Ben Affleck has opened up about his ‘excruciating’ behind-the-scenes struggle on the panned Batman films.
Affleck, who debuted in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, said he brought a ‘lot of unhappiness’ onto set as he filmed in late 2014 – while his marriage to Jennifer Garner crumbled and he battled alcohol addiction.
In a candid chat with British GQ, the star – who previously branded filming of the superhero movies ‘the worst experience’ – said: ‘There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience. And they don’t all have to do with the simple dynamic of, say, being in a superhero movie or whatever.
‘A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations. And also by the way, I wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either. I had my own failings, significant failings, in that process and at that time.
Affleck, who entered rehab in 2017 and 2018, added: ‘I mean, my failings as an actor, you can watch the various movies and judge. But more of my failings of, in terms of why I had a bad experience, part of it is that what I was bringing to work every day was a lot of unhappiness.
‘So I wasn’t bringing a lot of positive energy to the equation. I didn’t cause problems, but I came in and I did my job and I went home. But you’ve got to do a little bit better than that.’
Ben Affleck has opened up about his ‘excruciating’ behind-the-scenes struggle on the panned Batman films
Affleck, who debuted in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, said he brought a ‘lot of unhappiness’ onto set as he filmed in late 2014 – while his marriage to Jennifer Garner crumbled and he battled alcohol addiction – pictured 2014
In a chat with British GQ , the star – who previously branded filming of the superhero movies ‘the worst experience’ – said: ‘There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience’
He reprised the Batman role in 2017’s Justice League and 2023’s The Flash.
The star also further slammed the DC films for portraying a ‘too old’ Batman and storyline, adding ‘even my own son at the time was too scared to watch the movie.’
He added the experience had put him off ever doing a superhero film ever again.
He and Garner publicly announced their separation six months after filming wrapped, in June 2015
Affleck starred in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which earned $330,3 million domestic and $873.6 million worldwide, but was largely panned by critics.
After a brief cameo in 2016’s Suicide Squad, Affleck returned in 2017’s Justice League, which underperformed at the box office ($229 million domestic, $657.9 million worldwide).
Affleck was also slated to star in a stand alone film dubbed The Batman, which at one point he was supposed to both co-write (with Geoff Johns) and direct.
In 2022 Affleck called the filming process ‘awful’ for a ‘confluence’ of reasons, and said it made him want to retire from the superhero all together before The Flash came along.
He said of filming: ‘Part of it is that what I was bringing to work every day was a lot of unhappiness. ‘So I wasn’t bringing a lot of positive energy to the equation’
Addressing his relationship with Garner elsewhere in the chat, Affleck mused: ‘I’m really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner i who’s wonderful and great’ (pictured in 2014)
‘That became the moment where I said, “I’m not doing this anymore,” he confessed to the Los Angeles Times while speaking about the movie — which he called the ‘nadir’ of his life.
The Tender Bar actor spoke candidly about his involvement with the 2017 DC Comics film, and how it was the catalyst for now only taking on projects that make him ‘happy.’
‘It was really Justice League that was the nadir for me. That was a bad experience because of a confluence of things: my own life, my divorce, being away too much, the competing agendas and then [director] Zack [Snyder]’s personal tragedy [Snyder’s daughter Autumn died by suicide in 2017] and the reshooting.
‘It just was the worst experience. It was awful,’ he continued to say. ‘It was everything that I didn’t like about this. That became the moment where I said, “I’m not doing this anymore.”
Despite his seemingly harsh words, Affleck said that he likely would have shared the same sentiments about ‘any’ project he took on at that time in his life.
‘It’s not even about, like, Justice League was so bad. Because it could have been anything,’ he shared.
On top of his divorce from Jennifer Garner following over a decade of marriage, Affleck was also struggling with alcohol abuse — which he then sought treatment for.
Prior to the film he had dropped out of directing and starring in The Batman: ‘I looked at it and thought, “I’m not going to be happy doing this,” he told the publication.
‘It was the point where I started to realize it’s not worth it,’ he shared, adding that he had then made the poor choice of signing onto Justice League which pushed him over the edge.
Ben and ex Jennifer Lopez detailed the highs and lows of their rekindled romance in J Lo’s documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told yet Affleck was ‘uncomfortable’ being her muse
In comparison, Affleck then praised his reprisal of Batman in the 2022 film The Flash, calling it his ‘favorite’ interpretation of the character thus far, adding that the experience was ‘really fun.’
‘I have never said this — this is hot off the presses — but maybe my favorite scenes in terms of Batman and the interpretation of Batman that I have done were in the Flash movie,’ he told the Herald Sun.
‘I hope they maintain the integrity of what we did because I thought it was great and really interesting — different, but not in a way that is incongruent with the character. Maybe they will decide that it doesn’t work. But when I went and did it, it was really fun and really, really satisfying and encouraging, and I thought, “Wow — I think I have finally figured it out.”‘
Elsewhere in the chat the Oscar winner shed some light on the breakdown of his marriage to Jennifer Lopez and his relationship with first wife Garner
The actor, 52, rekindled his romance with the singer, 55, in 2021, but the reunion was short-lived, with J Lo filing for divorce in August last year after their two-year marriage crumbled.
Affleck has remained tight-lipped about the breakdown of their union, yet has now insisted there was ‘no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue’ that caused their breakup.
Admitting why he doesn’t like to dwell too much on the split in interviews, he confessed that it wasn’t a blame game but ‘the reason I don’t want to share that is just sort of embarrassing. It feels vulnerable.’
Elsewhere in his chat with GQ, talk turned to his first wife Garner, with whom he shares Violet, 18, Fin, 15, and Samuel, 12. The couple have remained close since they split in 2015.
Addressing their relationship, Affleck mused: ‘I’m really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids’ mom, who’s wonderful and great and we work together well.’
Last month, the pair were seen embracing during an outing, sending the internet into a frenzy.
Daily Mail later learned Garner is ‘deathly afraid of falling back in love’ with the actor, with a source saying she still has ‘trust issues’ with Affleck after he slept with their children’s nanny, Christine Ouzounian, now 37, a decade ago.
‘She loves Ben but is worried that he will crush her all over again,’ the source said.
‘She doesn’t want to heal another broken heart because it is just too much drama, plus she does not want their kids to see round two of their mom in a bad place with their dad.
‘So much could go wrong if they reunite.’
The photos of Affleck tenderly embracing his ex-wife also resulted in Garner’s boyfriend John Miller feeling a bit bothered about their ‘touchy-feely’ behaviour, sources claimed.
‘It would get to anyone, but this is nothing new,’ the insider said. ‘Ben and Jen have a unique relationship, especially for exes.’
See the full feature in the April/ May issue of British GQ, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 8th April.
