Ben Affleck has a new profile and interview in the NY Times. He comes across as vulnerable and a little brooding, as if he’s just biding his time to see if Batman v. Superman opens big enough to solidify his movie star status. The Times poses the question a lot of us have been asking – why is Affleck doing a superhero movie after all his success directing? He never really answered the question, journalist Dave Itzkoff writes that Affleck “could not pinpoint why he chose to play Batman right now” and instead talked about the aspects of the character which appealed to him. There are obvious parallels between Affleck and this washed-up womanizing Batman. Whether people will pay to see that on the big screen might not have much to do with Affleck at all, but he’ll surely take it personally if it doesn’t do well. Henry Cavill doesn’t seem to be sweating it as much, nor does he obviously care as much about how he’s perceived.
On the tabloid reports about him
It never seems like a great time to have your privacy invaded. Obviously this is a particularly hard time.On likable protagonists
I find that boring. Instead, I think it’s interesting how we manage the best version of ourselves, despite our flaws and our weaknesses and our sometime tendencies to do the wrong thingOn his work ethic and needing to prove himself
I get antsy. I’m my own worst enemy in that way.You’ve got to realize, this line of work, it’s rooted in a feeling of needing to audition all the time.
On whether he’ll discusses his family life
[No] It ends up being in the record somewhere, in the great miasma of junk on the Internet.On if “Garner had made that impossible by sharing intimate details of their lives”
Jen’s great. She’s a great person. We’re on great terms. I just saw her this morning, so that’s the reality that I live in.She felt like she wanted to discuss it and get it out there and get it over with, so she could say, ‘Look, I already talked about it — I don’t want to do it again.’
It’s fine. She’s allowed to talk about it.
On Ricky Gervais’s joke about him at the Globes
It’s the way Ricky Gervais perceives me, I suppose. Whatever. I’ve had jokes made at my expense before. It’s part of the deal.On being associated the characters he plays
Denzel Washington can play almost anybody — mass murderers — and you go, ‘But he’s all right!’ he said. There’s something so appealing about him, and I don’t think I have that.You have these qualities that you’re born with. Some of them are good, some of them people don’t like. And you just have to live with it.
On how Batman V. Super outweighs “the other stuff, my personal life stuff”
The whole lesson of my career has been that what’s really important is the work you do. Even in the tough spots, if your movies are good, people will see them. And if you’re not good, you can’t get away with it.Eventually it catches up to you. Both ways, good and bad.
His point about how he gets associated with his characters, unlike Denzel Washington, isn’t true. We don’t associate Denzel with his roles not just because he’s an appealing, likable guy, it’s because Denzel is a phenomenal actor. That’s what Affleck doesn’t have. He’s a middling to decent actor, he’s not a lead nor is he an accomplished character actor. That’s why it seems like he’s always playing a version of himself, even if that’s unfair. Plus it seems like we know so much about him that the more he tries to control his image the worse it gets for him, like trying to erase an ink stain and just ending up with a bigger smear.
As for his thoughts on Garner’s Vanity Fair interview, I get the impression that she gave Ben and maybe his team a heads up and promised that she would be vague and focus on herself. Then they saw the interview and realized she confirmed the nanny cheating story and hinted at darker secrets, all while coming across as a sunny, wronged woman trying to do the best thing for her kids.
photos credit: WENN and Pacific Coast News
Has he always been this much of a downer?
He’s never been a jovial type. He seems to exude more personality around his bestie Damon. With women, he seems to mostly be the Gone Girl husband.
Also, can I say right now…that regardless of his performance being decent or not, and regardless of the Batman vs Superman movie being good or not….
..that big roided out, short armed tank of a hulk Hogan bat man costume is GROSS. I think the roids he took for the film ruined his body, it’s like he’s stopped taking as many now that its over but he’s still taking some, and eating too many carbs hence the bloated fat faced roidy beefy look..
Yeah, unless he’s with Matty. I think he likes to think of himself as a tortured artist or something, haha. I used to find him so cute, but now I wouldn’t tap that even if I had an IV of penicillin hooked up to me.
And yeah, what is going on with his bloated face? It kind of looks like Lohan’s after she had that work done and then got on a plane (or whatever she attributed it to). Permanent double-chin situation going on there.
I know a lot of body builders, and if they go too gung-ho on the testosterone, their body tries to achieve homeostasis by producing estrogen. You can take anti-estrogens but they aren’t as good as the testosterone and so they tend to cycle on and off them to keep the body from “catching on” and producing estrogen. My guess is he stayed with the T too long and his body is now producing estrogen at higher levels (hence the baby face, moobs, etc.) and his approach (and a decent one) is to ride it out and let homeostasis re-calibrate his hormones.
