I’m putting the source right there in the title because it’s possible this is creative fiction. It’s funny as hell to consider, which is why I’m repeating it. According to Mike Walker’s column in the National Enquirer, Ben Affleck refused to use the trainer that the studio hired him to buff up for his Batfleck part. Ben used a dude that Matt Damon recommended, and he allegedly failed to reach Batman levels of low body fat. Ben was deemed too “flabby” for a shirtless scene, so a body double ended up being called in:
Ben Affleck… [refused] to let producers hire their own fitness trainer to whip him into rock-hard superhero shape for his role as the masked night-flying avenger in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” – Ben [insisted] instead on hiring a [guy] recommended by… Matt Dmaon.
“Turns out that was a truly bad decision for Ben,” reports an on-set source, “because when it finally came time to start filming after many delays, the star showed up looking so flabby for a shirtless boxing scene that producers immediately hired a ripped body double – and ended up using him so frequently as the Batman stand-in that snarky crew members sneakily started calling Ben ‘Fatman’ behind his back!”
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker’s column, October 20, 2014]
I was buying this up until the “Fatman” quip. Affleck is in no way “fat.” This reminds me of the 2009 Simpsons episode Homer The Whopper when Homer became an “everyman” superhero from Comic Book Guy’s comic. Homer got an obnoxious trainer and slimmed down, only to fatten up again as shooting went on. Spoiler – His weight fluctuated so much that it caused continuity problems with the film. So I’m not really buying this story that Affleck wasn’t slim enough to play Batman without a shirt, he looks pretty amazing to me. It could be true though, my standard for “incredibly fit” and Hollywood’s standard are pretty far apart.
In other news, Affleck’s better half Jennifer Garner is one of the three women to cover the upcoming issue of Elle Magazine. (Others include Zoe Saldana and Tina Fey.) She’s clad in menswear and looking to the side, you can see the cover here. Garner tells Elle that Affleck is very encouraging of her career. “My husband is always the one saying to me, ‘You have to work, you have to work. This is part of who you are. We’ll figure it out.’ That’s powerful, when your partner has that serious mantra.” Why do I ascribe less than altruistic motivations to Affleck encouraging Garner to work?
photos are from 10-4 and 10-5. Credit: FameFlynet. Simpsons screenshots from Fox
totally don’t mean to sound heinous when i say this but i watched gone girl yesterday and his double chin was so distracting. i was actually really taken aback they hadn’t photo-shopped it away because he didn’t look nearly as fit as he should have playing nick dunne or considering the fact, that he’s hollywood a-list.
He had a pooch too. Not throwing any shade at him but he was carrying some weight.
You see he had muscled his arms and shoulders
beer baby
I feel like he is supposed to look a bit worn for playing Nick Dunne. With everything going on, it is not like Nick has time to be at the gym.
I agree. Nick is suppose to have let himself ‘get comfortable’ during their marriage. During the book, the stress of everything that happens leads to his character losing weight looking more like the New York Nick. Another aspect of the whole thing sharpening his game/mind/improving him.
Yeah, I think that was the point of the whole “playing video games and not being productive” flashback in the movie. He is a character who has given up trying in the marriage.
He wasn’t even in shape yet for Gone Girl and he still looked a-ok in that shower scene. I call BS.
I think they wanted batman to be shredded with muscle. Not just what men can get by working out a lot.More great proportions and definition. That’s where his body in the shower and what is required of batman differs.
This has been a rumor for a week or 2 now. Garner went on damage control talking about Affleck in bed with his muscles. I buy it. NE does get more things right than the majority of rags. I’f i’m going to consider believing a rag it’s them.
Agreed. He is toned but not ripped. He is no bale or bane. Also he is an idiot. You call high jackman’s people. Always.
