Turning 40 can be rough on movie star, but not Ben Affleck, who reached that milestone on August 15th.

“Forty is the new fifteen,” he told Celebuzz. “I really feel as good, if not better, than I have felt in my life.”

He should feel good. After a string of hits in the late nineties and early aughts, a stint in rehab and two well-publicized relationships with Gwyneth Paltrow and J.Lo, Affleck married Jennifer Garner in 2005, and the couple has three children.

How is Affleck’s life different as a dad?

“I have a very, very different life than I used to have and I much prefer the life that I have now,” he smiled. “I have a much more rewarding home life than I’ve ever had. And my wife is just a spectacular woman.”

With a full workload, a seven-year-old and two pre-schoolers, Affleck has given up any hobbies he once had, like learning guitar.

When he’s not working, he’s home watching Princess movies with his daughters or playing board games.

“I think I am a little bit more mature and I don’t chase the idea of what my life should be,” he observed. “I try to think about what I would like my life to be, and then think about ways that I can get there.”

If by ‘there’ he means Oscar buzz, Affleck may have already arrived. His new movie, Argo, has critics cheering since its festival screenings in Telluride and Toronto last month.

This should come as no surprise as his previous directorial efforts, The Town and Gone, Baby, Gone each garnered an Oscar nod.

With all his success in front of the cameras, and now behind the cameras too, Affleck still has one regret – “There are a couple of guitars in my house that are just gathering dust,” he sighed. “They haven’t been touched since my first child was born.”

And then he brightened – “But I’m in a place now that’s very, very good.”

Watch the theatrical trailer for Argo below. The film opens nationwide October 12.