The Real-Life Tony Mendez Looked Much Different Than Ben Affleck's Argo Version

When Ben Affleck's third directorial effort, "Argo," came out in 2012, it had all the makings of an Oscar contender. Gritty period details? Check. An impressive cast of Hollywood veterans? Check. Perhaps most importantly, it contended with Hollywood's favorite subject: itself. Set during the Iranian hostage crisis, the film follows the "Canadian Caper" that unfolded in Tehran, in which CIA operative Tony Mendez extracted six hostages by claiming they were part of a fake science fiction film crew. At the 2013 Academy Awards, "Argo" handily won three awards.

The Academy may have been pleased as punch with the film, but some viewers were quick to point out historically inaccurate elements of "Argo" — including one of the escapees, Mark Lijek. "Absolutely none of that happened," he told the BBC of some of the scenes in "Argo," including the climactic airport rundown.

The film also took creative liberties when it came to the portrayal of Tony Mendez, played by Affleck. Writing for The New Yorker, Anthony Lane pointed to the film's overt '70s fashions — huge shirt collars and coiffed hair. "Affleck's beard and hairstyle suggest someone who moonlighted from the intelligence services to pose for 'The Joy of Sex,'" Lane quipped.

In reality, Mendez lacked the feathered locks and full beard — though his look was still decidedly '70s. The real-life Mendez rocked a statement mustache and, in some instances, the sort of chunky, double-bridged glasses beloved by bureaucrats.

Ben Affleck may not have imitated Tony Mendez to a T, but the two men have both spent a considerable amount of time thinking about Hollywood, its navel-gazing tendencies, and its potential as a sociopolitical tool.

For Tony Mendez, who had significant training in clandestine affairs prior to 1979, concocting a movie was outside of his wheelhouse. "Normally we make a cover that is very boring, very forgettable," he told the BBC, citing run-of-the-mill jobs like teachers, oil technicians, and nutritionists. None of those jobs would work for this mission, Mendez said, as each had a critical flaw in making its story work. However, Mendez said imitating a Hollywood film crew worked because that industry can be myopic, sometimes to the point of recklessness. "Everyone knows that people from Hollywood go where they want to go, never mind the time in history," he said. "They forget about the fact that there is politics and danger in the world."

Affleck was similarly aware of Hollywood's reputation, and used it for comic effect in "Argo," without getting too cynical. "We're not satirizing Hollywood in the sense that we're not holding specific things up to be lampooned," he told The Guardian. "But there is a way in which the movie sort of rolls its eyes a bit."