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The star of Hollywoodland - DIFF's gala screening tomorrow night - owes his success to sheer determination and vision from a very early age. Ben Affleck was just 8 years old when he landed his first role on the small screen in The Voyage Of Mimi.
His foray into feature films began with Dazed And Confused (1993) at the age of 20. He then appeared in independent movies, including Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997), with performances that earned him positive recognition in the industry.
But it wasn't until he teamed up with childhood friend, fellow actor Matt Damon, that he rose to fame. Fed up with being turned down for big roles, they took it upon themselves to write their own script and created Good Will Hunting in 1997. The huge hit scored them an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and paved the way for them to set up a production company.
In addition, the roles came flooding in and Affleck enjoyed major exposure in box office hits including Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001).
While his career took a slight dive, notably with Gigli in 2003, his latest portrayal of George Reeves, (the 1950s TV Superman star), marks a return to form. Thanks to his performance in Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, Affleck won Best Actor at the Venice film festival this year.
Dedication
As the youngest actor ever to win an Academy Award in 2002, Adrien Brody is destined for greatness on the big screen.
The American actor has been compared to cinema icons Al Pacino and Marlon Brando, but is determined to be remembered for himself.
The turning point in his career came when he starred in Roman Polanski's The Pianist. So dedicated was he to become the character — a celebrated Jewish pianist in Nazi-occupied Warsaw — he lost nearly 30 pounds and learnt how to play Chopin on the piano. He also gave up his car and apartment because he wanted to connect with the suffering of the Polish Jews.
Brody's passion for his art also saw him performing prison exercises, spending time in an isolation tank and going on a protein diet to get into character for The Jacket (2005).
The varied roles Brody has accepted include a mentally disabled young man, a self absorbed writer and a shell-shocked war veteran.
In Hollywoodland he depicts a private detective tasked to find out the truth behind the death of TV Superman star George Reeves in 1959.
His next project, I'm Not There, scheduled for release next year, looks at the life and works of Bob Dylan.
With such diverse acting scope, Brody's potential appears to know no bounds.
Profile
- Name: Adrien Brody.
- Born: April 14, 1973, in New York, US.
- Career: An Oscar-winning actor who began his career as a teenager and starred in an off-Broadway play at the age of 13.
- Highlights: King Of The Hill (1993), Bullet (1996), Bread And Roses (2000), The Pianist (2002), King Kong (2005) and Hollywoodland (2006).
- Style: Mysterious.
- Personal: He is a big hip-hop fan and counts RZA of the Wu Tang Clan as his mentor.
- Quote: "I've never taken a role for money. I felt it would be wrong — not necessarily a career decision — just wrong."
Profile
- Name: Ben Affleck.
- Born: August 15, 1972, in Berkley, California, US.
- Career: An Oscar-winning writer, and an actor since childhood.
- Highlights: Dazed and Confused (1993), Good Will Hunting (1997), Armageddon (1998), Shakespeare In Love (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001) and Hollywoodland (2006).
- Personal: Married to actress Jennifer Garner with whom he has a one-year-old daughter, Violet.
- Style: All-American hero.
- Quote: "God help me if I ever do another movie with an explosion in it. If you see me in a movie where stuff is exploding, you'll know I've lost all my money."
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