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Ben Affleck credits his past, including his relationship with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, for highly-praised acting in his 2020 film The Way Back.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck, 48, explained that it was his past life experiences that enabled him to play the role of Jack Cunningham so well. Considering his 10 year relationship with Garner, it’s no stretch to say that many of these life experiences surrounded his relationship with her.
Affleck explained that his personal experiences of fatherhood and divorce helped him play the role to the best of his ability. Plus, it made the job that much more interesting.
"For me, the movie was much more about the fact that — whether it's having lived enough years, having seen enough ups and downs, having had children and divorce — I'm at a point now in my life where I have sufficient life experience to bring to a role to make it really interesting for me," he said.
The challenge of playing a more in-depth and flawed character has become more attractive and doable with age, according to Affleck.
He explained, "Growing older and having had more intense and meaningful personal experiences has made acting much more interesting for me and in turn made me drawn to the kinds of movies that are about people who are flawed."
You can watch the full actor roundtable below. It also features conversations with Sacha Baron Cohen, Delroy Lindo, Gary Oldman, John David Washington and Steven Yeun.
