Batman Star Ben Affleck Remembers Late ‘Argo’ Spy Tony Mendez

Ben Affleck, who starred as CIA operative Tony Mendez in 2012’s Argo, paid tribute to the real-life “true American hero” who died Saturday aged 78.

“He was a man of extraordinary grace, decency, humility and kindness. He never sought the spotlight for his actions, he merely sought to serve his country,” Affleck tweeted. “I’m so proud to have worked for him and to have told one of his stories. #RIPTonyMendez.”

Affleck also directed the film that earned seven Academy Award nominations, winning three, including Best Picture. Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman co-starred.

Argo detailed exfiltration expert Mendez’ heroic efforts in smuggling six US citizens out of Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, playing out under the cover of a faux Canadian science fiction film.

As reported by CNN, Mendez was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than a decade ago and was remembered by literary manager Christy Fletcher as a “brilliant man, a gifted artist, and a true American hero.”

“So I had an actual staff who specialized in exfiltrations. And we would be working on preparedness worldwide, prepared to handle the walk-in, for instance, that would knock on your door at midnight and say I want to defect,” Mendez told CNN in 2012.

The fictional “Argo” proved a risky plan as Mendez travelled to Tehran, Iran, under the guise of a location scout. Though the mission proved successful, Mendez remembered a breathtaking close call when fleeing the country.

“We always say there’s nothing as lovely as the feeling of wheels up,” he said. “In this case we were still in Iranian airspace for awhile, so everybody was holding their breath until we were out of Iran completely. And then we had a celebration.”

Mendez is survived by wife Jonna. PublicAffairs will release Mendez’ next book, The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics that Helped America Win the Cold War, May 21.