Ben Affleck may have quietly taken a crucial step in his acting career, something that not all of his fans will approve of. Affleck revealed that he no longer had fun playing the protagonist in films. After playing the DCEU’s Batman, Affleck has been largely focusing on playing the supporting characters in recent films. He added that the side characters gave him more scope for performance rather than his lead roles.
Ben Affleck was recently seen playing the secondary character, Count Pierre d’Alençon, opposite Adam Driver in The Last Duel. He also played the supporting character, Uncle Charlie, in George Clooney’s 2021 film The Tender Bar opposite Tye Sheridan.
Fans May Not See Ben Affleck In A Lead Role Again
Ben Affleck has played all shades of protagonists in his films. It appears that Affleck is done playing the good guy lead in the films. During a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Town actor shared why he couldn’t find fun in the protagonist roles anymore. He revealed that there weren’t many opportunities to play lead characters with rich, varied, and complex lives.
He shared that a film’s lead actor had to satisfy certain conditions, including adhering to certain essential virtuousness. He had a huge responsibility as a protagonist, especially in big-budget films. The Gone Girl actor shared that if his lead didn’t connect with the audiences, the film could potentially lose $100 million. He added that he found it more interesting to play rich characters than the ‘perfect’ lead characters. Ben Affleck shared with THR:
“When you’re the protagonist, you have to do this and you can’t do that and there’s a certain essential virtuousness that has to be present or people think, ‘Well, the audience will lose their ability to identify with this person, and then we’ll lose $100 million.’ That may be true in the case of $100 million, but I’ve found it more interesting and always have, actually, to play rich characters.”
The Batman v. Superman actor also shared that he could explore far more rich characters by choosing to play supporting roles in films. He listed out his supporting roles in the films, Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, and The Last Duel, sharing that he was allowed to be more complicated, flawed, and interesting in these roles. Affleck shared:
“The similarity, for me, is playing parts in films where I’m not the protagonist, whether it was Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, The Last Duel or [The Tender Bar] where I get to be somebody on the side who is allowed to be more complicated, flawed and interesting.”
Fans may not like this new direction that Affleck is taking in his career. The actor had his share of both good and bad films in recent times. But the audiences would love to see him in a leading role, where he gets a chance to shine.
Ben Affleck Has One Lead Role In The Making That Marks A Significant Milestone In His Career
Ben Affleck currently has one project in the works with him as the lead, that sets a unique record in his acting career. Affleck’s sequel film, The Accountant 2, is the first direct sequel that he has been involved in his long career. The film is a sequel to the action thriller film, The Accountant, where Affleck plays Christian Wolff, an accountant with autism who sanitizes the fraudulent financial records of criminal terrorist organizations.
Deadline reported that Affleck and Matt Damon‘s Artists Equity have entered into a deal with Amazon MGM Studios for the sequel. All the original cast members, including Anna Kendrick, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, and others, are returning as well. The original film received mixed reviews from critics but grossed $155 million globally (via Box Office Mojo). Most notably, Affleck’s performance received immense praise from critics.
The Accountant is now available for streaming on Netflix.
