In the last two decades the life of Ben Affleck he’s on a repeat: he’s in a relationship with a woman named Jennifer, his movie flopped, a picture of him having a bad day becomes a meme, he won an Oscar (that’s not for acting), and he’s in a movie with his boyfriend his, Matt Damon. None of the above has happened only once and it is possible that it will not happen again…

The career of the 51-year-old Californian already spans four decades. In the distant 1998, he was called the new Tom Cruise, thanks to the movie “Armageddon”. And, just four years later, the Los Angeles Times advised him to take a break.

His career is not at its best, although his popularity remains intact. For example, we’ve heard far less about his recently released film “Hypnotic,” a thriller directed by Robert Rodríguez, than about an alleged fight he had in a car with his wife, Jennifer Lopez.

Affleck’s story was atypical from the start. He could be considered a child prodigy since the first time we saw him on screen he was only seven years old. However, except for the most die-hard “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans, no one remembers him before he played a high school bully in “Dazed and Confused” (1993), a comedy directed by Richard Linklater. He then played a similar role in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats (1995).

After his performance, Hollywood – always looking for a new good-looking man – is preparing to “swallow” him. Before Chasing Amy came out, he was already sitting in Michael Bay’s office listening to the… path he would have to take to become an action hero.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)

As the producer, Jennifer Klein, admitted, he was told: “You should go to the gym, get a tan, get a haircut». Bay also had a problem with Affleck’s teeth: “He has baby teeth. I made Tom Cruise’s teeth. We’ll fix his teeth».

Every once in a while, the industry sets its sights on an actor and does whatever it deems necessary to stand out. Sometimes, that works out well (Chris Pratt) and sometimes, it’s really weird (John Krasinski and Kumail Nanjiani). But in the film “Armageddon” (1998), Affleck stood up to Bruce Willis with dignity.

The important thing is that the film brought in $500 million at the box office and everyone noticed how handsome Affleck looked in the shirt. He was born a star and, to top it off, he was also smart. He and his childhood friend, Matt Damon, had sold a screenplay they had been working on for years for $600,000. “Good Will Hunting,” with nine nominations, was the second-most Academy Award-nominated film of 1997, just behind “Titanic.”

Affleck went from not being able to pay rent to earning $12 million per film. He was dating Gwyneth Paltrow and People magazine voted him the sexiest man alive in 2002. The world was at his feet. So how do you explain that, just two years later, the Los Angeles Times ran an article calling Affleck “down?” Well, here’s the answer: Bennifer…

After his split from Paltrow, Affleck began dating Jennifer Lopez, the actress, singer, dancer, entrepreneur and full-time diva. The pair captured their love story in the music video for ‘Jenny from the Block’, something the actor would regret years later.

Affleck and Lopez were engaged, but the wedding was called off due to “too much media attention”. The singer wasn’t too happy about Affleck’s visit to a strip club… But Hollywood always gives a good-looking man a second (or 10th) chance. His role as George Reeves (the first Superman) in Hollywoodland (2006) won him the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. He then opted for smaller projects and stepped behind the camera to prove that his screenplay Oscar was no fluke. “Gone Baby Gone” (2007) and “The Town” (2010) earned him the respect of the studios, while “Argo” (2012) confirmed his skill as a director: the film won three Oscars out of a total of nine nominations. However, although Affleck was one of the co-winners for Best Picture, he was not nominated for Best Director.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ben Affleck (@_ben_affleck._)

His new life also included a new partner – Jennifer Garner – whom he had known since filming ‘Pearl Harbor’. In 2005, Victor Garber, Garner’s father on the TV series ‘Alias’, officiated their wedding.

Although the new Bennifer didn’t – initially – have the same level of media exposure compared to Affleck’s time with Lopez, the relationship certainly had an eventful ending. After a decade and three children, the couple divorced. If the first Jennifer had a problem with a strip club, the second dealt with another cliché: the nanny.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)

The divorce coincided with the filming of the movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016). However, Affleck’s casting as Batman was not well received by fans, who started a Change.org petition to have him drop the project. Over 100,000 people signed.

During a radio interview, the actor admitted that the problems in his marriage affected his work and not only… “I was like, “I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, what should I do?” What I did was drink a bottle of whiskey and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the answer».

It wasn’t the first time this had happened to him. In 2001 he entered Promises rehab in Malibu to receive treatment for alcoholism. Affleck has never hidden his struggles with depression and addiction. In fact, he has long been familiar with them. His father was an alcoholic: he saw him drinking every day and remembers being relieved when his parents divorced when he was 11.

While Affleck dealt with his demons, the less-than-enthusiastic reception of his Batman, a judgmental online world and too much free time, he was “struck” by the “Sad Affleck” meme. During an interview to promote the movie ‘Justice League’ alongside Henry Cavill, she had a strange expression for a few seconds and that was all it took on social media. A YouTuber soundtracked it with ‘The Sound of Silence’ and the video went viral.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ben Affleck (@_ben_affleck._)

He wasn’t the first actor to turn into a meme or even a symbol of sadness: that already happened with Keanu Reeves. However, if Reeves was received with some tenderness, in Affleck’s case there was always a trace of ridicule.

In some cases, the actor has used the social media frenzy to his advantage. His appearance in David Fincher’s ‘Gone Girl’ (2014) was noted not for his acting skills, but for his mole, which appeared so soon that ‘Vulture’ published a guide to spotting him on screen!

A plot twist worthy of “Gone Girl” brought back the original Bennifer in 2021: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reconciled and married 17 years after their breakup. And, once again, they became the favorite subject of tabloids, while fueling a frenzy of new memes. ‘Sad Affleck’ has now been eclipsed by ‘Exhausted Affleck’, due to Lopez’s supposed ferocity.

If social media is any indication, Affleck still matters. But judging by the box office results, it seems his films don’t matter. In 2023, it’s easier to remember his latest meme than the title of his latest movie. It’s called ‘Hypnotic’, by the way.