FILM · 2012 · USA
Argo
- Directed by
- Ben Affleck
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Studio
- GK Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures
83 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Summary: TMDB
Argo — Career & Awards (12 facts)
- #001
In an interview with Piers Morgan, former President Jimmy Carter said he believed the film was a "great drama" and deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Carter added, however, that "ninety percent of the contributions to the ideas, and the consummation of the plan was Canadian," and that the film "gives almost full credit to the American C.I.A. With that exception, the movie's very good." Carter also stated that "the main hero, in my opinion, was Ken Taylor, who was the Canadian ambassador, who orchestrated the entire process."
- #029
When Ben Affleck was snubbed for the Academy Award for Best Director, he joked that he did not feel much like a victim since he had not been nominated for Best Actor either.
- #041
In the film, Tony Mendez gets the idea for the fake movie while watching Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) with his son. John Chambers designed the makeup for the original Planet of the Apes (1968) and received an honorary Oscar for that work.
- #042
Argo was the first film in seven years to win the Best Picture Oscar without also winning Best Director (the previous such film was Crash (2004)). It was also the first film in twenty-three years to win Best Picture without a Best Director nomination (the previous one was Driving Miss Daisy (1989)).
- #043
John Goodman appeared in two consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners: The Artist (2011) and Argo. In both films he played a Hollywood figure — a producer in The Artist and a makeup artist in Argo.
- #053
Argo was the first Best Picture Oscar winner since Grand Hotel (1932) to also not be nominated for Best Director or in either lead acting category.
- #056
The first three films Ben Affleck directed each earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor or Actress: Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone (2007)), Jeremy Renner (The Town (2010)) and, for this film, Alan Arkin.
- #060
The winning of the Best Picture Oscar was announced live from the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama via satellite.
- #067
With its four-letter title, it ties with Gigi (1958) and CODA (2021) as the Best Picture Oscar winner with the shortest title. The Best Picture winner with the longest title is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (ten words and thirty-five letters).
- #070
With this film, Ben Affleck became the seventh person to win the Golden Globe for Best Director without being nominated for the Best Director Oscar for the same film. The first six are: * Laslo Benedek - Death of a Salesman (1951) * Elia Kazan - Baby Doll (1956) * Paul Newman - Rachel, Rachel (1968) * Charles Jarrott - Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) * Barbra Streisand - Yentl (1983) * Clint Eastwood - Bird (1988) Of these seven, only Benedek and Jarrott won the award without any nomination for an Oscar.
- #074
Costars Kyle Chandler and Bryan Cranston were both nominated for the 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Chandler was nominated for Friday Night Lights (2006) and lost to Cranston for Breaking Bad.
- #079
The film's cast includes two Oscar winners, Ben Affleck and Alan Arkin, and one Oscar nominee, Bryan Cranston.
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