Ben Affleck Remembers Infamous Oscars Snub As A 'Massive Embarrassment'
Ben Affleck is reflecting on the year he was infamously snubbed at the Oscars.
On Tuesday, the Good Will Hunting star made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s US talk show, where he congratulated the host on his recent win at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards.
Jimmy then pointed out that Ben was also a Critics’ Choice Award winner, to which the actor quipped: “Not unlike you, I benefitted from some sympathy.”
He claimed: “That was a year when it was the horrible thing of everybody telling you all the time, ‘you’re going to get nominated [for an Oscar for Best Director]’ for this movie Argo that I did.
“Everybody kept telling me… and so of course, waking up that morning, and sure enough [I wasn’t nominated]. And by the way, it’s not like any other morning that I had not been nominated for Best Director, but all of a sudden, it’s a ‘massive embarrassment’, I woke up and people [were saying], ‘you didn’t get nominated’.”
Jimmy then told Ben he was “underselling” the situation, pointing out that not only was Argo nominated for Best Picture at that year’s Oscars, it also won the award.
“You starred in it, and directed it, and you were not nominated in either category, for a film that [won Best Picture],” the comedian pointed out. “It’s as if the movie directed itself!”
“Well, it’s nice to be here…” Ben then joked.
Argo was released in 2012, and despite Ben’s snub at the Oscars, he was awarded Best Director at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Baftas and Golden Globes for the movie.
It also earned him the rare Redeemer Award at the Razzies, given to actors and filmmakers who bounce back from purported “flops”, having previously won a Razzie for his work in the critically-panned Gigli.
Ben is yet to be nominated for an Oscar for acting, but has two Academy Awards to his name for his work as a screenwriter and producer.
His next project, the Netflix action comedy The Rip, sees him reunite with his frequent collaborator Matt Damon, as well as sharing the screen with stars like Teyana Taylor and Steven Yeun.