I subscribed to Showtime just for “Homeland,” and I say in all confidence that it was worth it. My only complaint is that the plot is so fast-moving and intense that it can be hard to take at times, that’s how good it is every week. So it’s interesting to me to hear that Ben Affleck was slated to direct “Homeland” and had to pull out at his wife’s insistence. (I totally phrased it like that on purpose.) According to Ben, he has an agreement with Jennifer that they’ll switch off working so that one of them is always with the kids. She was supposed to be away filming when he would have been working on Homeland, so she put her foot down. It sounds like he resents it a little, which is why he recounted the story during an acceptance speech. Or maybe he just needed some new material for us to talk about.
During his acceptance speech at the Artios Awards in Los Angeles Monday, Oct. 29, the Argo actor/director revealed he felt obligated to pass on the opportunity to direct episodes of Showtime’s hit Homeland — because of an agreement with wife Jennifer Garner.
“It’s true! I was going to do Homeland,” he explained, after the show’s casting director, Libby Goldstein, jokingly called him (and Garner) out during her remarks. (“She had gotten a film/With some sort of thing/And she wanted him home/Well, she does have the ring!” Goldstein rhymed during her speech).
“I liked the show. I signed on. The guys were ready. I don’t want to blame it on ‘her,’ but my wife and I have an arrangement where when she works, I don’t work and when I work, she doesn’t work,” Affleck shared. “She said, ‘I have this movie, it’s 10 weeks, it’s in Atlanta.’ I said, ‘Okay, forget it. I’m sure nothing will happen with it anyway.'”
Affleck was wrong about how Homeland would hold up, though — and he’s more than a little bitter about it.
“Let me tell you something: I hate that f—ing show,” he joked of the series, which recently swept the Emmys with awards for Best Drama, Best Actor (Damian Lewis), Actress (Claire Danes) and more. “I’ve never seen a frame of it and I hate it.”
Though his agreement with Garner, also 40, kept him from getting in on Homeland’s ground floor, Affleck wrapped up his speech with some kind words for his significant other.
“I want to thank my wife who is spectacular and who puts up with me and is a doll, who is the reason I didn’t do Homeland,” he told the crowd. “But she is also the reason why my children [Violet, 6, Seraphina, 3, and Samuel, 8 months] know my name!”
Affleck is hustling hard to play the game and bid for that Oscar, but I swear he always lets his personal feelings slip. He doesn’t have a perfectly seamless facade, he’ll tell you his issues. In his Details interview, which came out a few weeks ago, he said something similar about how he struggles with his work and home life and keeping a decent balance. He said “I don’t want to be a stay-at-home dad. Work is very important to me. I like to work. So does my wife. But I need my work to mean something to me in order for me to not be home with them.” He also admitted that Garner does most of the hands-on work with their three kids, and said his mind was often on work issues when he was at home. There’s nothing wrong with that, I admit I sometimes don’t give my son complete attention, that’s just human nature. To me this says that Ben wishes he could do more work, but realizes he’s got to step up as a dad and give it a rest. He has that luxury given the insane amount of money he has. Also, at least he gives his wife credit for doing most of the work at home.
Incidentally, I IMDB’d the individual Homeland episodes, and Michael Cuesta (co-executive producer of Dexter) has directed six episodes so far, with other directors either doing two or less each. (Cuesta did that incredible episode set in Beirut earlier this season too, that was amazing.) It seems like they switch off directors like a lot of other shows, but they have the same core of writers, so the directors are working with incredible material every time. I don’t know how that show could get better. Sure there were moments that made me question the direction of the show (SPOILER is in white here, highlight to see specifically Carrie’s suicide attempt, that didn’t seem realistic to me, and I was also surprised she went back into the house in Beirut) but overall it’s just amazing. The show didn’t need Affleck to direct, and he has a family to attend to in between gigs. This is part of his work, too. Look at him doing this happy family photo op right in time for Oscar season. Also – new photos of baby Samuel, yay! What a cutie.
Ben, Jennifer, Violet and Seraphina are shown at a place called Cake Mix on 10-28. He’s also shown out alone with Samuel on 10-27. Photos of Ben alone are from the event mentioned int he story, the Artios Awards on 10-29. Credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet
Go ahead Affleck, blame it on your wife, since when do you listen to her and do what she asks you to do???? This dude is such a douche, can ‘t take responsibily when he screws up his own wet dream! I absolultely hate the tone of disdain in the words of begrudge he uses when he talks about Garner, it’s sickening.