@ embee
Wow, that’s crazy! No offense, but I can’t believe people mess with their bodies like that for a ripped look.
@ snowflake it seems incredible to me as well, but I liken it to an eating disorder/body dysmorphia and it’s a little more comprehensible. After all, regurgitating, abusing laxatives and self-imposed starvation are pretty extreme too but we’ve grown accustomed to it, sadly.
In that sense, Ben’s choices look a lot like the actresses who crash diet for a role!
His language there seems pretty revealing and only confirms my longtime impression of him: “She’s allowed to talk about it,” he says. NOT “She has a right to talk about it.”
Never liked his dead, empty eyes – there is just no THERE there, to borrow from Gertrude’s statement about Oakland.
To me he seems like a cold SOB, and nothing he does ever changes that for me.
Yup. “She’s allowed” = she got permission from me and both our PR teams.
Ben uttered “great” to describe Jen.
How flattering and dismissive. Ugh.
Every time Ben speaks, I dislike him even more.
You are reading too much into that. It’s a saying. He said he didn’t want to talk about the personal things that happened because of his children and it just being all over the internet then. The interviewer said, that’s not possible since Jennifer already gave an interview discussing the breakup. He was saying, she’s allowed, meaning that has nothing to do with him and his decision. She’s her own woman with her own story.
People look for things that aren’t there, like, oh, what a douche, he allowed her to talk.
I thought it was an excellent interview, and he’s smart not to say much because he can’t win if he does. He’s the problem in the marriage breaking up, so what can he say.
Jayna, you are so right…as soon as I saw the headline, I knew everyone would pick it apart…I’m sure he didn’t mean “he gave her permission” to talk about it! He meant, she has every right to talk about it. I find some actors just don’t give good interviews. Brad Pitt always sounds dumb, because he is so guarded in everything he says, and I think, this is true with Ben, too…he is trying so hard not to say the wrong thing, he, inevitably comes off sounding bad.
If my opinion of him were only based on that one comment of his, you might have some ground to stand on in your judgment of my conclusions about Affleck, Jayna. But this is, as I made clear, a cumulative thing for me, and it goes back a lot of years. Your judgment of him is no more likely than mine to be accurate. Nor was I suggesting that he literally GAVE her permission to speak – only that his wording revealed a lot, in my opinion, about Affleck’s attitude toward women.
Nice job putting more acceptable language into his mouth for him, though. The thing is, I don’t need an interpreter. I have as much right as you do to make conclusions about Affleck’s language that was spoken for publication.
I agree with every thing you said, Jayna. Perfectly-stated.
This was a really good interview I thought.
That’s how I took it as well. I took it as “I may not talk about it but she can” kind of comment.
It’s how I took it as well, Jayna.
I saw it the same Jayna as in we discussed our rules and boundaries sort of thing and this wasn’t off limits. I think he came off reasonable and maybe troubled but not in any other way.
@MrsBPitt “…he is trying so hard not to say the wrong thing, he, inevitably comes off sounding bad.” I think this is the story of Ben’s life. I hate being that girl that’s like “but he’s so misunderstood!” But I really think he is, and I think he always has been, and I think he’s very conscious of it and ends up compounding the problem by trying to prevent it.
I agree KB.
“I’m always described as ‘cocksure’ or ‘with a swagger’, and that bears no resemblance to who I feel like inside. I feel plagued by insecurity.”
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/benaffleck410893.html
Really? OMG. You cannot be serious. He probably didn’t mean, “I gave her my explicit permission to do an interview about our divorce.” I interpreted what he said as, “she can talk about it, I can talk about it, we have no confidentiality agreement, the end.”
LOL. I’m just shaking my head and smiling…Gotta love celeb gossip, right? 😉
Haha no kidding! I don’t think this guy is the brightest crayon in the box and I highly doubt he’s sitting there thinking “why yes, I have given my blessing that she may speak about our relationship in that interview”. Yeah he likes to use big words sometimes but it’s much more likely that he just said that because it’s a common expression. That’s how I’ve always used it, to mean that the other person can do as they choose and I don’t have the power or desire to stop them.
For me this kinda shows how much of this messy divorce was managed afterwards by lawyers, contracts and PR, probably because of his upcoming big movie, probably some Warner Bros. big wigs were involved, and lots of money, including the shush money for the nanny. What’s “allowed” and what’s “not allowed” pretty much was stablished by both parties, I guess.
