Actors You Forgot Starred In ABC Afterschool Specials – Looper

These days, Ben Affleck is busy not just starring in, but also directing, some of Hollywood’s biggest movies. After his 2012 thriller, “Argo,” won an Academy Award for best picture, Affleck turned around and joined the DCEU as Batman, and despite a tumultuous time in the cape and cowl, distinguished himself as a fan favorite. In 2023, he helmed “Air,” a critically acclaimed drama based on the true story of how sportswear company Nike secured the services of basketball phenom Michael Jordan. 

Back in the mid-1980s when Jordan was getting started on the court, though, Affleck was just a kid from Boston who was trying to break into acting. And one of his first on-screen roles happened to be an “ABC Afterschool Specials” episode titled “Wanted: The Perfect Guy.” With a haircut only the ’80s could produce, Affleck played young Danny Coleman, whose sad single mother is sick and tired of striking out on blind dates. To help her, Danny and his friend take it upon themselves to find her the perfect guy.

Not the most prestigious project for the future A-Lister, “Wanted: The Perfect Guy” did give Affleck the chance to call “Clue” star, Madeline Kahn, his on-screen mother. At the same time, he now has to live with clips of himself online looking like a reject from New Kids on the Block.