I really hope the Oscar goes to someone who deserves it and who is a REAL family oriented man who actually LOVES and honors the committment with his wife.
And the Oscar to The Worse, Le Misserable, Hollywood Husband goes to:………………. Ben “the Douche” Afleck!!!!!!
Applause with standing ovation!
I’m thinking that Matt Damon should give a lesson or two on humility.
Sigh…Matt Damon seems like an awesome husband and an awesome guy. I wonder if Jennifer Garner daydreams about him LOL
Wasn’t there a blind aout Matt and his guys affair/ possible beard type marriage?
Ben seems to always blame his career missteps on his women. He did the same with Jen Lopez.
Wow, I really don’t like Ben Affleck. He’s slowly chipped away at my grudging respect until I just feel like he’s a giant douche. They had an agreement that they would switch off, she had a movie, so what? She was supposed to give that up for him? The poor little wife responsible for all of the child-rearing was *also* supposed to be the one sacrificing their agreement as a couple? Because, *really*, his work is so much more important than hers anyway. Sheesh, can’t believe she “put her foot down”. Since she has that ring and all. Women…
RAGE
ITA, why should there be an expectation that her career should go on hold hold for him? Like she should be grateful that he spends sometime being a father? some things should stay inside your head, not included in a speech!
Ben has always had an EGO problem. Celebitchy is right about his facade and how he fails miserably in hiding his disdain.
It was painfully obvious how much Ben ‘really’ resented Matt Damon’s acclaim and success with the Bourne franchise. Those pictures of him at “The Bourne Ultimatum” L.A. premiere speak volumes. He even made some dig in the “People” magazine ‘Matt Damon sexiest man’ article about how they should pick someone taller and better looking, like him, for ‘Bourne 4.’ Shameless.
I think he’s still mad that Matt got all the play after Good Will Hunting.
Sorry, Ben. You’re talented, but you’re not Matt.
Matt’s a better actor, and an all-around better man. You should lunch with him more often.
And Jen should get a spine and leave this douche.
I was just starting to write the exact same first sentence as yours.
Bottom line, Affleck cares about himself first and foremost.
He’s an ass.
Wait wait wait- he had the opportunity to be the director for ‘Homeland’ but couldnt take it because Jennifer was doing some work at the same time too. Homeland started in 2011 right? So if he had to give it up for Jennifer’s work-then it had to be when she was filming..’The odd life of Timothy Green’? OK, in that respect, Id be the Queen of Sour Grapes too!! Giving up a plum job of director for one of tv’s best dramas so your partner could do a minor cheapie movie?! Who even went and saw that movie?! Sorry, to me(and I must really be the only woman on here to see it this way) it seems like Affleck was the one doing the sacrificing!
No, u are not the only one who feels that way.
While I do agree that an arrangement to switch off on playing house is a good one, it shouldn’t mean one person or the other has to give up a fantastic opportunity simply because it it not their “turn” to work. The arrangement should be flexible enough that if one person gets a number of good opportunites back to back, as a couple they can roll with it. Consideration should also be given to the quality of the project and what effect it will have on their career(s).
Homeland would have been an amazing opportunity for Ben and he had already signed on. He could have directed the show for one or two seasons, and than spent the next two years at home so Jennifer could accept offers (hopefully a tv series because her movies suck). To give up Homeland for a C movie that nobody has ever heard of seems unfair, and a waste of a valuable opportunity. Besides, Jennifer needs to be more selective in the projects she takes on. So far most of her movies have bombed, and in response her career has suffered.
Brad and Angelina have the same arrangement, but there have been times when one or the other has filmed back to back. They were flexible enough to not pass up on what could be a great opportunity.
Totally disagree. Seems to me that Garner has done 99% of the child raising while Affleck directs movie after movie. She does maybe one movie every two years. Plus, directing a TV show like Homeland is a 14-16 hour day… while she raises three kids alone?? And misses out on her (very rare) opportunity to work? I would have told him to shove it.
My husband is a news video editor and wants to move to los Angeles for more tv and film work but realizes that’s not in the best interest of our kids or financial situation. One of the challenging aspects of being a parent is putting family above all else.
