Ben Affleck appreciates life away from the flashbulbs

If you thought you knew Ben Affleck - handsome leading man, likes to buy extravagant gifts, always in the tabloids - it's time to think again.

While the early days of the 38-year-old actor's career were indeed lived in the glare of paparazzi flashbulbs and big-budget-movie lights, these days he's busy raising two young girls with wife Jennifer Garner, drawing attention to the plight of Congolese refugees and reshaping a career with an eye toward directing, writing and acting in taut dramas such as the crime caper The Town, which opens Sept. 17.

“When you read about stars you often get this brief snapshot, not a deep evaluation or analysis of who that person is,” Affleck tells USA WEEKEND Magazine. “As a result, it was often hard to distinguish between a picture of me, and the real me. Between my real life and the life that was happening around me.”

Back in 2002, when Affleck’s high-profile engagement to singer Jennifer Lopez led the couple to be called Bennifer, the star says he would rarely leave his house. These days he can stand on busy LA thoroughfares relatively undisturbed.

“I just love what I’m doing these days, which is deeply satisfying,” he says. “When you work on things that you feel are connected to who you are as a person and an artist, it’s a wonderful feeling.”