Ben Affleck wouldn’t be anyone’s top pick for the best Batman actor, but he is not entirely at fault for how his portrayal turned out. Affleck’s character appeared in some of the troublesome productions within the DCEU and he revealed that he hated every minute of being on set for these films. While he blames no one at DC or WB for his experience, he revealed that it was Matt Damon who came along and helped to seal the fate of his unsatisfying Batman role.
Ben Affleck debuted as Batman in Zack Snyder’s review-bombed film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. He later appeared in a cameo role in Suicide Squad before leading the problematic theatrical version of Justice League. Interestingly, a solo film for the character never happened in the DCEU.
Ben Affleck Was Not Happy With His Batman Role In The DCEU
James Gunn‘s DCU has yet to cast a new Batman actor for The Brave and the Bold. Gunn should take extra care that his Batman actor doesn’t suffer the fate of his predecessor, Ben Affleck. The Good Will Hunting actor opened up to his long-time friend Matt Damon during a cover story for EW, that he didn’t like being on the set of Justice League.
Affleck revealed reaching his peak point while working on the ensemble film, adding that it drained the joy out of him. While he just mentioned that “a lot of different reasons” made it a horrible experience, fans are aware by now of the significant drama that happened behind the scenes of the movie. The Gigli actor refused to blame anybody and shared that bad things kept happening during the movie.
At one point, Affleck came to the decision that he wasn’t going to do Batman anymore. He shared with Damon that The Martian actor was a “principal influence” on that decision when he talked to him at his lowest point. Affleck shared with Damon via EW:
“I had a really nadir experience around Justice League for a lot of different reasons. Not blaming anybody, there’s a lot of things that happened. But really what it was is that I wasn’t happy. I didn’t like being there. I didn’t think it was interesting. And then some really shitty things, awful things happened. But, that’s when I was like, I’m not going to do that anymore. In fact, I talked to you [Matt Damon] about it, and you were a principal influence on that decision.”
He further went on to explain how working with Damon and Ridley Scott on The Last Duel brought the joy of acting back for him. He shared that while his role in the historical film wasn’t likable, he had a wonderful experience filming the role. It was the single thing he had been struggling to find in the leading Batman role.
Ben Affleck Might Be More Interested In Supporting Roles Than Lead Roles
During another interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2021, Ben Affleck revealed that he no longer had fun playing the lead characters in films. He shared that the protagonists had to adhere to certain essential virtuousness, which restricted him from playing rich, varied, and complex characters. The Accountant actor shared that in the case of big-budget films, the success of these films depended on whether the lead character resonated with the audiences.
This template format for protagonists to avoid losing millions for the films effectively affected his acting skills. Affleck shared his worries 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.”
However, he listed out some of the supporting roles in his career, including Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, and The Last Duel, sharing how these roles allowed him to be more complicated, flawed, and interesting. Fans of the star would like to see him such character roles but believe that the actor needn’t give up leading roles for the same.
Fans can reach a verdict on both types of Affleck’s roles by streaming Justice League on Max and The Last Duel on Hulu.
