Ben Affleck has won the top prize on the US version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
The actor, who competed on the show, alongside Jeopardy! winner, Jamie Ding, were two questions away from the jackpot, having appeared on the previous episode.
The $500,000 question was: "What achievement occurred just two months after a New York Times article said it wouldn't happen for one million to 10 million years?". The possible answers were splitting the atom, cloning a mammal, the first aeroplane flight, or the polio vaccine.
Ding immediately answered C, the first plane fight, which Affleck agreed.
"I only remember this because it was a time in my life where I spent time looking up examples that the press got things wrong. Yeah, just randomly. And I sort of, vaguely, in my subconscious, remember The Times and the Wright brothers and that whole thing was 1905, 3 or 4, or something", Affleck said.
Ding said "I think '03' to which host Jimmy Kimmel joked that he was "so much smarter than Matt", in reference to Affleck's close friend Matt Damon who had competed on the show with Jeopardy! host, Ken Jennings. They also won $1 million.
Ding and Affleck were not so confident on this question, so they chose their 50:50, eliminating two incorrect questions, and leaving two possible answers: splitting the atom, and the first plane flight.
They correctly chose the latter, allowing them the chance to compete for the top million dollar prize.
The question for this was: "In an annual Thanksgiving tradition, all but which of these have been the names of turkeys pardoned by a US president?". Possible answers were: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Tater & Tot, Mac & Cheese, and Spaghetti & Meatball.
The pair opted for their final lifeline, Phone A Friend, but Ding's friend did not answer in time. They chose to back Kimmel's answer, Spaghetti & Meatball, which saw them win one million dollars.
They won the million dollar top prize, with the money being pledged to his non-profit foundation, the Eastern Congo Initiative.
Earlier in the episode, Argo star, Ben Affleck explained how the foundation supports community-based organisations in the African region, which he said were "severely impacted by a very traumatic war".
Along with Affleck and Ding, other celebrities who competed in the game, were Michael Keaton, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Jost and Awkwafina, Leslie Odom Jr.
Affleck and Ding are the latest celebrity pairs to win the top prize on the show, following on from Ike and Alan Barinholtz in 2024, and Oscar Nuñez and Kate Flannery in 2025.
