THE HUNT FOR BEN AFFLECK IS HE AN INDIE ACTOR WHO DOES BLOCKBUSTERS? OR AN ACTION STAR WHO INDULGES HIMSELF OCCASIONALLY?

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Writer

In last summer's movie-business spoof ``Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,'' Ben Affleck, playing himself, argues with lifelong Boston buddy Matt Damon, also playing himself, about their different approaches to movie stardom.

Affleck chides Damon for his attraction to artier fare like ``All the Pretty Horses'' while expounding on the virtues of his own, post-``Good Will Hunting'' (for which the co-star pals won screenwriting Oscars) strategy of mixing big, brainless movies such as ``Armageddon'' with more personal, creatively rewarding projects.

It's supposed to be a joke. But it plays off of Affleck's reputation as one of the shrewdest young actors in the movie game.

``He understands the business so well, much better than I do,'' says Liev Schreiber, who plays fellow CIA agent John Clark to Affleck's Jack Ryan in the latest Tom Clancy espionage thriller, ``The Sum of All Fears.'' ``I listen to him talk about that, and I think to myself, 'You know, you sound like some jackass producer.' But then I think no. Because he's been put in the position of being a major Hollywood star, he's done the homework of learning how the business perceives him. He works that into his own equation of how he's going to operate as an actor. He knows test scores, he knows numbers, he knows everything.''

Affleck, 29 and prone to ``Silent Bob''-style self-mockery, tries to downplay any sense of calculating careerism.

``It's much more rewarding and satisfying as an actor to do something where you're allowed to show complexity of feeling and play not necessarily likable protagonists,'' says Affleck, who last time out was praised for doing just that in the surprise hit ``Changing Lanes.'' ``To do big-budget movies that everybody goes to see is the only way, that I know, that people will allow me to do movies where it's a little bit riskier. I don't know if that's the best logic, but that seems to be the way that it works.''

Career fears

Ironically enough, ``Sum of All Fears'' is both a risk for Affleck as well as one of those big, mass-market things that are supposed to be safer bets. The fourth film in the Ryan franchise came Affleck's way after no less imposing (and twice as old) a star as Harrison Ford passed on playing the character a third time.

This gave series producer Mace Neufeld, who was having trouble shaping Clancy's 800-page tome about a terrorist nuke attack and its world- threatening aftermath, a great idea. When he learned that Affleck was interested in the role, he figured that keeping the story contemporary but making the movie about a younger, much less respected Ryan could help streamline the story.

Not to mention revitalize the franchise for many sequels to come.

``Ben brings a kind of good-guy feeling to the role, because that's who he is,'' Neufeld says. ``He's a great young professional.''

Professional enough to realize that some fans will want to crucify him for taking over a part from more authoritative actors such as ``Clear and Present Danger's'' Ford and ``Hunt for Red October's'' Alec Baldwin (both of whom gave him their blessing, by the way).

``This is not a movie I would've taken if I was somebody who compulsively needed everybody to love him and say he was great,'' Affleck notes. ``There are going to be people who certainly, no matter what, are going to go, 'Well, he's not Harrison Ford, and I liked Harrison Ford better.' That's just the way it is. I'd be fooling myself if I thought anything different. I'm willing to take the hits from the die-hard people and also hope that people give it a chance. I don't pretend to be Harrison Ford; I'm an actor that got hired and tried to do the best job that he could do.''

From 'Pearl,' wisdom

Affleck has certainly suffered his share of bad reactions, which culminated in a chorus of critical disapproval for last summer's ``Pearl Harbor,'' a film that nevertheless achieved pretty good box office and great DVD popularity.

``I thought some of the reviews were really funny - 'Tora Tora Terrible' and stuff like that,'' he says, ``And you try not to, but after a while you kind of feel like Robert De Niro in 'Raging Bull': 'You didn't knock me down, Ray!' But what're you gonna do? I probably would've written some wise-ass review about it myself if I were a movie critic.

``So I can live with it. And I also believe that that movie gave me a chance to be in 'Changing Lanes.' So I view it as kind of a Faustian bargain.''

You can't help but ask, if only jokingly, whether reading ``Pearl Harbor'' reviews had anything to do with Affleck checking himself into Malibu's Promises Rehabilitation Center last summer.

``I would say that would be a gross oversimplification,'' he responds with a good-natured laugh. ``No, I didn't have any big disasters or any big trauma. I just didn't want to be drinking anymore. I'm in a position and I had enough money where I could go away somewhere to do that instead of just doing it at home, so that's what I did.''

Still, one wonders if this plan-oriented actor, who was making Burger King commercials while still in elementary school, hasn't been disappointed in some ways by the star status he evidently hoped to achieve.

``It's never everything you think it's going to be, no matter what it is,'' Affleck admits. ``The big stuff always comes with some disillusionment and some disappointment and adversity. There's a price to be paid for everything; nothing comes free. However, that being said, I'm pretty happy right now.''

You would be, too, with two potential franchises - Ryan and and the superhero ``Daredevil,'' which Affleck is completing as Marvel Comics stablemate ``Spider-Man'' breaks multiple box-office records - promising steady employment for years to come.

Not that Affleck sees it that way.

``A franchise is only a franchise if they want to do it again,'' he cautions. ``Yeah, it's kind of interesting, but I didn't choose to do either one of these things because I thought they'd be good for job security. They both seemed like interesting stories and were totally different. And, in the interim, I did this film with Jennifer Lopez called 'Gigli,' which is a much more character-oriented kind of movie.''

Sounds satisfying. And a good plug, too.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) the PROFESSIONAL BEN AFFLECK'S shrewd career management has led him to a franchise with `The Sum of All Fears'

(2) Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck, right) confers with his CIA mentor (Morgan Freeman) in the political potboiler ``The Sum of All Fears.''