The movie that inspired Ben Affleck to make his own films
From day one, Ben Affleck always made his own luck. While making a living as an actor, Affleck was known for hustling through the film industry, either working on different scripts or accepting gigs as an extra on any film that would have him. Although he may have been a visionary whenever he was given the proper direction, one film gave him the courage to make his original films.
When he was still coming up in Boston, though, Affleck was still willing to take on any kind of script that he was working on with his friends. Even though he and Matt Damon would have wildly different experiences once they both got through the door of Hollywood, both got their first big screen credits when appearing as extras in the movie Field of Dreams, being scattered amongst the crowd at Fenway Park.
It didn’t take long for Affleck to start standing out as an actor, though, getting one of his first significant roles when working on the movie School Ties. Following the tale of religious tension between young men attending school together, Affleck shined as one of the main bullies of the movie, constantly mocking Brendan Fraser’s David Greene before seeing the importance of tolerance.
While Affleck may have been painted as an unlikable figure in the film, his charisma in front of the camera was enough for Richard Linklater to cast him in the stoner comedy Dazed and Confused. Although the film has gone down in legend as being a love letter to the lovable stoners of the 1970s, Affleck wasn’t repainted in the best light, playing the equivalent of the high school jock with Fred O’Bannon.
Although Affleck was more than willing to take any kind of direction that he could, he remembered Linklater giving him free rein to take the character wherever he wanted to. The various additions that Affleck put into the movie included the infamous paddle he uses baring the message ‘FAH-Q’ in red letters.
Recalling that time, Affleck said that he was particularly inspired when working on the film, telling GQ, “Rick encouraged everyone to write their own stuff and try their own scenes, which was kind of amazing to me that he gave us that much freedom. As I look back, I’m amazed that Rick was so comfortable with that, [considering] how much you have to schedule movies and plan them out”.
Outside of the mechanics of working on the movie, though, Affleck was convinced that he could get his own movies off the ground thanks to working on Dazed and Confused, saying, “It was definitely the movie where it was demystified for me. It was like ‘I can do this, and we can make our own movie’. He was very inspiring in that regard”.
From there, Affleck would soon reunite with Damon to help get their script Good Will Hunting off the ground, which would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Screenplay. While Affleck has been able to work just as well behind the camera as a director for movies like Argo now, that drive may not have been attainable had Linklater not broken down the barriers for him.
