What is the connection between Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood, Ben Affleck, and his film Chasing Amy? For starters, this 1997 film which gave Affleck his first major recognition in a leading role at age 24, also sparked controversy which saw Wood reacting to a particular comment made by the Oscar winner.
Chasing Amy which featured a kissing scene between Affleck and his co-star Jason Lee, was termed as one of the most difficult challenges by the actor. Evan Rachel Wood, who identifies as bisexual, took offense to the Gigli star’s supposedly judgmental and callous remark about kissing a man.
Why Was Ben Affleck Lambasted By Evan Rachel Wood?
In 1997, a young Ben Affleck starred in his first leading role in Kevin Smith’s indie film, Chasing Amy, a story about an artist who falls head over heels for a girl, only to find out that she is a lesbian. The film also featured a kiss between Affleck and his co-star Jason Lee. Despite it being far from romantic, Affleck was quoted to have said that kissing another man was one of the biggest challenges that promoted him to the ‘serious actor’ category.
This comment though, did not go down well with bisexual star Evan Rachel Wood who condemned Affleck’s seemingly lighthearted reply as tone deaf and callous. In a now-deleted tweet (via Evening Standard) Wood was scathing in her reply to the Argo director’s words, on the 20th anniversary of the film’s release.
“Try getting r*ped in a scene. Also, grow up Ben.”
Responding to a fan’s retort that the comment made 20 years ago was not valid today, Wood pointed out Affleck’s trivializing assumption that all straight kisses were never problematic or challenging.
Ben Affleck Felt Excited and Stressed To Do Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy starring Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and Joey Lauren Adams, was considered a daring and progressive film for its time as it explored themes of male and female s*xuality in the 90s. This was a passion project for writer-director Kevin Smith who cast a young Affleck in a challenging lead role.
While the Good Will Hunting star was excited to be offered the opportunity to explore layers of this character, he was also apprehensive about doing justice to Smith’s vision. Recalling his nervousness during filming, Ben Affleck was quoted (via Slash Film), saying,
“It’s a personal story. He obviously cared about it quite a bit and you want to honor that. I wanted him to be really happy with my work so he wouldn’t feel like he made a colossal mistake in asking me to do his movie.”
While doing this bold film at age 24 with a whole career ahead of him could have been viewed as a radical choice, Affleck proved that he was open to exploring complex characters early on in his acting journey.
