"Now I'm in a position where I can say, `It's either A or B,' " Affleck says. "Sometimes the choices are really easy. Sometimes they're really difficult. A movie you didn't do comes out and everyone really likes it and you're like, `Damn!' I guess I'm the type who does think of the road not taken."

Affleck was reared in Central Square, the non-affluent part of Cambridge, Mass. His parents divorced when he was a small boy and he turned to his best friend Damon, who lived a block away, for support.

Affleck was the first to get an agent and work on PBS and in local TV. The agent eventually signed Damon, and soon the boys were taking the train to auditions in New York. Affleck landed small roles in "School Ties" (1992) and "Dazed and Confused" (1993). Meanwhile, he juggled college stints in Vermont and California. By his early 20s, he had hit rock bottom.

He had broken up with his girlfriend and was homeless. So he went to stay with Damon in a two-bedroom house in Los Angeles that they shared with another friend. In their spare time they wrote "Good Will Hunting" (1997).

After several rewrites, a botched deal with Castle Rock and being told "no one will ever see this film," Miramax picked up the project. Affleck and Damon went on to win best screenwriter Oscars.

International stardom was the door prize.

"Matt is Mr. Hollywood. I'm still a guy from Boston," Affleck teases.

Then Affleck sobers when asked how he has remained a nice guy.

"Why haven't either Matt or I become little terrors? You have to figure in our personalities. And neither of us surrounds ourselves with all the people who tell you, `Oh you're great.'

"I can't imagine myself getting to the point where I'm saying things like, `This bleeping limo had better be a stretch!' In fact, Matt and I are constantly saying, `Let's scale things down.' We look at each other and say, `Man, I don't care if it's a limo. I'm just glad I have a ride.' "

Fame has been a bumpy ride.

"But if you put 100 people in a room and gave them adulation, money and attention, I bet about a third of them would turn into nightmares," Affleck contends.

For a period of time, his own life was approaching scary territory. Every woman within a certain vicinity of Affleck was tabloid fodder

"I swear there is some guy in L.A. who looks like me. And he's dating all these beautiful women," Affleck says.

He's mum about Paltrow. Yes, they're "very close." Yes, she's "a wonderful actress."

Clarence Williams III, who co-stars in "Reindeer Games," comes the closest to ratting out Affleck on this topic.

"Ben's lady Gwyneth flew in to see him all the time on the set," Williams says. "They would be standing in the snow and tundra holding hands. People would gasp because it was like the Golden Couple had arrived.

"Standing there were two Oscar winners. They're gorgeous. They have lots of money and fame. You almost wanted to bow to them."

Affleck and Paltrow star together in the summer movie "Bounce," a love story about survivors of a plane crash. It wasn't easy work. Affleck moans that he had to get to that set early each morning because he spends part of the movie shirtless. A makeup artist had to cover his multiple tattoos.

"They had this huge flesh-colored spray paint. You just stand there and they sandblast you for 10 minutes."

Did Paltrow hold his hand?

"The tattoo thing was a good lesson in decisions that have long- lasting repercussions."

Like marriage? Affleck almost chokes on his designer water.

"You have to make long-term decisions carefully," he says.

And speaking of longevity, will Ben Affleck be around in 10 years? That worries him the most.

"I don't think you've really made it until you can say you've had career longevity. I want decades," he says.

He wouldn't mind a few more awards, too.

"My Oscar is on a bookshelf in my apartment in L.A.," he divulges. "I was going to slap it on the dash in my '69 Cadillac under the fuzzy dice, but I figured it would probably get ripped off. I imagined getting carjacked."

Thanks to his time in jail, he'd probably know the crook.

"I would be like, `Buddy, it's me. Your friend Benny! Take the car. Take Matt. But could I please keep my Oscar?' "