Ok, even me, as a non-native English speaker (though I actually teach it and have a degree in English, German and Spanish) understood the expression “she’s allowed to ..” as a normal way of saying things. Actually, I see this “be allowed to” as a very commonly used expression. You’re using the literal meaning of the verb and forgetting the context in which it is inserted. It’s solely an expression. Your comment reminds of a student who once asked me why did the English say “You must be kidding”, since MUST is an obligation and the meaning of the expression, as a whole, has nothing to do with an obligation one has to fulfill… I had to explain that the expression was like that the verb must here expresses no obligation), the same way that “be allowed to” is also an expression, not the literal meaning of the verb allow =give permission.
I feel like Ben is probably the douche to end all douches who truly did Jennifer wrong multiple times, but I side eye both he and Jennifer for keeping this alive in the press by leaking tidbits to People or TMZ and giving interviews. While it makes good gossip, when three young kids are involved it seems like a better idea to try and shut it down…instead of feeding the machine by talking about it.
Apparently Batman vs. Superman is doing very well in pre-sales, but it still has to overcome the astronomical, insane budget. I honestly doubt his private life is going to keep anyone from seeing the film—he’s not the type of star who people mainly go see his movies for because of his public persona.
I was talking to a huge comic fanatic. And they said they weren’t looking forward to this movie, would be more interested if it was similar to the comic story. But said they’d see it to see what they did.
But they were all in for civil war; already planning on see it with 3 groups (3x).
So early sales might be just the curiosity. But big bucks come from multiple visits to the theater.
@Karen, who wrote: “So early sales might be just the curiosity. But big bucks come from multiple visits to the theater.”
Yep … big buck block busters (sorry, not intended) aren’t made by half the World seeing a movie, they’re made by a lot of people seeing the movie multiple times. I saw “Avatar” at least 6 times and how many times do you think 13 – 20-year-old girls saw “Titanic?” 🙂
Sure, he was a crappy husband who stayed too long. She got pregnant and they got married and he thought it was what he wanted, and the marriage wasn’t a marriage that was ever meant to last. And there are plenty like that in Hollywood and in suburbia. And Jennifer needs to take a hard look at herself for why she clung to this marriage for so long since she says her eyes were wide open the whole marriage. I.
Why is he any douchier than Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford who left his wife and kids way back when, Idris Elba for dumping his partner and baby, that actress who left her husband while pregnant with Ben McKenzie’s baby, Keri Russel with two very small children who has an affair with her co-star and leaves her husband, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup, an affair while his partner,Mary Louse Parker, is heavily pregnant and leaves her for Claire, And if Ben was a cheater, there are plenty of actors and actresses that stay married that are cheaters. Denzel Washington is supposed to notorious for that also.
The list goes on. Ben and Jen having a troubled marriage that lumped along because kids were involved isn’t some rarity. They had a troubled marriage for years, and let’s face it, if Jennifer would have stopped clinging to it, it would have been over years ago.
Ben isn’t husband material and may never be or should wait until his 50s maybe, or never.
I agree with you, though, that the info pouring out since last June is beyond overload. The papwalks and the neverending leaks need to end. I get her wanting to give her interview and have her say and move on to promotion of her movie without the elephant in the room, though. These two keep it alive instead of letting their marriage die quietly and moving on. But I doubt the leaks are over yet with these two, and I doubt the dimple parade weekly is going to end anytime soon with Jen.
I like Ben and don’t think he is some horrible person just because he makes a crappy husband.
“Why is he any douchier than Johnny Depp, et al?”
Can’t we just agree they’re all douchy?
I think he came out worse than others due to the dimple parade/trashy nanny though.
LOL They are all douchy as far as messy marriages. It doesn’t mean they are douchy as people all the way around, just flawed.
Re the nanny, actually, no, I don’t find that worse. He and Jen were ending the marriage and I’m sure it was ugly at home. She was off doing movies and probably controlling how the marriage ending rolled out. He is a typical weak man and a man who wanted someone to tell him he wasn’t some awful person. There was the new young nanny to fulfill it, right there handy.
It turned messy but brief, but at least it wasn’t some love affair he left his family for like Ethan Hawke or Robin Williams with their nannies now raising your kids, the same nanny that betrayed you, or a three-year affair with the nanny like Gwen Stefani’s husband.
And I would rather a brief nanny fling that happened while we were ending anyway than a husband or wife falling in love with their co-star and going off into the sunset with a new love while I’m reeling in pain and having to watch the new grand love affair played out.
I still remember Jennifer Jason Leigh. She was married to an indie director who proclaimed his great love for her. They tried for years to get pregnant. She finally did. He did a movie with a younger actress that Jen was in the movie with. He left Jennifer for the younger actress when their baby was seven months old. He is still married to the actress and they co-write his movies together. Jennifer suffered great heartache but handled it gracefully.. Their son is like five now or so. A brief nanny affair or an actress my ex rode off into the sunset with now helping to raise my child from an infant on? I take the brief nanny affair.
