Early Life
Affleck was born in Berkeley, California. His mother, Christine Anne "Chris" Affleck (née Boldt), was a school district employee and teacher, and his father, Timothy Byers Affleck, has been a drug counselor, social worker, janitor, auto mechanic, bartender, writer, director, and actor with the Theater Company of Boston. Affleck's mother was a freedom rider in the 1960s; until her retirement, she taught in Cambridge, MA, public schools. His younger brother is actor Casey Affleck. Affleck has English, Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry. The surname "Affleck" is Scottish. He was raised in a mostly Episcopalian family.
His family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he was very young, and his parents divorced in 1984. At age eight, Affleck met 10-year-old Matt Damon, who lived two blocks away. Damon is Affleck's tenth cousin, once removed, through a common New England ancestor. The two attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School together, although they were in different grades. Affleck attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, as well as the University of Vermont (dropping out after his first semester), and majored in Middle Eastern affairs.
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