Affleck gets closer to spotlight

Chicago Sun-Times, Mar 3, 2000 by Joshua Mooney

NEW YORK In recent years, Ben Affleck has gone from struggling actor to Oscar-winning screenwriter and magazine cover boy. But Affleck, 27, admits he owes a big debt to his younger brother Casey, who's also an actor.

Apparently, Casey used his proceeds from acting in the film "To Die For" to buy the computer Ben used to write "Good Will Hunting," the script for which he and his pal, actor Matt Damon, won that Oscar.

"That story's a hundred percent true," Ben Affleck says with a grin.

In person, Affleck is friendly, down to earth and self- deprecating - qualities that are fairly uncommon in Hollywood these days. Come to think of it, those are the same traits that've helped the boy from Boston (by way of Berkeley, Calif.) become one of the hottest stars of the under-30 crowd in Hollywood.

This despite Affleck's not yet carrying a big hit film on his shoulders. Instead, Affleck has mixed appearances in offbeat independent films like "Chasing Amy," "Good Will Hunting" and "200 Cigarettes" with supporting roles in larger, more commercial fare such as "Armageddon" and "Shakespeare in Love." In 1997, when Affleck and his boyhood pal Damon shared the screenwriting Oscar for "Good Will Hunting," the two were seen as Hollywood's latest dynamic duo, with Affleck typically in the role of the sidekick. But, for the past year or so, he's been asserting his independence and spending an increasing amount of time in the spotlight by himself.

Affleck recently played the lead opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature." Now, he does leading-man duty again, opposite fast-rising actress Charlize Theron, in a gritty thriller called "Reindeer Games."

The film is directed by John Frankenheimer, a veteran helmer of such hard-hitting classics as "The Manchurian Candidate" and more recent action fare like "Ronin." "Reindeer Games," which also stars Gary Sinise, is a darkly comic action film centering on a casino robbery, a dangerous truck driver and a sultry, sexy woman whose loyalties are divided. Affleck plays a car thief and ex-con who finds it's not easy to go straight after his release from prison.

It's the first film in which Affleck is front and center as a kind of Everyman hero.

"I liked the script for the very reason that it was totally different from anything I've done before," Affleck says. "I liked the film-noir aspects of it. I've always been a big fan of that genre, with the hard-luck protagonist."

While researching his role, Affleck spent time visiting criminals in prison. It was intimidating, he says, particularly when a car thief he was meeting turned out to be a killer too - a fact Affleck learned after he'd entered the man's cell.

"One thing I learned," Affleck concludes, "is that prison is not a place you want to end up."

Affleck admits he isn't sure whether he sees himself as an actor people can identify with. "I'm not sure whether my impression of myself is accurate, really," he says, rather contritely. In fact, he says he's always been prone to "an enormous amount of self-doubt." That hasn't changed, despite the successes of the last few years.

It was easier when he was a struggling actor, happy to take any job he could get. In those days, he appeared in TV miniseries like "Hands of a Stranger" and had small roles in films like "School Ties."