8. Ben Affleck - From Middling Actor To Sublime Director
Ben Affleck has given risible performances in a number of films over the years, perhaps most memorably Armageddon, Reindeer Games, Pearl Harbour, Forces of Nature and Gigli, yet we held onto a vague scrap of hope that he
was talented largely because of his 1998 Oscar win for co-writing Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. The running joke - spurred on by a hilariously segment in a Family Guy episode - was for many years that Damon, regarded as an astute and insightful actor by most, wrote the majority of the script, and Affleck's name was simply appended to it at the end out of loyalty. But oh boy, how Affleck has turned things around... As of 2013, Affleck has directed three films - Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo - all of which are generally regarded as good if not great, most recently winning a producing Oscar for the Best Picture-winning Argo - which curiously missed a Best Director nod for Affleck, likely out of prejudice for his prior reputation - and what's more, he's even improving his reputation as an actor, working with the likes of Terrence Malick (even if the film in question was awful, by no fault of Affleck's).