Ben Affleck, happy to stop being the young hero in ‘the Tender Bar’

Hollywood superstar Ben Affleck never feels like he’s old. “I look at myself in the mirror and I still think that someone in their 30s is going to be there,” he told AFP.

“And you know what? Never this”.

More than two decades have passed since Affleck rose to fame with Good Will Hunting, in which veteran comedian Robin Williams portrayed the mentor to the young prodigy played by Matt Damon.

Affleck co-starred in the film and wrote the script with his childhood friend Damon, and the duo won an Oscar.

“Now I am closer in age or even older than Robin (Williams) when he did that role, and it is shocking,” Affleck, now 49, confessed to AFP.

However, the actor acknowledges that there are benefits for him when it comes to playing characters who have “walked the path of life,” such as the crafty uncle he plays in The Tender Bar, shown in American theaters since Friday.

“They don’t necessarily tend to be the leads, and that’s often a good thing too,” acknowledged Affleck.

Heroes “basically have to cultivate a certain set of virtues for the public to identify with them, which inherently simplifies them in a way that makes it a bit more difficult to act realistically, ”he explained.

“In a way, I find the most imperfect people more interesting.”

Of course, it’s only been four years since Affleck played the greatest hero of all, Batman, in The Justice League, an impersonation that wasn’t exactly accepted by fans.

In that time, he also dealt with another episode in his battle with alcoholism and with the end of his marriage to actress Jennifer Garner, which, like most of Affleck’s life, was closely reported by the tabloid press.

But since then, Affleck has experienced something of a career renaissance thanks to more nuanced roles, like that of an alcoholic basketball coach mourning the loss of his young son in The Way Back, last year.

His personal life seems to be on track, as has rekindled his romance with Jennifer Lopez, 17 years after they initially parted ways.

This year, he has taken on two supporting roles: in The Tender Bar and as a medieval aristocrat fond of wine-soaked orgies in The Last Duel, de Ridley Scott.

“I don’t think you can center a movie around my character in The last duel because it’s so obnoxious, ”Affleck said.

“But nonetheless, it’s a really good acting challenge trying to find such a character and bring humanity to him.”

New roles

In The Tender Bar, Airing on Amazon Prime from January 7, Affleck is a waiter who steps in to help raise his overwhelmingly intelligent nephew after the boy is abandoned by his famous father, a radio DJ.

Uncle Charlie, a self-taught man, does his best to instill in young “JR” practical working-class values, promoting respect for women and warning her of the dangers of alcohol.

In a recent interview, director George Clooney described his pride in seeing Affleck “leaving everything in a really good role, because it doesn’t happen often.”

While the film has had mixed reviews, Affleck’s performance has been widely praised and it earned him a Golden Globe nomination this week.

But those things “are not important to me the way they used to be,” said Affleck, who won his second Oscar as a producer of Argo (winner of best picture), which he also directed and starred in.

In Hollywood there is a tendency to “Compulsively chasing the next job, no matter what else.”

But “the phone can stop ringing” suddenly, he said.

Far from the “cacophony” of social media, Ben Affleck says he has learned to evaluate success for himself, using his own judgment.

From that notion arises to accept “more personal” roles that allow him to use his life experience, positive or negative, to “become a more interesting actor and director.” (E)