Jesus, Jayna, you are actually faulting Garner for having “clung to this marriage for so long” – seriously? And you arrogate yourself to a position of such intimate insight that you can actually claim their marriage “wasn’t a marriage that was ever meant to last”?!? Omggg, this is some scary stuff. You are putting yourself right inside the intimate life of a married couple with three children and making CLAIMS about the inner workings of their marriage? We all tend to voice our opinions about these celebs’ behavior and personalities – that’s what CB is all about – but you have taken this conversation to a whole SWF level, and it seems to me you would be well advised to get a life. And since I have one, I’m done with this conversation.
Yeah I don’t think he’s any worse than any of those people.
He thought he wanted domesticity and it didn’t pan out. I do think he gave it a good shot, they both did.
@ Lahdidahbaby- Jayna isn’t “putting herself into the intimate life” of this couple any more than anyone else here who makes claims about the dynamics of this marriage, which is pretty much every commenter on a Garner/Affleck thread. NONE of us know what happens behind closed doors with these two.
Just because you don’t agree with her doesn’t make her opinion any less valid than yours nor does it make her “SWF”. She’s just someone who closely follows her fave celebs, like a lot of us do.
Kitten, I appreciate your right to diss me if you want to, but cmon, I made a clear distinction between talking about our impressions of a celeb’s behavior (me) and passing a wholesale judgment on their marriage as never meant to last anyway, or saying that Garner “clung” to the marriage for too long (Jayna). Honestly, I have never disagreed with you on this board before, and although I’m not here every day, when I AM here I always appreciate your insightful, wise, and wry posts and I’ve often jumped in to say so, but you’re being unfair to me here. I didn’t base my criticism of Jayna’s post on a difference of opinion – I freaking THRIVE on differences of opinion! I based my opinion on her completely unwarranted summary of their intimate life, her unequivocal statement that their marriage was clearly not meant to last from the beginning, and her judgment of Garner (who isn’t an actress or a person I find particularly interesting, but she is still a human being) as wrong for having “clung” to her marriage to the father of her kids.
Honestly, you surprise me here.
@Kitten, LOL, thanks. I do stand up for Ben because so few do.
I used to say they were a happily married couple and stand up for them and rooted for them and ignore the signs he was not happy that everybody on here was pointing out.
Everyone on here, save a few of us, said this marriage was on fumes for years and he wasn’t happy and wanted out. I finally acknowledge it,, and I’m SWF’ing them and putting myself in the know? LOL You can read threads for years on here while they were married and everyone saying their marriage was a mess, acting in the know that he cheated, he gambled, addicted, on and on, people stating things as if it were fact, which I disagreed with. And I’m at fault for commenting on the demise of their marriage now when it’s clear it wasn’t a marriage meant to last since it’s ending? Too funny. And, yes, I feel Jen hung on too long to a man that didn’t love her as much as she loved him.
I agree with your comment further up, Jayna. I think it seemed pretty clear that their marriage has been on very thin ice for many years, and by all gossip accounts – which is all any of us have to go on – she was the one who clung to saving it, probablany years past the expiration point. For me personally, that’s not hard to believe when you see the way she putsued him right from the beginning (Dinner for Five, etc.) and the over the top gushing she’s always put forth about him. I don’t “blame her” for Ben’s behavior at all, but I’ve always said, just because she was the “passive” participant (not actively cheating and whatever else) doesn’t mean she’s blameless in the marriage. Staying and enabling for years and years carries some responsibility too.
And agree, the dimple parade will not be over anytime soon. They’ll be in Europe visiting Ben soon … And this is where EVERYONE disagrees with me, but I’m still not 100% convinced they’re divorcing. I still feel like her biggest issue was wanting people to know/think the nanny didn’t happen on her watch – so now that she feels she has set the record straight. It clears a path for her to feel ok about staying – again. Not sure – waiting to see if they file.
Also, I thought his comments were kind of interesting regarding Jen, “Jen’s great. She’s a great person. We’re on great terms.” Contrast that with, “He’s the love of my life … I’d run down the beach again”, and on and on. I realize it’s partially just because he’s uncomfortable with the conversation and is being more guarded than she was, so he comes across this way, but it’s slightly amusing since this does tend to be the historical dynamic and pattern in their relationship, including how they talk about each other publicly.