Ew, I’m so torn. The mean part of me giggled at men finally facing the same scrutiny as women do on a daily basis. But the sensible part of me knows it wrong to giggle. And smirk, and ok maybe there was the daintiest of snorts in there. But it’s wrong. I stand by that. Boooooo. Wrong.
Goodnames, you’re a better person than I am! LOL!
Agreed. Your body is being scrutinized and picked apart for one whole movie? And someone expects you to be unrealistically thin? You don’t say. But he at least gets to go back to normal, whereas an actress is expected to be ridiculously thin all the time.
I totally get u,your comment is on point!
Ben is bloated. It was really obvious on Bill Maher’s show. His suit looked too tight.
Yes, I hate to say it, but people simply do or they don’t have the genetics for that type of lean, ripped look. Ben is the type of guy who has a big frame and, as such, he will likely add mass and bulk upon working out heavily and eating large amounts of protein—-but he will not have that chiseled, Hollywood look that so many of these 150lb, 5’7″ guys have on camera. If a guy is naturally skinny and bulks up, then all that muscle pushing through that already tight frame will make a person look ripped, but the effect doesn’t work as well when a person is puffy, larger or possesses a naturally higher percentage of body fat in their tissues. When the latter type works out, it simply makes the man or even woman look larger and bulkier. Granted, that mass can look muscular, but that tight-striated look is hard to come by on people that aren’t already skinny without seemingly impossible amounts of cardio.
Hugh Jackman was ripped for playing Wolverine. If Ben had put in the time, he could’ve been ripped, too. I think it’s hilarious that he had to use a body double. Knowing that, I might actually watch the movie now. lol
So are Christian Bale, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth. Actually, most of the superheroes right now are big guys. They all managed to look ripped without looking bloated.
I humbly disagree with the ripped, striated description of Cavill and Jackman in the strictest sense of the word. Both men are definitely bigger and bulkier, much more muscular—make no doubt about that. Both, however, are not ripped in terms of being able to count every part of their six-pack like say Christian Bale or Brad Pitt in his early days. Christian Bale, for example, has that LEAN, CHISELED tight look that makes his skin essentially look like saran wrap around muscles. Cavill and Jackman were definitely massive in terms of their muscles, but I wouldn’t call them ripped in the same way Christian Bale was….because genetically…I would say Cavill and Jackman have the propensity to put on mass with a slightly higher percentage of body fat. My personal preference is mass/bulk because it adds a softness to the muscularity. Needless to say, I wouldn’t kick Ben out of bed.
I think you guys are focusing too much on the random “5’7” part of Christo’s comment.
@Christo, who wrote: “I humbly disagree with the ripped, striated description of Cavill and Jackman in the strictest sense of the word. Both men are definitely bigger and bulkier, much more muscular—make no doubt about that. Both, however, are not ripped in terms of being able to count every part of their six-pack like say Christian Bale or Brad Pitt in his early days.”
And yet, this is what Matt Damon (he’s only 5’10”, I know, but) managed for “Elysium” in his early 40’s.
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2013/04/03/ELYSIUM-MATT-DAMON.jpg
It ‘is’ possible, with the right trainer and motivation. If Matty D recommended a trainer for Ben and Ben was ‘flabby’ on set, then I think Ben was sneaking in extra carbs (liquor?), and the fault is with Ben, not the trainer.
Ben looked pretty lean and ripped in The Town. What, did his genetics change since then?
I don’t think they wanted ‘lean’ for Batman, I think they wanted bulk. This seems like a BS story to me. A body double may have been used for certain scenes (very common) but I doubt it was because Ben was sooooo flabby.
Funny that Christian Bale tells nearly the exact same story on the Batman Begins commentary. He got scary skinny for The Machinist then had to bulk back up to play Batman. The weight he gained made Bale too bulky and the crew called him Fatman for the first third of the shoot until Bale managed to lean himself out a bit.
Before the shoot, during pre-production, he had overshot by about 30 lbs which lead Wall Pfister (DoP) to dub him “fatman”. But he had whittled down by the time shooting started – he’s much too dedicated and professional not to.
