Another night, another award for Ben Affleck. The Argo director continued his winning streak on Saturday, Feb. 2, when he took home the top prize at the Directors Guild of America Awards for his Iranian hostage drama.
Accepting the honor at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland, Affleck talked about his journey from actor to filmmaker. “I got to a point in my life where I was really down, really confused, really felt beset on all sides by life, didn’t know what was going to happen,” he explained to the crowd. “[So] I thought, ‘I should be a director!'”
“I worked really, really hard to become the best director I could be, by putting in as [many] hours as I [could], and banging my head against a wall, berating myself, lying to myself about whether it was going to work,” he continued. “And I don’t think this [award] makes me a real director — but I think it means I’m on my way.”
Some might say he’s already there. Prior to his DGA victory, Affleck picked up accolades from the Producers Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, the Critics Choice voters, and the Hollywood Foreign Press, which awarded him Best Director at the Golden Globes over more seasoned filmmakers including Steven Spielberg, Kathryn Bigelow, Ang Lee, and Quentin Tarantino. One of the only major honors he definitely won’t get this year is the Academy’s directing award; though Argo is now considered a front-runner for Best Picture on Feb. 24, Affleck is not a contender in the Best Director category. He will be only the seventh person since 1948 to win the Directors Guild award and not the Oscar.
In the press room after his acceptance speech on Feb. 2, the 40-year-old star addressed his Oscar snub, telling reporters, “You’re not entitled to win anything. You’re not entitled to anything in life. I’m really happy — I’m thrilled and honored — that the Academy nominated me as a producer for the movie…It’s okay. I’m really lucky. I’m in a great place.”
Affleck was joined at the awards show by his wife of seven years, Jennifer Garner, whom the actor-turned-filmmaker has called his “everything.” A source tells Us Weekly that Garner, 40, “was overjoyed” for her husband, with whom she shares kids Violet, 7, Seraphina, 4, and Samuel, nearly 11 months.
“She ran up to Ben to give him a hug and a kiss, and she started blushing…She was emotional,” the source says. “It looked like it was a really nice moment for them.”