@And Ladidahbaby, I never said it wasn’t meant to last from the beginning, or didn’t mean to state that. I have said often on here that I felt there was a lot of love in th beginnng of their marriage and they were committed and happy. But the marriage wasn’t meant to last because it was troubled for years. It was just a matter of when it ended those last years. When you have children and you love someone, you hang on longer than you should, which I think she did.
@ Lahdidahbaby-I’m not jumping on you at all and sorry if it seemed that way. I was just sticking up for Jayna because she’s one of the few commenters that presents a differing opinion about Ben.
I enjoy a differing perspective that is always thoughtful and well-informed like Jayna’s. I wouldn’t have even intervened but your reply to her seemed a bit personal so I felt obligated to stick up for her.
Also, I don’t see Jayna as some blind fan who always excuses Affleck’s behavior, quite the opposite she is usually the first to admit when he missteps or acts shady. I guess I just didn’t undertand why you came after her like that. Anyway, peace to everyone..next time I won’t butt in. Apologies, hugs, high-fives to you Lahdidahbaby.
EDIT: sorry for messing up the “flow” of this thread, which was actually an interesting back-and-forth exchange.
It’s not so much that he’s a douche bag – it’s that he doesn’t keep his shit tight. It’s that stupid self destruct button. If you sleep with the nanny, choose a high class of fame whore. If you cheat on your wife, don’t rub her and the rest of the world’s face in it. He’s a fuck up.
Lahdidahbaby- You are taking this a little too personal.. why? It’s the second time I have seen you attack Jayna for stating an opinion… she’s clearly stated a few times, it’s what she is interpreting from what she is reading.
As far as their marriage goes, from the beginning there were rumors surrounding them that it wouldn’t last. If you looked at photos of them over the years you could see the strain on Ben’s face the past couple of years… YES, I am clearly aware I’m ASSUMING before you jump all over me too. YES, it would appear that Jennifer clung to a marriage to someone who wasn’t as committed to her as she was to him………………assuming….because I don’t know either of them.
@Kitten, you are such a nice person. 🙂 Far nice than me. I don’t know why but it bothers me to see Jayna get attacked twice for how she is interpreting Ben’s interview. Not too many people stick up for Ben and I kind of like it.
I have never believed he was happy being married and couldn’t even fake it. I’m like you Jayna I don’t. I think the nanny thing was like scorching the earth to make sure it was over. Destructive but effective and he doesn’t seem that broken up about it ending. Cheating is wrong but I think when it’s this blatant the person doesn’t care anymore.
@LahdidahBaby Why are you on this site, where all we do is analyze celebrities and their relationships/personalities, if you find such analysis so offensive? And the feigned “ommgg it’s so scary!” nonsense? You can take a seat.
ETA: The reason you’re getting this reaction from people is because you didn’t just state your difference in opinion, you went after Jayna directly.
Just a douchebag with money.
A douchebag with money, in a wind tunnel.
Lay off the Botox dude, it’s creepy.
Wow, that is terrible phrasing that makes him sound like a giant deuchebag. Allow – shudder. And I hear he’s not dumb….so garners interview must have really rattled him. Lol. Good for her.
Jennifer Garner is the backup plan why they are dragging this whole divorce.
Too late…Jennifer let all of the cats out of the bag except for you @Kitten! I have no feelings towards him one way or the other. He has always been one to moan about his lack of privacy. Must have missed that clause in the I want to be a star contract. She was wronged but needs to move on already, talking about it won’t change it. Once his movie drops hopefully so will all their marriage drama.
With all things said about Affleck, I think something was left out: how much ambition and hunger for power he has and how much he is willing to risk to get somewhere higher, to a more powerful status.
I really think he took the Batman part to hit it even bigger than before, regardless whether the part suited him or not. Batman is a risk he’s willing to take because if it pays out, it pays out big in terms of power. And the odds are in his favor. He may not be a good actor but comic book movies are not built on exquisite acting.
If the movie is a success he will have proven that he can carry a blockbuster and that’s only in addition to him being a very good director and Oscar winning producer. That’s a megastar. If the movie is a success and he is accepted by the Batman fandom, no one will care about his marriage or his wife or the kind of person he is.
*shrug* I’ve always liked Ben. He’s kind-of a typical actor in that he somehow manages to be conceited and vulnerable at the same time. I think he may have been a bit peeved about the Vanity Fair thing — this interview was done hours after it hit. In fact, his interview was delayed due to a “migraine” that he’d had the day before. Was it a Vanity Fair-induced headache there? I feel a bit sorry for him. No one really knows what transpired in their marriage. It’s all pure speculation and even the stuff with the nanny — Garner says that they were separated at the time, so…? I see the Minivan crowd attacking him online all the time but we don’t know what she’s like behind closed doors. Maybe she made life hell for him. She’s always been very thirsty and phony to me, YMMV.
