Here’s Ben Affleck getting annoyed at the paparazzi while out getting froyo in Santa Monica yesterday with his wife Jennifer Garner and their oldest daughter Violet, five. Ben is sporting a beard that we also saw during his family vacation in Hawaii over the holidays. (Photos are here. While Garner rocked a red bikini we sadly didn’t get to see Ben without his shirt on.)
I finally saw The Town over the holidays and I have to say I was blown away. Kaiser says that Affleck is a better director than he is an actor. He did play a meaty role that he might not have been able to score on his own, but we also have to give him credit for stepping aside and letting his costars, like Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm, shine. I thought he did an excellent job, and I also found my girlhood (ok, early 20s) crush on Ben renewed. The guy is gorgeous and there’s something troubled about him, or maybe he just played that character with such subtly that I found myself thinking he was playing himself. I like Ben and I’d love to see him get an Oscar nom for best director. That’s really where his talent lies, but he’s a decent actor too.
Does he work that beard though? Hell no, the guy has a gorgeous face. Maybe he’s trying to go incognito given how much the paparazzi hound him and his family. It doesn’t look like it’s working. Shave it, Ben!
Also, how cute are those glasses on Violet?
Credit to Kaiser for that title! Photos are credit: WENN.com
Violet looks just like her mum – she’s going to be a beauty!
OMG! How can BA be so good looking, even with the beard…crikey, new guy crush emerging!!
Violet’s glasses are PRECIOUS!! My daughter got glasses around the same age SO CUTE!!!
Yeah, Violet is workin the glasses, she’s so cute and looks just like her mom. Ben’s cute, too (more so clean shaven, imo).
i have such a thing for facial hair ugh!
BEN i love you
Ben shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds them. If it weren’t for the paparazzi, these two would be pretty much absolete, both are past their glory days. With the exception of being married with kids, nobody would care what they were up to. The paps are what keep these two relevent.
not that I’m a big fan of either of these two – I could take ’em or leave ’em…
…but claiming that the paps are the only thing keeping them relevant is pretty inaccurate.
18th hole…. so he owe everything to paparazzi????????! what a comment!! cant say further!!
No he paps are what keeping Jennifer Garner relevent not Ben.
Looking at his beard was the equivalent of taking a cold shower…my lady business is not happy. NOT ONE BIT
OMG–the beard is adorable. I’ve always adored Ben Affleck. I’m totally gonna ‘date’ myself, but I love the movie ‘School Ties’ with Affleck and a then-gorgeous Brendan Fraser (AND Matt Damon! AND Chris O’Donnell! AND Cole Hauser!). And I saw Good Will Hunting in the theatre 4 times when it came out in 1997. So I love him with the beard or without. But I totally wanna make out with him right now…
I too was blown away by The Town. What really impressed me about Affleck’s acting was his ability to play a real “everyman” character. I lived in Boston for 13 years – if I passed him in character on the street I wouldn’t have noticed him. Not many hunky actors could really pull that off – the ability to just blend in and really BE average. It’s not generally what makes you famous, you know? The scene in the end where he walks away from Fenway dressed as a cop worked because you could believe he would just blend.
I’ve loved all his directing work, but The Town was the first film in a very long time where his acting really stood out for me. And I agree, as a director he really showcased the entire cast. Even Blake Lively was tolerable (although I thought she looked way too young).
CB what was your take on Blake Lively in the movie? Is she as bad as everyone says she is?
#6. Nowhere did I say the paps are the ONLY thing keeping them relevant.
#8. I stand corrected, and I agree.
I’ve started to really fancy him recently.. Feels weird.
@TQB, please don’t give away spoilers. I’ve been waiting for it to come out on dvd. =(
@Obvious – you can rent it on iTunes now, that’s how I saw it!
@Kitty – Blake was decent, but her part was relatively small. She played an alcoholic addict well, but it wasn’t super memorable or anything.
um, i LOVE the beard. Yes, he’s ridiculously good looking w/o it, but it’s really nice on him i think
18th, you said “the paps are what keep these two relevant” with no qualifiers.
with no offense meant here…if you don’t want your comments to be misinterpreted, please don’t be so vague. I can only comment on what you write, not on what you keep in your head.
I like his beard. Since Ben can actually grow a real beard (unlike Keanu) I don’t mind him fighting his natural hotness. By hiding it with a beard.
