The bad experiences he had in acting were decisive for the turn his career took.
The paper of Ben Affleck in “Armageddon”, the science fiction film released in 1998, is one of the most memorable in the actor’s career. “They made me get my teeth fixed, exercise and be sexy. Being sexy, how do I do that?” Affleck recalled in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Matt Damon, interpreter of films such as “In search of destiny”, “Rescue Mission” and “The Departed”, was the interviewer to whom Affleck He confessed the secrets of his most famous roles, his romance with Jennifer Lopez and his failures at the box office.
One of these box-office flops was “Gigli,” a crime-romance film directed by Martin Brest, which hit theaters in 2003. Affleck starred in this film alongside Jennifer Lopez, whom he began dating during filming. The two celebrities got engaged in November 2002, but broke up just two years later.
“I’ve had five movies that have lost more money than Gigli,” the 49-year-old actor explained. “It’s just that it became a story in itself. The funny name, the romance with Jennifer Lopez and the overexposure of that, it was kind of the perfect storm.”
It was the lack of success of “Gigli” that took Affleck away from the limelight of the cameras, and led him to find his “true professional love” in directing movies. “And I was able to meet Jennifer Garner (with whom he has three children) the relationship that has been really significant in my life”, adds the director of “Argo”.
reunion with jlo
Singer Jennifer Lopez, 52, resumed her romance with Affleck in April 2021, after almost two decades of separation. Photos of their reunion went viral on social media and the couple formalized their status with their red carpet debut at the Venice Film Festival in September last year.
Affleck’s involvement in “Justice League” was another topic of conversation between him and Damon. The actor played Batman, a role with which he did not feel comfortable. “I had a really bad experience on ‘Justice League,’ for a lot of different reasons (…) Without blaming anyone, a lot of things happened. I was not happy. I didn’t like being there. I didn’t think it was interesting. And then some really bad things happened, horrible things. But, that’s when I thought: I’m not going to do that anymore.”
Affleck’s last performance as Batman will be in the long-awaited film directed by Andy Muschietti, “The Flash”, which is scheduled for release on November 4 this year.
The bad experiences he had in acting were decisive for the turn his career took. Affleck commented to Damon how important it is now to dedicate himself to the projects that he is truly passionate about. One of these is the movie “The Last Duel”, a historical drama released in 2021, in which both actors participate.
This tape was not successful at the box office, but it caught the attention of the Disney+ audience, the platform where “The Last Duel” is broadcast.
“I made bad movies that didn’t work and I didn’t blink an eye. He knew why people didn’t want to see them: they weren’t good. But with ‘The Last Duel’ I liked what we did, so I didn’t understand it,” he said. “Seeing how well streaming is going, I’ve realized that’s what it was. That’s where the public is”, reflected Affleck about the growing industry of streaming.
His experience in that tape was joyful for the actor. “I had fun every day. I wasn’t the star, I wasn’t nice. I was a villain. It was wonderful,” explains Affleck, who plays Count Pierre de Alençon. (E)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
