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Los Angeles - Ben Affleck won the best director Golden Globe on Sunday for his Iran hostage crisis thriller Argo, beating rivals including the show's frontrunner Steven Spielberg, nominated for Lincoln.
The actor-turned-director, whose movie was up for five awards at the Globes, also beat Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Ang Lee for Life of Pi and Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained.
Affleck, who plays a CIA agent who rescues six American diplomats who took refuge in the Canadian ambassador's residence in Tehran in 1979, paid tribute to real-life agents and diplomats, including the character he was playing.
Taking liberties with history
"Really this award is about Tony Mendez. You saw him. He's an American hero. He represents the (US) foreign service making sacrifices every day for Americans. Our troops overseas. I want to thank them very much," he said.
The movie has been accused of taking liberties with history, notably by exaggerating the role of the CIA in getting the US diplomats out, at the expense of the Canadian envoy in Tehran at the time.
Affleck, who did not get an Oscar nomination for best director, lauded his fellow Globe nominees.
"Look, I don't care what the award is. When they put your name next to the names she just read off, it's an extraordinary thing in your life. These nominees are exceptional talents.
"I truly, to god, never thought I would be in the same breath as them," he said.
Argo is set for release in South African cinemas on 25 January.
* The 70th annual Golden Globe Awards will be televised on M-Net on Monday at 20:30
