Actor-turned-filmmaker Ben Affleck has been crowned the Entertainer of the Year by bosses at Entertainment Weekly.

The experts selected the father of three for his stand-out performance as an actor in and director of Argo, which chronicles the real-life mission to smuggle six American hostages out of Iran in 1980.

The movie, which was released in October, received rave reviews and has become a favourite to land the Best Picture gold at the 2013 Academy Awards - and Affleck's winning streak has already begun.

Entertainment Weekly editor Jess Cagle says, "He's directed a couple of movies before but he really reached the pinnacle of his career this year; he's going to be right up there as best director with Steven Spielberg and lots of great directors."

"George Clooney wrote the piece on him in the magazine and really talked about how he's become this great, world-class director, and the great thing is we watched him grow up and he has never let failure or success keep him down. He's just a great example of how to live and work."

Clooney actually produced Argo after suggesting Affleck should take on the lead role and direct the film.

Last year's Entertainer of the Year was Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.