Ben Affleck Still Cringes Over His ‘Argo’ Oscar Snub

Ben Affleck has never shied away from reflecting on the highs and lows of his career, but one awards-season moment still stings.

More than a decade later, the actor-director is reopening the conversation about the Oscars year that brought him acclaim and humiliation at the same time.

What followed was an emotional roller coaster that few Hollywood stars ever experience so publicly.

Appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this week, Affleck, now 53, looked back on the 2013 awards race surrounding “Argo,” the political thriller that ultimately won Best Picture.

While the film was showered with praise, Affleck himself was notably absent from the Best Director nominees.

“It was the year, the horrible thing of everyone telling you, ‘You’re gonna get nominated, you’re gonna get nominated for director,’” Affleck told host Jimmy Kimmel per the Daily Mail.

That expectation made the reality hit harder when nominations were announced.

He added, “And so, of course, I wake up that morning, and sure enough – and, by the way, it’s not [unlike] 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 [said], ‘You didn’t get nominated.’”

The disappointment didn’t end with the announcement. Affleck recalled stepping into a media frenzy later that day at the Critics Choice Awards, where the snub became the only topic anyone wanted to discuss.

“It seemed like there were 500 people dying to talk to me,” he said. “And every single one of them [said], ‘Hi. So, the snub. What do you say to that?’ ‘Ha, ha, ha, yeah. It’s a bummer.’”

The situation was particularly awkward given the broader context.

That year’s Best Director category included Ang Lee for “Life of Pi,” Steven Spielberg for “Lincoln,” David O. Russell for “Silver Linings Playbook,” Michael Haneke for “Amour,” and Benh Zeitlin for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

Lee ultimately took home the Oscar, while “Argo” continued its momentum elsewhere.

Despite the uncomfortable attention, the night took a surprising turn.

Affleck ended up winning Best Director for “Argo” at the Critics Choice Awards, beating Spielberg for “Lincoln” and Kathryn Bigelow for “Zero Dark Thirty.”

“This negative event turns into a positive,” Affleck said, summing up the emotional whiplash of the evening. The win helped soften the blow, but the Oscars omission remained a defining talking point.

“Argo” would go on to receive seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing. It won Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and ultimately Best Picture, cementing its legacy despite the controversy.

Kimmel, however, wasn’t convinced Affleck was fully acknowledging how brutal the moment really was. The late-night host pushed back, framing the snub as one of the most bizarre awards scenarios in Hollywood history.

“This is maybe the worst award-show situation ever. I think you’re underselling this. Because Argo, not only was it nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, you won Best Picture. You starred in it and directed it, and you were not nominated in either category … it’s as if the movie directed itself,” Kimmel said.

Affleck didn’t argue. Instead, he admitted that he had “felt” exactly the same way at the time, acknowledging how surreal the situation truly was.

The conversation eventually shifted to more recent awards drama. Kimmel revealed that he had thought of Affleck while watching Leonardo DiCaprio lose Best Actor to Timothée Chalamet at the Critics Choice Awards the night before.

Meanwhile, “One Battle After Another,” starring DiCaprio, picked up trophies for Best Picture and Best Director at the ceremony. Kimmel couldn’t resist drawing a humorous parallel.

“I was thinking, boy, he’s got so many better places to be,” Kimmel joked. “And the movie wins Best Picture. The director Paul Thomas Anderson wins Best Director, and then he doesn’t win.”

Kimmel continued, “And I’m thinking he must be so pissed that [he had to leave] whatever he got airlifted from — a yacht somewhere — and couldn’t be there anymore. He came to lose.”

For Affleck, the reflection served as a reminder that even career-defining successes can come with uncomfortable moments. The “Argo” snub remains a rare instance where triumph and embarrassment arrived hand in hand, leaving a lasting impression that still resonates years later.