Kind of funny – the day he said he canceled The NY Times interview because he had a migraine was also the day he attended Sam’s fourth bday party and dressed up as Batman and was then seen that evening at dinner with Jen and the kids. He might truly have had a migraine, but my guess is that he needed a day to figure out what to say – or what not to say – to The NY Times after reading the full VF piece. Not that I blame him. It would have been easy to react too emotionally, and like others said, since he’s the one who did wrong here, he knows he’s going to get crucified no matter what he says or does at this point.
I think you’re right. He probably wanted a day to digest it and decide whether to address it in the interview or not.
Although, he does suffer migraines. He once said when he directed his first movie, Gone Baby Gone, he began suffering severe anxiety directing and writing the movie and suffered his first migraine ever. He said he still suffers anxiety and migraines when directing but has it under better control than the first movie, which was crippling.
She is rumored to be controlling and difficult but I always saw some passive aggressive tendencies with the earth mama pap strolls. I don’t believe this all bad Ben and angel Jennifer.
I’m with you. I like him and I don’t like her. She seems so manipulative and passive aggressive to me. But he used her media manipulation to get a second Oscar, it’s only fitting that the same thing is biting him in the ass now.
I just want to say that your observations about Affleck’s acting caree, and how he seems to play versions of himself, are spot on. I haven’t seen many of his movies, but I felt that Nick Dunn was a version of Ben Affleck and that it is the role which led to his marriage unraveling. I think there is a part of Ben Affleck that perceives Jennifer Garner to be like Amazing Amy, deliberate in her actions, controlling, obsessive. Likewise, there is a part of Ben Affleck who wants the public to perceive him the way we perceive Nick Dunn. Yes, he makes plenty of mistakes, he is weak, he cheats, but ultimately he is a vulnerable, intelligent artist who is sensitive and charming and was having he air squeezed out of him in his pressure cooker of a marriage.
its not only that Denzel Washington is a better actor. if Denzel was out there being a mass murderer people would associate that with his roles of being a mass murderer. so if you are Ben Affleck and you play douchebags and then act like a douchebag in real life, well…
Well, Denzel has been accused of cheating on his wife a few different times (Paula Patton anyone?) yet he remains largely beloved. So yeah, I think Affleck was spot-on with his point that there’s just something about him that people don’t like, that allows them to conflate his real-life persona with the characters he plays on-screen.
Denzel could “profit” from racism in that area because PoC are pretty much left out of mainstream gossip. it will only be known to people who specifically seek it out while Afflecks live will be all over the news.
all actors cheat and have cheating rumours attached to them and some get away. Tom Hanks cheated, he even admitted it, on his first wife and he is beloved like no one else. Jen Garner did it at least twice and she is seen as pristine. Helena Bonham Carter has a reputation for going after married men but people dont care enough about her to make a big deal about it. is it fair? no but its the way it is.
it also comes down on who you cheat on. if its a non famous person people rarely care, celebs are seen as more worthy and more important. better yet if you cheat with another good looking celeb. so Affleck cheating on Mother Theresa Garner was going to lead to more backlash, same with Kristen Stewart who cheated on a teenage heartthrob.
anyone cared about the Anne Hathaway and Christian Bale rumors? nope, they are both with non famous people so who cares if they cheat.
I think a segment of the population kind of likes Affleck. It’s just that he lives his life so publicly in a way that other stars don’t — would Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington ever be dumb enough to do that J-Lo video? If you live your life in such an open way, I think that is going to lead to a more polarizing reaction. Still, I think Affleck is liked to some extent — just maybe not universally beloved. That J-Lo video will probably haunt him forever…
I completely agree with everything you said, but none of that invalidates Ben’s point which I think is a worthy one. People simply don’t like him, they didn’t like him since day one, before he was with J Lo or Garner, before he was even a household name. So I think he’s absolutely right in his observations that people are willing to believe the worst about celebs they don’t like. *shrugs*
I admit, I never liked him either. Not as an actor and not as a person as far as interviews went. He just seemed … yeah, douchey. Full of himself. But I can look past that, I’m a little shallow when it comes to celebs who are supposed to entertain me. I don’t care about Christian Bale’s numerous personal and professional episodes of insanity for example. I love Jude Law despite his messy personal life. However, Ben really tried to sell us on himself as a family man. He married the sweetheart, had three cute kids, and then sold all of that in pursuit of his second Oscar. Shoved it in our faces. That was tacky and transparent in a way that is hard for me to ignore, especially now. Denzel never did that.