I just don’t see him as Batman. :-/
Same here. Terrible casting choice IMO.
+1
And yet no websites and magazines are zooming in on his belly and asking if he’s pregnant
For obvious reasons…
The magazines should stop speculating pregnancies so much, but the main reason they do it is because baby stories are popular, not because of weight shaming.
It may not be an overt weight shaming (which is a term I am not a fan of) but it not-so-subtley implies that the only acceptable reason for a woman to gain weight is because she’s pregnant. And the level of frequency that women are on’bump watch’ is absurd. Men simply don’t have that same level of day to day scrutiny on their bodies.
@Bridget
Completely agree. Bump watch is weight shaming. While there has been an increase of pressure put on men, it is still nothing compared to women.
Good. Ben should be getting as much attention from the tabloids for his baby bump as Jennifer does for hers.
I’d like to think that this is bs because he looks fit and mighty fine but if someone fit like Aniston who’s known for her hot body got a body double in We’re the millers, this could be possible.
I’ve always found him very hot, chubby or not.
Ben id definitely not fat. He’s in shape, but probably doesnt have rock hard abs (which is what the producers wanted, Im sure).
then they should have cast JLO !
You’re right
He’s not fat. Body doubles are used all the time. Side note- I wish people would lay off their marriage. He is a flawed man, but I do believe there is love there. Real life marriages of non celebrities aren’t perfect, either.
Both he and Jennifer have their flaws. There were a lot of rumors when she dumped Scott Foley, it was because she was already seeing Michael Vartan, and then that there was overlap between Vartan and Ben. And of course there may have been some truth to the conversation between Andy Cohen and Mark Ruffalo when Mark said he and Jennifer didn’t really stay friends and then Andy commented that Ben didn’t like for her to have male friends.
His body double was Adam Carolla.
Yes! Carolla looks terrible too.
LOL on his encouraging his wife to work – when she’s away Fatman can play!!!
At the begining of the filming,Ben was not fit for sure .The production gave him a masseur,a personal chef and 4 personal trainers.I thought he was high-maintenance but in fact he just lacked of discipline.
In Gone Girl,you see he has muscled his arms but only his arms and shoulders.His butt is weak.
Batman can’t have a weak butt! Body double stat!
Cap Ass does set the bar high
I believe it. He looked chubs at the beginning of filming, especially when compared to the perfection that is Henry Cavill. He may be in better shape now, but he definitely wasn’t at the start of production.
But he’s Batman, not Superman. Bruce Wayne is not a superhero in the sense that he has superpowers. He’s a rich guy with gadgets and cool toys. He shouldn’t look like Superman, imo. Superman is Superman.
Batman might not be Superman but when it comes to athletic prowess, he has no peers. So yes, he should have a near perfect body. For example, in Grant Morrison’s first storyline in JLA, Superman describes Batman as “the most dangerous man on Earth,” able to defeat a team of superpowered aliens by himself in order to rescue his imprisoned teammates.
He’s not just a rich guy with gadgets and cool toys. He has been repeatedly described as one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe.
Exactly! He is Batman, a superhero who should be in shape from all the fighting, running, and repelling he does. Not a guy with a paunch. Superman gets his muscles because he’s from another world. Batman has to work to keep his body in shape to fight villains. Ben should have stuck to the workout regime. He knew what role he was playing.
His hair looks good. I think it was this site that used to say he was wearing a wiglet. His hair looks nice and thick.
In the 3rd picture down you can see it’s a toupee
Really? He wears a toupee? I can’t tell (seriously!). Is he bald on top?
It looks like he bulked up, but didn’t get ripped. I vaguely recall that Bale did the same thing on the first one, and then the film’s trainers got him where they wanted him.
If I had that much riding on a role like this, I’d probably do whatever the studio/director/whoever asked, including using the trainer they wanted. But who knows if there’s any truth to this.