Thank you. That’s exactly what I was going to say. When you have a family, you make sacrifices to make the family work and stay together. It actually sounds like they made choices together and not that she put her foot down!
Must be a bitch to have a wife that also works. How dare she go off and do things when he wants to do things! Why can’t his wife be like other Hollywood wives and give up her career to look after kids so he can do work and feel personally fulfilled. Why isn’t Jennifer doing interviews where she says, “I’m just more interested in staying at home and being with my children.”
Blah! He’ll get other chances to do fulfilling work – he’s just gonna have to suck it up.
This is one of my pet peeves of mine – the staggering large number of successful males who manage to do what they do because they have a supportive wife behind them who stays at home and brings up the kids. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking anyone’s choice to do so. I just wonder, do you get as many successful women with men who’d do the same? I’m inclined to say no.
If the show has various directors, he may get a chance, though it is amazing with the directors it has now.
I was raging until I got to the end, Ben is one good-looking douche. Sigh. Lol
Jennifer probably doesn’t want Oscar season to end. The kids and her haven’t ever had so much attention from Ben.
Yup, he really wants that Oscar, doesn’t he?
Lori: WITH A HUSBAND LIKE AFFLECK, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES????!!!!!!
No married woman wants to ever hear her husband talk about her the way Ben talks about Jennifer. I’d rather die a thousand deaths before being humilliated that way.
Yea… and that adorable little boy looks like Jen! So, she has THAT on him too…
Doesn’t everyone in the Academy know exactly what they’re doing? It’s not as if the members haven’t heard of them before. How does pretending to have a perfect family work to win an Oscar?
Ugh. I would vote against him out of sheer disgust.
Cute babbies awful hubby seems like he could have checked with her BEFORE he signed on no?
This! +1
Since Homeland is THE-BEST-SHOW-ON-TV today I am glad Benny boy couldn’t get his hands on any episode…regardless of the reason. He is so full of himself…any parent who has to thank the other parent for “my children … knowing my name!” is pathetic parenting 101 (specifically celebrity parents). Hey Ben, you’re not curing cancer, or serving your country in the military big guy, you’re an actor and director in make believe land. Sheesh!
hey Chatcat, everything good up there for you guys?
Hey marie…yes things are good, thanks for thinking of me. The house down the jersey shore didn’t fair so well but we can’t get on the island until the earliest tomorrow, but we are all safe and sound and our home 80 miles inland only had some minor tree damage. I feel for those people in Queens, NY who lost everything. It’s so sad.
Why did he get married and have kids?
Really though?
Status quo! His sisi Damon was married, so there was peer pressure too…he’s like a teenager wanting to smoke a joint like his idiotic friends do…the He has the “ME TOO!” mentality.
After the Bennifer debacle he needed a new image, Ben Affleck devoted husband and father, haha.
Don’t forget, it was a shotgun wedding.
Oh Ben my love, yes you are blaming your wife. I bet if Homeland had not been such a hit you wouldn’t have even mentioned it. But I still love you my number one dooche. That man can wear some jeans.
…emailing his exes, mentioning his famous ex fiancee there and there, saying his female co-star is fabulous whereas his wife is kind…now that wife stopped him from directing a #1 TV series… And the self importance and entitled ego list goes on…
YOU NAILED IT! Total humilliation to Garner…i’d rather be single than enduring second hand bashing thorugh a husband.
He also NEVER refers to her by name just “my wife” or ” the wife”. It’s very strange he’ll talk about Blake not my “costar” and he’ll refer to Jlo as Jen not ” my ex”. But it’s as if he really resents Jen Garner.
Yes, thank you! He comes across as the most incredibly self-centered jerk. Why don’t you go back to 1950, Ben, and find a little wife who’ll never inconvenience you or call you on anything? I hope Garner gets fed up at some point and realizes she deserves better.
Haha I KNEW CB would be covering this after I read the original article earlier today…a little awkward that he’s still bitter about it and brings her into it. I like that she did “put her foot down” about it. That’s funny. Would be cool if he watched the show and made a remark that it still turned out OK, with a wink…Samuel is so cute!!! Squeal
Family comes first Benny. You had a agreement and I am glad you kept it. But you’re a jerk for being such a douche bag about having to keep it.