@Kitten Thank you! People are really willing to believe the worst about him. He’s not one of those celebrities that gets the benefit of doubt. Other people can say controversial or dumb things and still be largely beloved. Matt Damon, for instance, never gets the hate that Affleck does. He broke up with Minnie Driver on a TV show, doesn’t think diversity behind the camera is important, and may think it’s better for gay actors to stay in the closet. And people still love him. He’s just a likable guy and Affleck isn’t.
@KB, who wrote: “He broke up with Minnie Driver on a TV show, doesn’t think diversity behind the camera is important, and may think it’s better for gay actors to stay in the closet. And people still love him. He’s just a likable guy and Affleck isn’t.”
He didn’t dump Minnie Driver on Oprah, they had already broken up. Here is a quote from a December 1999 Matt Damon “GQ” interview titled “Damon After Dark” by John Brodie – during promotion for “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”
“Part of his radio silence stems from lessons he learned after being more open about his romance with Claire Danes and his fandango with Minnie Driver. During the run-up to the 1998 Academy Awards, Damon admitted on Oprah that he and Driver were no longer an item. Driver in turn did a series of interviews in which she portrayed Damon as a cad for breaking-up with her on daytime television. “That was just false,” he says now. “It’s something I’ve never talked about publicly, but we broke up three weeks before that. It’s hard not to respond when you feel like you’re getting smoked in public.”
Matt Damon doesn’t think Diversity is important behind the camera? ‘I’ don’t think diversity behind the camera is important. Even if there were one thousand ‘people of color’ behind the camera it wouldn’t mean shite unless we could actually see ‘people of color’ as living, breathing characters in roles in ‘front’ of the camera. I really believe ‘that’ is what Matt Damon meant by his ‘entire’ comment, not the abbreviated one circulated for hits.
Ditto for the ‘gay actors in the closet’ comment. This is what Matt Damon actually said:
“I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly,” he continues. “But in terms of actors, I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”
Matt Damon well-liked? LOL! He is one of the most hated actor working today. At least two of his films were killed before release by individuals ( a lot of them) who flooded Internet sites insisting that the films were nothing more than Damon’s left-wing opinion and propaganda that should be avoided at any cost.
Douche.
Why did he chose Denzel in particular? funny if he thinks he compares!
Yeah please. Next I’m going to compare my post baby body with Giselle’s.
Get over yourself Ben you are NOT IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS DENZEL.
Douche! Why bring any other actor into this? He is not a quality actor and everyone knows it. He’s a good director/writer, but his ego won’t allow him to focus solely on that. Hence, Batfleck.
Jen is well rid of him and his wandering penis. He needs to never get married again since him and fidelity are not on speaking terms.
Question: have all of his (public, famous) relationships ended due to his (alleged) infidelity?
Jilo ended five days before the wedding because he bailed. They stayed together a little while after that, but it was a passive aggressive ending by Ben showing less and less interest while away on set or wherever, with the final nail in the coffin, him not attending her New Year’s Eve bash until Jennifer Lopez had to cancel it and announce the relationship was over.
He probably cheated on Gwyneth. He was an alcoholic and addicted to Vicodin back then. But she stated that Ben was never a relationship that was serious or she saw going anywhere, something like that. He was never a great love of hers. Even though Ben and Gwynneth had broken up, when Brad announced his engagement to Jennifer Aniston, Ben flew to Paris to be by Gwyneth’s side. I think they cared about each other even after they broke up and she was supportive of Ben sobering up when he entered rehab.
I thought Affleck was likable when he was younger. It’s just that over time he got annoying the more he publicized his life…
I suppose he is covered more in the gossip blogs and that never helps. Johnny Depp was one of those people I assumed I was supposed to like, but then he got covered in the blogs a lot, and…..then…
Has he redone his veneers? His teeth look somehow too small for his face.
Or maybe it is the bloat. That fat Batman in the promo picture looks bad!
I’m just LOL at the people making excuses for Ben’s past behavior with Jennifer Garner, etc.! Well, so Ben’s not so bad because look other people cheat too! Everyone is doing it! No, it does not work like that. He is not a good person because otherwise he wouldn’t have caused his family this much pain. It doesn’t matter one bit that others have done the same. Plus, Ben has been messier than most. And that is why Ben Affleck never changes. There will always be someone trying to make excuses for his disastrous behavior. SMH.
He is lucky he married Jennifer Garner because if he had married someone else his dirty secrets would really be out there. She is being too kind to an undeserving asshole, in my opinion.
When did he cheat? Are you just assuming that? He was already separated when he allegedly hooked up with the nanny.
