Justice League star Ben Affleck has taken on an impressive number of blockbuster roles in the past decade. However, he has also rejected a considerable amount of films for a variety of reasons.
Affleck started his acting career in the 90s, with a string of Indie films. His breakthrough as a mainstream actor in Hollywood was with Goodwill Hunting, in 1997.
Since the 90s, Affleck has managed to build an impressive career not only as an actor, but also in directing, screenwriting, and producing in recent years. The actor has starred in some iconic films over the years, including Dazed and Confused, Gone Girl, and Argo. But what Affleck fans may not know is his list of iconic roles almost included Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.
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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Almost Starred in Brokeback Mountain
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are two of the most well-known actors in Hollywood. The actors have been good friends since before their acting careers even began, going back to the young ages of 8 and 10 when they lived in Cambridge, Massachusets. The two have been friends for decades, and it is no surprise that they share an unmatched chemistry on-screen. The friends have done multiple films together, the most notable being the hit film Good Will Hunting (1997) which went on to establish them as actors.
Fans love seeing the actors share the screen and were positively shocked to learn that the duo almost starred in Brokeback Mountain together. Ben Affleck almost took his ‘bromance’ with Damon one step further when he was meant to play the role of Ennis Del Mar.
The film was initially meant to be directed by Gus Van Sant, who knew he wanted Affleck playing Ennis Del Mar and Damon as Jack Twist. Unfortunately, the crew’s take on the material fell through and eventually, the film was directed by Ang Lee. Lee chose Heath Ledger (Ennis) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Jack) to be his lead actors.
Brokeback Mountain is a ground-breaking LGBTQ+ movie, telling the love story of two shepherds who find companionship with one another, and soon develop a deep emotional bond.
While Affleck and Damon share historically appreciated on-screen chemistry, the film went on to be career-defining for both Ledger and Gyllenhaal and were their most praised performances. The film went on to receive Oscar nominations as well.
Iconic Roles That Ben Affleck Missed Out On
In his long career, Ben Affleck has dodged many roles. Either the actor felt it wasn’t his cup of tea, or believed there was someone who could do it better than him.
Affleck almost starred in his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone. The role was eventually given to his brother, Casey Affleck.
I didn’t do anything for two years but work on ‘Gone Baby Gone,’ and it was miserable and hard, but at the end? It is a good movie. I liked it very much. If it had been dismissed and deemed worthless, it would been definitely devastating. But that didn’t happen.
The actor was also meant to star in Focus, playing the role of Nicky. However, Affleck had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, and the initially chosen female lead Kristen Stewart dropped out too. The roles were played by Will Smith and Margot Robbie, who had incredible chemistry.
Source: MovieWeb
