Ben Affleck has had one of the more interesting careers in Hollywood. After breaking out in a huge way as the writer and star of “Good Will Hunting,” landing him an Oscar trophy at a really young age, he becomes one of the biggest actors in the world. Of course, after a few miscalculations and bombs at the box office, he sorta faded into the background, turning to filmmaking. But with acclaim received by “The Way Back” and his recent role as Batman in the DCEU, Affleck is back as one of the preeminent A-listers. So, what does the future hold for the actor-filmmaker? Well, being pickier, for one.
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Speaking to Sacha Baron Cohen as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Ben Affleck talked about growing old, and thus, entering a time in his life where he doesn’t want to just look for blockbusters and massive film projects. He wants something more “personally rewarding.”
“At this point in my career, I’m a little old. I’m 48, so I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be the ‘not-25-year-old’ guy,” admitted Affleck. “But there are more interesting roles. People with whom you can identify are more interesting to me because I no longer have the ability to do something when I’m bored halfway through it and hate it.”
He added, “I just can’t do it. It’s not worth it to be away from my kids. If I’m going to travel, there had better be something really satisfying that I think they’ll see at some point, hopefully. Although my kids are like, ‘Dad, we don’t want to watch your movies.’”
That’s what makes the experience of “The Way Back” so special for Affleck. According to the actor, he was worried the film would be forgotten because it was released right at the beginning of the pandemic. However, after the decision to release the film on streaming, he noticed it was watched by more people than he ever thought possible. And because of that response, it makes him think twice about accepting certain roles.
“There was this captive audience of people who are all of a sudden at home, and I think more people saw [‘The Way Back’] than would have gone out to the theater,” he explained. “I think you have to weigh that. So now the line is blurred, and I’m just looking to do stuff that is personally rewarding. I think my ‘Armageddon’ days are behind me.”
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Obviously, you can read those comments and assume he’s talking about shying away from blockbusters. But then you read that he’s showing up in “The Flash” as Batman. Perhaps, that one is an anomaly and more of a swansong for his version of the Dark Knight? We’ll just have to see what lies ahead for Affleck over the next segment of his career. We know he definitely has some directing on the slate, so there probably won’t be as much acting time as we expect. But we’ll just have to wait and see.