Where there’s smoke there’s fire with Ben Affleck. Rumors, sightings of Ben stepping out on his wife were abundant and someone has to be beyond naive to not believe he cheated. Wow. He has a history of being unfaithful to previous partners, so yeah, he has cheating in his blood. If you add rumors of alcohol, gambling, and drugs well that just adds to Ben being a big uncontrollable mess. I don’t understand how anyone can not sympathize with Jennifer Garner. Imagine you being married to this man and think of what a miserable life it would be dealing with his behavior. Jen herself said he is a complicated man! JMHO
Do I think he cheated? Probably. Is there enough proof to hate him for being a “cheater”? Hell no. And even though it was after he was separated (10 months, according to the both of them), I don’t think he slept with that nanny. He kept his sh** tight for ten years, we never heard about any affairs (it was all just an assumption based on what everyone thinks they know about him), and then he lets his jump off milk the publicity for three weeks? It doesn’t make sense. And like I said up thread, the guy never gets the benefit of the doubt. People always assume the worst in him, while they assume the best in others.
And he cheated on J. Lo. Who else did he cheat on?
The Nanny was just one of MANY alleged side pieces during the course of his marriage. There were many many blinds about his infidelity and some of the info was dead on in pointing to him. There are many blinds about his addictions too.
I feel a teensy bit sorry for him because I imagine his wife to be pschyoticly obsessed with him. Anyone who’s seen her interview with him, Kevin Smith and a few other people before they were together will know what I’m talking about. Most men would run from a woman desperately panting over them like that but his ego allowed him to get sucked in at a point where he felt very vulnerable and needed anyone who could improve his image. She was there and he hasn’t been able to escape her since because no matter what he does, she’s still there, hanging on like a pitbull.
I felt watching Gone Baby Gone that he was playing himself, he really identified with that character, he was that character and normally he’s not the best actor.
He’s not the most popular actor because he comes across as insincere. If he could accept himself and own his imperfections then people would like him. Instead he pretends to be perfect, he cares too much what others think and he tries to be something he’s not. That sets off peoples bs detectors and people hate being lied to, especially if the person can’t even bother being convincing about it. The slavery scandal that never needed to be a scandal is exactly the type of thing that only Ben can turn into a scandal by his reaction to it. That’s just one example.
He really needs somebody in his life who is not full of nonsense and who can be honest with him because I think there’s probably a nice guy underneath it all. He just doesn’t have good advice and can’t figure it out for himself.
You and me both. Psychotically obsessed is RIGHT.
Gone Girl, he only directed Gone Baby Gone
He’s so goddamn insecure trying to act like he’s got it all together. What a douche. And I have no sympathy for his passive-aggressive wife either.
As for his use of words … I wouldn’t read too much into “she’s allowed…” but at the same time, recall all of the people defending his ridiculous Oscar’s speech and claiming it was so honest and it showed how much he loved his wife? No, it actually showed how much he resented his wife and his marriage, exactly how it sounded to everyone who wasn’t snowed by these two phonies.
He looks fat in the batman suit and his face looks super bloated. Did not see Superman and will not be seeing this. Ben even looks fat on the cereal boxes
He suddenly looks so much better and younger. I got to know what he had done. He looked so bad a few months ago. I wish there was a way I could find out.
I think the swelling has finally gone from work he had done. His face doesn’t look bloated anymore. And he got his hair cut and its dyed brown, no more salt and pepper. He’s lost weight and actually looks good again. But the way he cheated on her repeatedly over the years makes him such a douche. If he wanted out he should have made a clean cut and gotten it over with instead if humiliating her like that and causing his family such pain. His kids will eventually read all this on the Internet.
Do people not know how men age in general. Everything is always: he had work done or she had work done. Most men the vast majority of them get fuller faces at around 40 or so. Their faces full out. If a guy is thin sometimes it happens latter. Look at Pierce B.. he was very thin; then his face filled out. Just like many men go grey in their beards before they go grey in the hair.
If anyone has ever seen a makeover show where the person looks completely different. I don’t think Ben has had surgery. I think he is aging. I do think he took steroids or something to bulk up.. same with Henry; only because they both looked puffy and like a balloon ready to pop. I have seen guys that are on Roids and that is how many of them look. It messes up the body and things don’t go back to normal. But I just don’t buy everyone in the world is filling their faces up with stuff because they look a bit different in a picture.
I don’t think that he’s had any work done either. I do think that he looks a lot different without any facial hair. I like him a little scruffy so I hope the clean shaven look is not staying.
“Then they saw the interview and realized she confirmed the nanny cheating story…” What? You didn’t read the interview? CB is like Radar. Sad.