Affleck EW’s Entertainer of the Year

(CNN) -- And EW's Entertainer of the Year is... Ben Affleck!

Having captivated moviegoers both in front of and behind the camera with "Argo," Ben Affleck earned the number one spot on our annual list of the most talented and original performers who entertained us in 2012.

Fifteen years after he bounded onto the Hollywood scene in 1997′s "Good Will Hunting," the 40-year-old Affleck is now older and wiser — and may very well be headed back to the Oscar stage for his political thriller about the real-life covert CIA mission that freed six diplomats from Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis.

"I had very low expectations for 'Argo's' performance," says the leading man-turned-director. "I just hoped that over time people would find the movie. Also, being at a place in my life and my career where I know what I'm trying to do, it's different than being 26. When you're younger and have the early success that I had — it sounds like the worst Hallmark cliche — but I didn't have anyone to share it with. I don't mean I wanted someone to sit by the fire with. But when you have a family and children, you kind of see yourself reflected in them. I want to make the kinds of movies that my kids are proud of. I have higher standards, in a way, for them."

Not that everyone back at the Affleck household was thrilled about his shaggy '70s Method hairdo and beard. Says Affleck of his wife Jennifer Garner's reaction: "My wife is a very polite and kind woman. She and the kids did not like the beard. It had an exposed wire vibe. It was hated in my home."