I know that he was being cheeky, but he seems so career obsessed and full of himself. He is a good director, though. I love The Town, and Argo sounds pretty good.
why do i feel that with the success,he becomes big-headed?
Oh, he definitely has. And it’ll only get worse if he wins another Oscar.
wow, I’m going to have to disagree with everyone here. Jen is a shitty actress who chose to marry Ben knowing very well how career focused he is and that he is not the most faithful and present husband. Since she so loves to play the stepford wife raising the perfect kids, rising above her husband’s shortcomings, I feel like she should just stop torturing us with her acting attempts and allow her critically acclaimed hubby to do his thing. She is forgiving when it comes to other women, do why must she insist on making shitty movies?
1/ she was good in ALIAS and JUNO
2/ it’s thank to her,he has a family man image.Because if she wasn’t photographed with their cute smiling kids every day,every one only might remember that he’s a gambler party boy
3/ she prefered to favour her family life against her career
4/ never forget that behind every successful guy,there is a woman (wife,mum…)
I agree about alias and Juno. And you can’t judge who should work based on the value of the work overall. If it fulfills her that is what’s important.
So she’s not entitled to professional fulfillment because you deem her less talented? Wow. Their work split seems about 90-10, so I think Affleck is doing just fine and should shut his big mouth.
Wow – are you serious? She was awesome in Juno & Alias, and even in small films that never see the light of day I find her to be a great actor.
Now, how many turkeys has Ben Affleck been in before he became an ‘artiste’… Gigli, Surviving Christmas, Smokin’ Aces, Jersey Girl.. not to mention big-budget dross like Pearl Harbor and The Sum of All Fears.
She’s a ‘stepford wife’ simply because she wants to raise the kids she gave birth to, instead of farming them out to nannies?
Wow.
It surprises me that Matt Damon has a friend that’s such an a$$hole.
So Jen has to force him to spend time with his kids because if was up to him he would be off working. Shouldn’t he want to spend time with his kids with out being forced into it?
The more he talks the more these family photo op become pathetic and sad because we know what he would rather be doing and is only with them for Oscar votes.
It’s bad enough he publicly blames Jen but did he have to keep saying it was her falt over and over. Why couldn’t he just say my family was more important then directing the show.
omg people read properly! Someone read a poem about ben initially directing homeland’s pilot than be backed out bcuz his wife was working.p So when he got on stage to accept his award he explained what happened and just said he didnt do bcuz of an arrangment he has with jennifer and it wasnt abig deal with him. I was at that dinner and both the poem and ben’s response were funny and got the most laughs out of the audience
Chillax, it was just for fun
the trouble is not that it’s a misquote.The trouble is that he doesn’t enough praise his wife and it’s the third time in 3 weeks.Argo will release in France next week and he gave some interviews and during an interview,he said that his wife came with him but didn’t understand it was not a romantic trip,he can’t go to shopping with her.I know that he said it with humor but….the tone is so wrong
that paris trip was for less than 2 days and he did go shopping with her and then they had dinner together on their first day, he did interviews on the second day (morning) and they left paris at 4/5!
Interesting he said that in an interview, that it was not a romantic trip, it gives credibility to the story that he didn’t know she was planning on coming until the day of and she decided to accompany him. I remember looking at the photos of them in Paris and I thought something about him looked “off” then she left and he was in London and his mood completely changed it was almost as if he was happy to be rid of her. He looks really happy in the pics in London and Rome.
@Em Kay: it’s his tone who was wrong very “too kind too stupid ” i can’t explain and it is translatable with difficulty
but if i was him,i would stop to praise the other women and i would praise my wife
Nice of him to get the biggest laughs of the night at the expense of the wife.
Probably a new twist on “Yo Mamma” jokes.
“My Wife Is So…” Jokes
the poem got the big laughs and then ben said “yes i didnt do it bcuz my wife was working” !!
ben recently said ” i dont read any of the stuff written about me or my wife” –i can now understand why…
jen didnt force him to not do it! she was foing to work so ben dropped homeland
take it easy
But that’s not all he said, was it? He had to belabor the point.
1st instance: “I don’t want to blame it on her, but…”
2nd instance: “…thank my wife who is spectacular and who puts up with me and is a doll, who is the reason I didn’t do Homeland.”