Now if he was to shape it into a Van Dyke. I would knock that sad looking wife down, to get to him. 🙂
Now Keanu, bless his heart, can not grow a real beard. It grows in places. Just not well. And he is entirely too pretty to hide that face with bad facial hair.
hot. end of story.
violet is adorable. i love little kids with glasses, probably because i started wearing them around 4 years old. my first glasses were awesome: navy blue with little scottish terriers on the sides. i rocked them, as you can imagine.
actually every hollywood actor(bale,clooney,jackman,worthington,…)is hairy:it’s the new fashion for men
I can’t stand Jennifer Garner, BUT I love that photo of her and Ben where he’s flipping off the paparazzi!
I find Ben really annoying and I always have but he is a really good director. I am honestly curious to see what he does next. I also like the top photo of him with the beard holding Violet and the matching glasses .
Tragic? He looks great with facial hair.
Ben doesn’t handle the paps very well, and it is too bad as they do seem to be everywhere like cockroaches gone wild. I sympathize but the trade-off is the millions of dollars in his bank account from people paying to see his movies. You can’t really have both these days unfortunately. He’s made the choice and if he doesn’t like it then he should move to Idaho or someplace.
@ 18 hole I think the finger was for you and everyone else who says that they love the paps.
I understand that Ben is not everyone’s cup of tea.But you can’t deny he is a talented man.He doesn’t need the paparazzi or any other gimmick to keep him famous.If he wanted a fast buck .He
could become a reality star or use his name to hawk cheesy products .He made a comeback the hard way .With hard
I think he looks superhot 😀
I meant to say hard work and deligence
I hate beards, but I understand not wanting to shave when you’re not working. I never wear make-up when I’m not working because it’s a pain to put it on. My husband grows a beard every winter break and spring break for the same reason. I think Ben looks like weekend dad with a beard. But he looks HOT without it.
hate to break it to you but most men are hairy. It’s their natural state. I like th beard.
Great A-list actor/director/writer with B-list actress. Strange combo from the beginning.
Does anyone else find it odd that Ben and Jen are dressed like it was somewhat cold outside, but Violet is in t-shirt, shorts and sandals?
He should trim that beard a little closer, but I think he looks great with facial hair. And Miss Violet is adorable.
Ben is handsome with or without the beard.
I think he does this whenever he has downtime from acting in movies and doesn’t have to be clean-shaven for a role.
I recently saw The Town and was really impressed with the movie and with Ben, both as an actor and as a director.
He’s come a long way from the horrible acting of Armageddon and The Sum Of All Fears, that’s for damn sure.
The man is hot AND talented.
I was wondering about her sandals too..kind of weird, but maybe they didn’t plan on stopping anywhere.. I love this family. Those are the cutest kids ever. and I LOVED “The Town” new respect for Ben.. he should do more directing, he’s really really good at it. His acting was good too, but man the directing was amazing.
Shooting the finger at the paps with your young daughter in tow. Atta way to stay classy, Ben. Lucky for you she didn’t see it. This time.
3 beautiful people. Beard or not, he’s still handsome.
I’d like to place one vote for “tragic” on the beard. Totally tragic.
But, how cute is that kid? Wow! I’ve never been blown away by Ben or Jennifer Garner. But, their daughter is so beautiful. Look at that profile shot. Her bone structure is going to be flawless! She got all the best features from both parents, and I think she will grow up to be even better looking than either of them. Lucky kid!
The Town was excellent. Ben is an extremely smart guy. Glad to see him back on track. Love him.
I love the insouciant way he’s flipping the paps off. That man is hot, that’s all there is to it.
ooooo @obvious, so sorry. I didn’t even think. Editing!
If he hates the paps so much he should tell his wife to stop calling them.
Jen’s looking good. The outfit and the hairstyle are nice and she’s looking quite fit. As for the Town it was good but it wasn’t as good as Gone Baby Gone. GBG was a revelation. The Town was a tad formulaic.
I think I know whats up with the beard. Remember how Brad Pitt suddenly loked young after he shaved? Maybe they’re prepping for a face lift or something like that. Maybe growing a beard before a procedure will make the difference less noticable.
He is a horrible actor. The town was good until half way the movie turned into the shawshank redemption. Jeremy whatever his name was great. I can see why Ben (allegedly) boned Blake. The girl is hot.
Love the beard and the glasses.
I’m sorry I never get a warm fuzzy from this man. Never looks happy, always looks pissed and angry and resentful. Cute wife, cute kids, famous, $$$, and that’s the puss we get. It baffles me.