Ben Affleck was spotted warming himself up with a cigarette while dashing around Los Angeles as the city was finally hit by autumn showers.
His nicotine habit has been an Internet sensation ever since he was glimpsed looking miserable and exhausted while smoking on August 22, 2016.
The 53-year-old appeared in finer fettle when he was glimpsed this week, relaxing as he drew from his cigarette while driving through the Marina Del Rey area.
By contrast to his scruffy appearance in the viral 2016 ‘Sad Affleck’ smoking meme, he was clean-cut in a crisp white dress shirt and a camel-toned coat.
That evening, he hit the stage at the Beverly Hilton at the American Cinematheque Award ceremony honoring Michael B. Jordan.Â
He joined a glittering lineup of presenters including Bradley Cooper, Tessa Thompson, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, Octavia Spencer and Phylicia Rashad.
Ben Affleck was spotted warming himself up with a cigarette while dashing around Los Angeles as the city was finally hit by autumn showers
Ryan Coogler, who directed Jordan in five movies including Black Panther and this year’s horror western Sinners, was also on the evening’s lineup.
Affleck was the image of classic red carpet glamour at the Beverly Hilton that night, decked out in black suit and black tie as he took the microphone.
He and the guest of honor have known each other since 2013, when Affleck saw Jordan’s breakthrough film Fruitvale Station, directed by Coogler.
They have since enjoyed what Jordan described as a ‘big brother–little brother kind of relationship,’ when he and Affleck spoke for Variety’s Directors on Directors.Â
Affleck recalled that he recognized immediately that Jordan was ‘a star,’ and as a result advised him to ‘be ready, because I know there’s a lot of things that come along that are difficult that nobody tells you.’
He noted that he himself ‘had a friend doing it with me,’ inasmuch as he shot to fame alongside his longtime close pal and collaborator Matt Damon.Â
Although Affleck himself has never been given an American Cinematheque Award, the organization ran a retrospective of the movies he directed in 2023.
Damon was given the American Cinematheque Award in 2010, amid a star-studded list of honorees including ex-spouses Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds.
By contrast to his scruffy appearance in the viral 2016 ‘Sad Affleck’ smoking meme, he was clean-cut in a crisp white dress shirt and a camel-toned coatÂ
That evening, he hit the stage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at the American Cinematheque Award ceremony honoring Michael B. Jordan
He joined a glittering lineup of presenters including Bradley Cooper, Tessa Thompson, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, Octavia Spencer and Phylicia Rashad
Affleck was the image of classic red carpet glamour at the Beverly Hilton that night, decked out in black suit and black tie as he took the microphone
He and the guest of honor have known each other since 2013, when Affleck saw Jordan’s breakthrough film Fruitvale Station, directed by Coogler
Other names who have have received the gong include Steven Spielberg, Bradley Cooper, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Matthew McConaughey, Helen Mirren, Spike Lee, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, George Clooney, Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson.Â
Affleck smoked for 20 years, at one point enjoying a pack of cigarettes a day and describing the vice as ‘part of who I was,’ before he initially quit in 2005.
The decision was prompted by the fact his wife at the time, Jennifer Garner, was pregnant with their first child Violet Affleck.
Three years later, he revealed that he had given up smoking by attending hypnotherapy sessions at Damon’s urging.
‘You sit in, like, a Barker lounger and he sips water and just talks to you for an hour, and explains how nicotine is poison,’ Affleck told Oprah Winfrey. ‘All of a sudden, you thought: “This is asinine that I’ve been doing this to myself for all these years.”‘
After quitting, he raved: ‘I feel a huge difference in my health now that I don’t smoke. I feel like I’m in better shape than I was five years ago.’
However Affleck, who has also been candid about his past struggles with alcoholism, has been indulging in cigarettes again for the past several years.Â
Last August, the day after Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from him on what would have been their second wedding anniversary, he was seen chain-smoking in his car.
His nicotine habit has been an Internet sensation ever since he was glimpsed looking miserable and exhausted while smoking on August 22, 2016 (pictured)Â
Last August, the day after Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from him on what would have been their second wedding anniversary, he was seen chain-smoking in his car; pictured 2021Â
At the start of this year a source alleged that Affleck was attempting to give up smoking again and was toying with the idea of retrying hypnotherapy.
‘Ben was so happy 20 years ago when he quit. He swore he’d never go back, but here he is just as addicted as ever and desperate to stop,’ said the insider.
‘He hates the way it smells and knows it’s terrible for his health, not to mention a terrible example for his kids,’ the source added to Radar Online.
‘He’s really got only one vice left, the smokes, so no one wants to push him too hard to give that up since he’s done so well staying sober,’ the insider observed.Â
‘But it’s obviously not a good habit. Any time he feels stressed, he reaches for a cigarette, and he’s stressed a lot.’
