Ben Affleck might seem like the definition of Hollywood royalty. He’s an Oscar winner, (basically) a superhero, and one-half of Bennifer 2.0. But there’s actually way more to him than those iconic moody memes and red-carpet PDA.
From struggling with mental health and addiction, to striving for a regular 9-5 job, these Ben Affleck facts show just how intriguing (and lowkey relatable) he really is.
Interesting Facts About Ben Affleck
Fast facts about Ben Affleck
• Ben was born on August 15, 1972.
• He is 6’2.
• Ben has been married twice: Jennifer Lopez (m. 2022–2025), Jennifer Garner (m. 2005–2018)
• He has won two Academy Awards.
1. Ben is Fluent in Spanish
When this TikTok video went viral, I was gobsmacked that good ol’ Ben (or should I say Benito) could speak Spanish so fluently. I easily assumed he must’ve learned the language from his (then) wife, J.Lo. But the real reason is this: 13-year-old Ben spent a year filming a kids’ TV show in Mexico. That’s how he became fluent in Spanish. He later said on The Kelly Clarkson Show that he’s still competitive about it with his daughter, insisting he can’t let her speak better Spanish than him. “I don’t mind that I can’t do your math homework,” he joked, “but you are not gonna be better at Spanish than me.”
2. His ‘Greatest Achievement’ is a DVD Commentary
Forget the Oscars, forget his role as Batman! Ben once said that the DVD commentary he recorded for Armageddon is “maybe my best work in my career.” The entire track is just him hilariously roasting (director) Michael Bay and poking fun at the movie’s wild logic. Fans still quote it like a cult classic, and Ben fully leans into the chaos. He added, “People approach me to talk about the commentary as much as they do movies that I’ve been in. And it’s because I didn’t know any better than to be really honest…It is an achievement that I feel proud of.”
3. Ben Tried to Make Acting a 9-to-5 Job
In a GQ interview, Ben revealed that he reshaped his career around family life. After realizing he missed too many moments with his kids, he made acting and directing a 9-to-5 job so he could be home when they finished school. “I was really missing time I could never get back. My kids were 8, 11, and 14, and I felt like: I don’t want to miss any of this time at all,” Affleck said. “And so I thought, well, Let me figure out a way to work at home and have the kind of job where I can actually be here and build my schedule around that.”
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4. He Raised Over $1 Million for Coronavirus Relief
During the pandemic, Ben teamed up with fellow actor bestie, Matt Damon to host a charity poker tournament (‘All in For America’s Charity’) that raised a massive $1.75 million for Feeding America, a hunger-relief and food rescue organization. The event was run by Americas Cardroom, with stars like Adam Sandler, Tom Brady, and Adam Levine participating in the game. In fact, Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston landed fifth place while a pro player ended up taking the win.
5. Ben Didn’t Want his Relationship with J.Lo Online (But Gave In)
When he and Jennifer Lopez reunited after nearly two decades separated, Ben told her he didn’t want their relationship online. “Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’” he confessed in J.Lo’s documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told. He immediately realized it wasn’t fair to ask that of someone whose life and art are so public. “Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’” Sadly, Ben and J.Lo divorced in 2025, but still maintain a professional relationship.
6. J.Lo Would Help Prepare Ben For Interviews
Ben might be one of Hollywood’s most media-trained stars now — but that’s partly thanks to J.Lo. Back in 2021 when they were still a couple, the actor told The Hollywood Reporter that Lopez would give him little pep talks before interviews because he would get anxious and overly cautious. “I view these things as land mines, where if you say one wrong thing, your career might be over,” Ben said. “She tells me… ‘Relax, be yourself. Have fun. You’re actually a fun guy who is real and genuine and you just seem so serious.'” he added.
7. His Biggest Regret is his Divorce From Jennifer Garner
Back in 2020, in a deep interview with The New York Times, Affleck reflected on his marriage to Jennifer Garner, saying that his struggles with alcohol got worse toward the end of their relationship. He then dropped the biggest bombshell, revealing, “The biggest regret of my life is this divorce.” Affleck and Garner were together for 10 years, marrying in 2005 and announcing their separation in 2015.
8. He Explained Why He Always Looks So Mad
Ben Affleck cleared up the “annoyed Ben” meme once and for all, saying he’s not actually mad, just uncomfortable with the constant attention. Appearing on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, Ben explained, “I don’t really like to do big social events or go out much.” He then revealed that he’s “kind of shy” and doesn’t “like to be on camera.” Ben added, “When someone’s taking a picture of me, I’m bummed because I’m usually with my kids, I’m trying to go somewhere…And I’m like, ‘Hey man, can you give me some time? I’m trying to be with my kids.”
9. He’s Open About His Mental Health Struggles
Ben has been honest about battling mental health and addiction, struggles he says run in his family. “I’ve experienced depression and anxiety,” he told People in 2020. Growing up around alcoholism took a toll, and by 26, he began taking antidepressants. “They’re very helpful for me,” he told Diane Sawyer, though he admitted the side effects could be “awful.”
10. Ben Affleck Knows Why His Relationships Don’t Work
In a resurfaced Playboy interview from 1990 (yes, before his marriages to both Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez), Ben admitted that one of his biggest downfalls in relationships was staying quiet when something bothered him, only to blow up later. He called it a “passive-aggressive pattern” and said he’s worked hard to break it:
“During the course of a relationship, if you get dissatisfied and unhappy and don’t say something, if you don’t deal with it right then, it just festers and stays there. So instead of saying, ‘Look, don’t do that, please don’t act this way,’ I go along with it until I just don’t want to be in the relationship at all,” he said.
“Then I create some incident or do something or just don’t call. And then she’s p***ed. And I can’t necessarily blame her at that point since I’ve developed such a passive-aggressive rage that I have no sympathy and tell her, ‘Well, of course I didn’t call you. If you weren’t such a nagging, shrewish harpy I’d call you.’ But that hopefully is something I’m growing out of.”
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