Ben Affleck -- Acted By magazine

Inflicted with the acting bug at a young age, Ben Affleck began pursuing his dream early on. Although he definitely knew what he wanted in life, how successful he would become was a gamble. The aspiring actor started with commercials, which progressed to TV movies and in 1993 he landed a role in Dazed and Confused, leading to Affleck teaming up with independent film master, Kevin Smith. Starring in Smith’s Mallrats followed by his amazing performance in another Smith classic, Chasing Amy, audiences began to do a double-take at the handsome actor. However, it was when he and best bud, Matt Damon, wrote their first screenplay, Good Will Hunting that Affleck officially appeared on Hollywood’s map, scoring him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Since then, Affleck has starred in films such as Armageddon, Shakespeare in Love, Pearl Harbor, Forces of Nature, Reindeer Games, Dogma, The Sum of All Fears, Daredevil, Paycheck, Hollywoodland, and numerous others.

Despite Affleck’s win for Good Will Hunting, it appeared that his screenwriting days were short-lived. That is, however, until now. Bringing his career to a whole new level, Affleck has written his second script and directed his first film. Affleck risked it all by putting himself out there with his biggest artistic challenge so far, Gone Baby Gone.

Privileged with the great opportunity of speaking with this true legend-in-filmmaking; both my photography team and I were filled with excitement when the day of our interview/photo shoot finally arrived with Ben Affleck.

At our location, which was a beautiful, multi-million dollar castle, and as A-list photographer, Ash Gupta dramatically flung his scarf around his neck and puffed on a cigarette, his assistant placed muffins, juice and water on a long dining room table. Cameras were set up in the enormous living room with high ceilings, marble floors and a window view that overlooked all of Los Angeles. A publicist from Miramax paced up and down the long hallway while routinely checking his blackberry. Stylists brought in a rack of clothes and began rummaging through them.

Waiting for Affleck, I sat in a room by myself and thought about his new film. It was only a few months earlier that I first heard of the movie and before seeing it, I honestly had no idea what we were going to get from him.

Ben Affleck Photo

It was back in May when I entered the screening room to Gone Baby Gone, and plopped down in a plush comfy seat. When the room grew dim, the film opens with private investigator Patrick Kenzie (played by Casey Affleck), walking through his urban nest full of birds who forgot how to fly as we hear the words of Dennis Lehane, the original author of this brutally honest book-turned-film about two of the most prevalent kinds of crime inflicted on children – abduction and molestation.

Set in Boston’s hardscrabble, blue-collar neighborhood, a place where local Cops view these rougher parts of their beloved city from the outside looking in, Gone Baby Gone’s storyline officially begins when a heartbroken family member (played by Amy Madigan) seeks help from the inside. Turning to detective Kenzie for assistance, he is awakened by a loud knocking sound and as our leading man goes to answer the door, we follow close behind.

Casey Affleck photo

Standing before him, a little girl’s aunt pleads for Kenzie to take a stab at solving the now three day abduction of 4-year-old Amanda (played by Madeline O’Brien). This is the moment where Kenzie’s life is about to drastically change. Despite the detective’s live-in love, Angie Gennaro’s (played by Michelle Monaghan) fears over swapping the investigation of credit scofflaws for child snatchers, something buried inside Kenzie’s unconscious nudges him and impulsively, he chooses to take the case.

Back at the castle, as I continued to think about Gone Baby Gone and its film creator, Ben Affleck casually waltzed into the interview wearing a T-shirt, jeans and running shoes. He waved and immediately began chatting to all of us as if he’d known everyone for years. His friendly yet sarcastically-charged sense of humor shined through and instantaneously, we all loved him!

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