Ben Affleck Played A Real-Life Superhero Actor In This Underrated Mystery Movie

After a decade of plugging away in Hollywood, Ben Affleck finally landed on the film industry's acting A-list in 2002 with a pair of bona fide hits in "The Sum of All Fears" and "Changing Lanes." Then 2003 happened.

While "Daredevil" was technically a hit, the film was tepidly received by critics and comic book fans. Affleck was displeased with the movie and told 20th Century Fox he would only return to the role of Matt Murdock if they went in a darker direction. Instead, they made the godawful spin-off "Elektra" starring Jennifer Garner, which effectively killed the franchise. This was the one good thing that happened to Affleck's career that year. In July, he shared the screen with his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez in Martin Brest's notorious flop "Gigli," which received savage reviews and grossed a ghastly $7.2 million against a $75.6 million budget. Affleck's 2003 concluded with John Woo's "Paycheck," an entertaining sci-fi action flick that fell far short of commercial expectations.

Affleck needed a bounce-back year, and 2004 wasn't it. Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl" disappointed, and the yuletide comedy "Surviving Christmas" bombed. Affleck was desperate for a hit at this point, but he opted to bet on himself as an actor by playing television star George Reeves in "Hollywoodland." Reeves' career was defined by his portrayal of the Man of Steel in the 1950s television series "Adventures of Superman," but, having gotten a taste of prestige success as one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors in "Gone with the Wind," he yearned to be taken seriously as a performer. Alas, according to Reeves, he was so deeply typecast as Superman that he couldn't book decent dramatic work. Then, in 1959, he was discovered in his Beverly Hills house with a bullet in his head.

Paul Bernbaum's "Hollywoodland" was a hot script when Focus Features acquired it in 2001. The company got the promising duo of Michael and Mark Polish ("Twin Falls Idaho") to direct the film, and cast Benicio Del Toro to play protagonist Louis Simo, a down-and-out private investigator who digs into Reeves' alleged suicide when he discovers the LAPD might be covering up evidence. This version of the film ultimately fell apart, but the project was revived years later with a new cast after playwright Howard Korder rewrote Bernbaum's screenplay.

Major movie stars like Hugh Jackman, Viggo Mortensen, and Dennis Quaid were considered for the part of Reeves, but Ben Affleck aggressively pursued the role. If new director Allen Coulter, highly regarded for his work on "The Sopranos," delivered on the script's promise, Affleck could be a contender. Affleck researched every aspect of Reeves' life. After a string of box office failures as a star, he would redeem himself as an artist.

Affleck gives a stellar performance as a flustered Reeves, who unwisely takes up with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of MGM fixer Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). As Simo probes Reeves' life, we're given the actor's side of the story, including several detours into apocryphal events (most notably Fred Zinnemann cutting down his part in "From Here to Eternity"). At the outset of the movie, it seems obvious that Reeves was murdered. By the end, Simo sees through the actor's self-pitying legend. His dreams outstripped his talent. It's a showbiz tragedy.

"Hollywoodland" underperformed at the box office, and while Affleck received some of his best reviews ever as an actor up to that point, he was denied a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Six years later, Affleck won Best Picture for "Argo." That's a decent consolation prize.