Why not just stop at “is a doll”? Why rehash the she-made-me-not-do-it?
So that would be two times directly from him, and once from someone else (the poem), that they’re making sure everyone knew who’s to blame for Affleck not getting his Homeland directorial gig.
He could have said “well, that’s a funny poem, but really, I factor in that decision, too. Now let’s move on.”
They will all skip over your post, sadly, because they want to stay with their version.
“I don’t want to blame it on her, but…”
Usually means that you really do blame it on her.
We get it already!! Your wife is an “good person or something”,
But doesn’t she deserve to be praised fully for once, without a ‘but’ at the end?
She keeps the family running, but she’s a hardass sometimes.
She is spectacular, but she keeps me away from Homeland
She is a doll, but but but but.
Stop with the butts already.
+1
i have the same feeling :he doesn’t enough praise his wife
in my opinion,he loves his family but he’s more interested by his rebound career
i’m guessing that it is from a dissonance. which one are you trying to convey to the public: ‘the american dream happy super-family’ or the ‘everyman pockmarks and all’. the problem with celebrities and the spotlight they’re constantly in (either invited or not) is that it leaves no way of being both, or even a middle ground.
either you’re above it all (white picket fence, cooking lessons, taebo and soy latte, superparents working and raising kids, no dirty laundry in public), or the “oh no we’re just like y’all people. marriage has cooled, kids through puberty, fights, stray dong, dry biscuit”.
the problem i see with how BA’s team is “selling” him ambiguously. so there’s this dissonance and the need for him to always retract himself with a but. “oh yeah, she’s a great mother, a great wife (oh damn, better say something for the everyman), but she can be blah blah blah”
if gossip news is to be believed, then for his oscar campaign he may have to redefine his target audience and as such, his image of himself and the family. either Door A: the Blanchett-Upton Family (we’re a great team! what do I mean by that? oh guess!) or the Kardashians (we fight all the time, but hey, we’re still a big happy family! just look at our christmas cards).
okay maybe not the Kardashians.
*rereads post*
oh look at me Dr.Drewing. har har.
carry on then.
interesting point !
I totally enjoyed your analysis!
@lower-case deb
I really like what you wrote – it’s really interesting! And spot-on!
It seems like he’s uncomfortable with portraying his marriage (and himself) as picture-perfect. So he goes in the opposite direction but it always at ends up at her expense. It seems like a good intention gone awry mixed in with a little *too* much honesty. For example: he consistently seems to be saying that he RESENTS her – that can’t be an accident.
If this were an isolated comment it would have been funny but it wasn’t. He could have also said something about supporting her career but of course he didn’t. The double standard is alive and well.
Thanks CB for covering this story and not the silly National Enquirer story about Garner going balistic on Affleck’s ass for staying in touch with JLo. I feel bad for Jen Garner her career is tanking, she is always made to feel second, even third best by her husband, the best thing about her is that she’s “kind”. It’s really sad that all of this “happy family” image that Ben is trying to force down our throats is all for the sake of the almighty Oscar, and not because he actually loves his family and wants to spend time with them. I never thought I would say this but maybe the best thing is for Jen to divorce his ass and just take care of her kids and herself, get some self respect back, because she is certainly not getting it from her husband.
I hate it when men thank their wives for “putting up with them.” How about working on becoming someone who doesn’t have to be “put up with”?
Word up.
You’re absolutely right! It’s such a backhanded compliment, admitting you’re a tool to live with, but lucky me, I am so hot that she’ll put up with anything!
How come that baby looks like Matt Damon?
finally i find someone who agrees with me! LOL
I was thinking the same thing! 😀
Douchebag. So his wife and kids “hurt” his fantastic career.
Does he realize that one day his daughters will read this?
I’ve never been a Jen Garner fan in the very least. I do believe many of the rumors that Jen was actively looking for an A-lister to knock her up and clawed her way into the relationship with Ben. I also feel she’s trying way too hard to sell us on the perfect family which is extremely off-putting to me. I just get this vibe that she’s this nagging superficial bitch behind the scenes and Ben passive aggressively tries to sabotage her efforts to make them seem like this perfect family. In turn, to protect her brand she then has to force him to do more photo ops of them looking like a happy family. I’m sure I’ll get flack from some for saying this but it’s just my humble opinion on Jen and Ben. I could be wrong, they could be a genuinely happy family when he isn’t sounding like a d-bag in interviews. But the harder she tries to sell it that they are this happy family and the more he gives these types of interviews, the less I believe they have any sort of happy marriage.