Bale had to bulk up from his emaciated appearance for The Machinist. And he did overshoot his goal weight by about 30 lbs. But that was before filing began. By the time the shoot began, he had whittled down to what Chris Nolan wanted. Personally, I thought his body was perfect in Batman Begins , even better than American Psycho.
Yes, meant to clarify it was before shooting.
Yes, EVERYTHING you said.
Like a lot of guys, he probably loved bulking up the arms and shoulders but didn’t have the discipline to do the ab work. Ab work sucks and doesn’t show as much during your everyday life, so people hate doing it.
Despite his bulked up arms, which really look more thick than muscular, I’ll bet the middle is pretty soft for a guy expected to play a superhero.
if this were a woman she would have been fired or not hired at all
Well I just saw last week’s NE in the store a few minute ago.According to them Brad Pitt is fat,his weight explodes as he packs on 30 lbs.LOL
This is body shaming.
I respectfully disagree. He’s playing a iconic character whose physicality is a big part of his reputation. I mean who among us isn’t familiar with the famous silhouette? Batman will always look a certain way – that’s a given.
That’s why he’s paid the big bucks! He’s supposed to be Batman not the Pilsburry Doughboy.
Yes, this isn’t talking about how he looks during his personal time. This is his job to get his body into a certain shape for the part. There are several actors who freely acknowledge being a certain shape for various parts is just part of the job. The expectations may be unreasonable or unrealistic, but the actor has the choice to take the part or not. In this case, it is no different than learning a skill or researching a culture to prepare for a part.
I have seen Ben a few times now here in town while filming…he looks a little rough.
What do you mean Sean? Rough as in tired or hungover? Heard he has a little lady too.
I totally agree with Slacker. Ben is fat and lazy and if her were a woman, he would be off the picture stat. They coddle these white males like nobody’s business.
I agree with commenters – he just put on weight but didnt tone up
I never thought this guy was handsome. Along with Richard Gere, he must have the beadiest eyes in Hollywood.
Really guys… we are talking the National Enquirer here. When was the last time their stories haven’t been mostly fiction.
I believe Jennifer Garner more than the National Enquirer. An no matter if he looks rip without a shirt the suit is formed to make him look even more buff. Remember George Clooney ( just try not to remember the nipples.)
Also we are talking a Batman that has been retired for the most part. And Batman’s biggest asset wasn’t his physical fighting skills as much as his strategy attacking his enemies.
What matters is the script of the story… Let us not forget how everyone thought Robert Downey Jr. was the wrong fit for Ironman. I say go watch the movie with an open mind.
Actually, I do believe this. It’s easy to dismiss the Enquirer because, well, it’s the Enquirer. But then again, they did break the story about John Edwards that everyone reflexively dismissed as tabloid junk – until it turned out to be 100% true. Ben Affleck has a nice body for a regular guy, but he’s definitely not in super hero shape – especially not standing next to Henry Cavill. And I’ve seen little evidence that Affleck buffed up for this role. He lost some weight, but at no point did he become ripped or anywhere near the shape that Henry Cavill was in. So yeah, I can totally see them having to use a body double.
It would be funny if the double standard wasn’t so infuriating. Can you imagine if a women showed up to set out of shape? Reminds me of Toby Maguire in the third Spider-Man movie. I couldn’t focus on all of the other shitty problems with that movie because I was so distracted by how blatantly overweight he was for the part.
Even if it is true, they could have corrected it with CGI in after-production stuff. There is a movie (can’t remember which one) where Jason Statham is doing pull-ups. The view is from the back and his muscles are rippling down his back as he does his pull-ups. Jason is known for being really cut but no one’s body moves that way. No one. It was the first time where I could totally tell they enhanced it. Same with 300. Yes, Butler was in great shape but there was a lot of effects to help the look. The problem is that costs money. But it can be done.