Ben Affleck and Jeopardy! champ Jamie Ding are the latest celebrity winners of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
The actor-writer-director and his partner on the ABC game show, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, won the top prize of $1 million on Wednesday night’s edition, with the funds going to Affleck’s longtime charity, the Eastern Congo Initiative.
The pair began this week’s episode with only two questions left after beginning their march to $1 million last week.
The $500,000 question was: “What achievement occurred just two months after a New York Times article said it wouldn’t happen for ‘1 million to 10 million years’?”
Both Affleck and Ding thought the correct answer was option C, the first airplane flight.
“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,” Affleck, whose personal life has long served as fodder for tabloid gossip, said with a light laugh. “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.”
Still, Affleck and Ding used their 50-50 lifeline, which left the first flight along with splitting the atom as possible answers.
“People don’t go outside and look at the sky and dream of splitting the atom, but we all dream of flying,” Ding said, with Affleck ultimately trusting his teammate.
“My man, I came here with you,” he told Ding, putting his arm around him. “Take us. I’m with you. If that’s how you feel, let’s do it.”
Kimmel, revealing the answer, said, “Jamie, let me tell you what you did get right. 1903 was exactly the year that the Wright brothers flew an airplane into the sky and those cynical, disbelieving, bastards at The New York Times, I guess they just didn’t believe.”
The million-dollar question concerned the Thanksgiving tradition of the president pardoning two turkeys. The question asked, “All but which of these have been the names of turkeys pardoned by a U.S. president?”
The possible answers were Peanut Butter & Jelly, Tater & Tot, Mac & Cheese and Spaghetti & Meatball.
Initially lost, Affleck and Ding first asked Kimmel, with Affleck observing, “This is the person that would actually be paying attention to every pardoned turkey’s name. Probably the best person in the world to ask this question to.”
“I do a bit about this on the show. Every year,” Kimmel noted, adding that it seemed unlikely Spaghetti and Meatball were the names of the turkeys.
“I could see me adding a big bowl in Donald Trump’s hands and him slurping up the spaghetti and meatballs,” Kimmel joked. “That one sounds like it wasn’t the one to me.”
Ding and Affleck then decided to phone one of Ding’s friends just in case. But he wasn’t able to answer in time.
Ultimately, the pair went with Kimmel’s instinct. Though it took a moment before the answer was revealed, leaving Affleck and Ding looking nervous, they were ultimately correct and celebrated their win with a hug as confetti rained down.
With their win, Affleck and Ding join past million-dollar-winning celeb duos Matt Damon and Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings, Ike and Alan Barinholtz and Oscar Nuñez and Kate Flannery.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire airs Wednesdays on ABC at 8 p.m.
