Many actors use different types of steroids while others oppose these drugs. Ben Affleck is a controversial person in this sense. On the one hand, he starred in a series that promoted a negative attitude towards steroids. On the other hand, he possibly used steroids to gain muscle mass. Want to know more? Read our article.
Short biography of Ben Affleck
Benjamin Affleck-Boldt’s birth was August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California. He has foreign roots (Ireland and Scotland). His mom, Christine Ann Boldt, studied at Harvard and became a teacher, and his father, Timothy Affleck, changed many professions, having been a plumber, a worker in the social sphere, an automobile mechanic, a barman and a pharmacist. In addition, he played on stage as a participant of the Boston Theater Co. troupe. The future actor had a younger brother named Casey, who, like him, became an actor. After their parents’ divorce in 1984, both brothers moved with their mother to Massachusetts. There, at the age of 8, Ben met his distant relative and neighbor, a 10-year-old cousin named Matt Damon, who is also now known worldwide.
Ben Affleck started his career as an actor on TV as a child, becoming a host of the popular science children’s program “The Voyage of the Mimi” on PBS. In 1992, he, along with Damon, played in the teen movie “School Ties”. In 1993, Ben received a role in the smash drama “Dazed & Confused”. The 1995 comedy “Mallrats” about party people from the supermarket brought him widespread fame. Another film directed by Kevin Smith, “Chasing Amy,” helped to consolidate Ben’s success in 1997.
In the early 1990s, Affleck, together with Matt Damon, wrote a screenplay about a young genius mathematician’s story. As a result, this interesting work, entitled “Good Will Hunting” was brought to the screen by director Gus Van Sant. This famous movie got nine nominations for Oscars, and won two of the gold figurines.
In 1998, Ben Affleck got a role in the blockbuster “Armageddon”, whose box office figures amounted to 553 million dollars. In 1999, he played a major male role for the first time in the romantic movie called “Forces of Nature”.
In 2007, the actor made his first movie as a director, shooting the thriller “Gone Baby Gone” where his brother starred in the key role. The Affleck brothers together wrote the script, about the investigation of the kidnapping of a little girl, based on a book by Denis Lien.
In 2009, the actor resumed his acting career after a short break, starring in the romantic drama-comedy film “He Is Just Not That Into You,” a thriller movie about politics called ” State of Play,” and a funny film called “Extract”. The following year, there were two more films featuring Affleck – John Wells’ drama “In the Company of Men” and a criminal thriller with John Hamm and Jeremy Renner, “The City of Thieves”, directed by Ben himself again. 2016 saw the premiere of such films as “Batman & Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “The Accountant” with Affleck’s participation. That very year, there was also released the criminal drama “The Law of the Night”, where Ben not only starred in the main role, but also acted as a screen writer & producer.
Ben Affleck’s character and steroids in 90s TV series
Cinema celebrities, as a rule, do not immediately become stars. Many of the actors started in TV shows and serials, in episodic roles. Among the beginning roles of Affleck, there was the role of a footballer in the early 90s TV series called “Lifestories: Families in Crisis”. The TV series, apparently, was intended to form a negative attitude to the use of steroids in the audience.
The football player’s girlfriend found his steroids, and Ben Affleck’s character went into hysterics. At first he told his girlfriend that he used those drugs as medications. But the girl read the word “testosterone” on the package and realized that the drugs were forbidden steroids not belonging to testosterone replacement therapy. Ben’s character was furious. The girl told him that he needed help, and the football player hit her in the face. She ran away, and he began to destroy everything he saw. The series showed that the football player had developed a psychological and physiological dependence on steroids.
How did Ben Affleck bulk up for Batman v Superman?
In 2016, the famous movie Batman v. Superman was released. Affleck gained the right physique under the auspices of his longtime coach Walter Norton from one well-known sports organization, with whom Ben had begun to train on the recommendation of a common acquaintance when preparing for the shooting of “City of Thieves” in 2010. A resident of Boston, Norton flew almost weekly to work with Affleck in LA or on location. “Preparing for this role included exhausting workouts with Walter from day to day. As a result of this work, I felt not only an increase in muscle mass, but also a general pumping-up of mental and physical health,” Ben said.
Ben’s coach also commented on this. “Seven years ago, his body reacted to training a little faster. As in any relationship, everything was built on conversations and honesty. I could tell Ben the truth and he would not get offended. We did not beat around the bush. So from the very beginning we discussed the main thing: Affleck was no longer young. We did our best to protect his joints and muscles from injuries,” Norton said.
But this does not mean that it was easier for Ben to train than before. Every week Norton composed a new program aimed at achieving a concrete result, inexorably training one group of muscles after another. That approach allowed them to overfulfill the set plan. Here are the figures: during the shooting of “City of Thieves” Affleck weighed 90 kg, and for filming in “Batman vs. Superman” he gained a muscle mass of 105 kg with a body fat percentage of 7.7%, losing after that the weight to 102 kg. According to Ben’s coach they put emphasis on bodybuilding, because they needed muscle mass. They focused on various basic exercises, for example, biceps curls with 36 kg dumbbells, carrying sandbags and “farmer’s walk” with 27 kg extra load.
Does Ben Affleck use steroids?
As you can see, Ben Affleck has developed good muscle mass. So many people ask themselves: “Did Ben Affleck use steroids?” Everyone may form their own opinion on this. A hundred kilograms of muscle mass is quite a lot for middle-aged Ben Affleck. Perhaps he adhered to a very strict regimen of training and nutrition, and also slept 10 hours a day to maximize muscle growth in the body. Perhaps his coach came up with a unique training program for Ben. But as we know, many actors take anabolic steroids to get good muscle mass in a short time. Sometimes they simply do not have a choice, because the body has some muscle growth limits that are related to genetics. Therefore, it is possible that Ben Affleck used steroids, for example testosterone propionate and Masteron (drostanolone propionate), despite the fact that in the 1990’s he contributed to the formation of a negative attitude towards these potentially dangerous drugs.
