The A-Lister Rooting For Ben Affleck To Make An Oscars Comeback

Ben Affleck's life has been a roller coaster for the past 10 years. In 2012, the actor was married to Jennifer Garner, raising three kids at the height of his career. Affleck starred and directed "Argo," winning an Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year in 2013. He shared the award with Grant Heslov and George Clooney of Smokehouse Pictures. In a 2012 interview with Extra TV, Affleck praised the pair as "the best partners you could have," explaining the value in "having guys that have made movies, great movies, that have power in town" offer him advice and support. "I highly recommend working with George Clooney if you get the chance," he added.

But two years after the Oscar win, the "Goodwill Hunting" actor's life was falling apart. In 2015, In Touch Weekly reported Affleck took the family's nanny Christine Ouzounian to Vegas while his family was on vacation. The celebrity couple announced their separation shortly after. Affleck spent time in multiple rehab centers for alcohol addiction from 2016 to 2018. Affleck and Garner divorced in 2018. In a 2016 Vanity Fair interview, Garner said, "He's the love of my life. What am I going to do about that? He's the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous. He's just a complicated guy."

In 2022, Ben Affleck is back on track. He reignited his romance with J. Lo in 2021 and is winning rave reviews for a new movie. But who is the A-lister rooting on Affleck for another Oscar nod?

George Clooney thinks Ben Affleck is a "really wonderful actor," who deserves another Oscar nomination. Clooney directed Affleck in "The Tender Bar" and praised his 49-year-old friend for his work in the movie. In a January interview with Deadline, Clooney said, "Ben really showed up, and he stuck his neck out." But while he acknowledged Affleck's SAG and Golden Globe noms, Clooney admitted, "He hasn't been acknowledged much as an actor, and he's a really wonderful actor."

"The Tender Bar" tells the story of a boy growing up in 1970s Long Island, where he bonds with Affleck's character, Uncle Charlie, a local bar owner, per the description on Prime Video. Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov produced "The Tender Bar," along with Amazon Studios. Clooney told Deadline that Affleck was his first choice for the part of Uncle Charlie. "I looked at this as a real showcase for Ben, and you know, Ben's been through the ringer," he said. "He's been as high as you could get. He stood on the stage and won a couple of Oscars. He knows what it's like to be at the top of the game, and he also has had some rough patches."

The 60-year-old actor and director called Affleck a "fighter," telling Deadline, "It'd be lovely if the same sort of attention was carried on [to the Oscars], I think he would deserve it." It seems Affleck and Clooney have a mutual fan club!