The fact of the matter is simple Ben doesn’t love her. She is the mother of his children but he doesn’t love her. But Jen has resigned herself to leave well-enough alone because she got EXACTLY what she wanted. As long as she can parade the kids around and he’ll consent to the occasional photo-op of them looking like an A-list happy family she’ll be content. As long as she turns a blind eye to him having sex with younger women and his partying at times, he’ll be happy. It doesn’t sound like my ideal marriage but I guess this works if both partners are superficial.
i always tought Garner fell in love of him during DAREDEVIL but he wasn’t single so she divorced and found another guy in waiting that Affleck is single.Don’t forget when they started to be together,his career was down
I totally forgot about Daredevil. So I see your point there. Like I said, my main beef is with how hard she tries to sell us on this happy family when I just don’t think it’s there, especially with his recent interviews.
You are right, his career was down when they married. I do think now that his career has picked back up he wishes he hadn’t gotten married, at the same time I think he is in stuck place because part of the reason for public acceptance again is the idea he pulled a “Johnny Depp” he’s a reformed bad-boy turned family man. The problem is, I don’t buy it in the very least. I think he’s still a bad boy and I think his marriage with Jen at this point is a superficial one.
@Leeloo: it’s suspicious because all they do is in front of paps (even Brangelina are less followed).
You can see her,their smiling kids ,him every day in gossip blogs(Popsugar ou JustJared for example)
It’s NOT an harassment à la Britney Spears’ wild period but you see his happy family every day
Are they so popular? so famous ? How many paps candids of Damon’s family or Bale’s family or Jackman’s family do you see per month? i even am not sure that you see them once per month… and they have a cute family …and they are famous
I’m not 100% sure I would go so far as to say they are less followed than Brangelina. Eh…I guess as of late you are right. Whereas I find Brangelina to be for the most part extremely authentic, there is something I find extremely inauthentic about Ben and Jen and it annoys me when they try to convince everyone that they are 100% authentic. Their photo ops seem so…contrived.
Before Daredevil, they were both in the movie Pearl Harbour (Josh Harnett was in it too). They were an item during filming but it didn’t last. Then came Daredevil. But she did get pregnant shortly after they started dating again and they married when she was about 5 months pregnant. Never a good start to a marriage IMO. Both people can end up feeling that it wasn’t what they really wanted to do and get bitter. It becomes like the elephant in the living room kind of thing – always there but no one talks about it.
Wow. You sure know a lot about these two.
No, I don’t Skipper. And nor do I pretend to. I’m sorry if my opinion of them doesn’t mesh with your own. My main beef is I am very suspicious of the image they are trying to sell.
It just seems like a strong statement to proclaim that he doesn’t love her.
if you actually love someone, you don’t make the kind of statements that he has made. End of story.
Sam is so cute! I think he looks like his mommy.
People never get his humor in print. He isn’t bitter. He did Argo, which is critically acclaimed and a hit at the box office and will be nominated for an Oscar. He’s flying high right now. Had he done the TV series, that wouldn’t have happened. I have seen him joking about Matt and Matt about Ben and his crappy career that in print would come off far differently.
Agreed, his humor doesn’t translate well to print.I don’t think what he said was horrible, I chuckled a little at it. It is a little weird that he didn’t double check with her before signing but perhaps she didn’t know when they would start shooting.
Yikes, y’all are harsh.
I did not get “resentment” from this. What I got was a colorful anecdote about life with both spouses in the business.
I think he’s honest. I think that a lot of parents find the balance a tough thing to manage and that just because he’s not Daddy Homemaker doesn’t make him a douche. He chose a Martha Stewart wannabe to be the mother of his children. And like most good girls, she likes his bad boy side. A side that hasn’t been seen in quite a while I might add. (Just because Boobs Legsly angled a rumor affair for her press gossip quotient doesn’t make it true)
Maybe he does need to “filter” better but I just don’t get the full throttle hate going on in the comments.
+1
Also, I think Ben’s humor doesn’t translate well to print. I think he is very funny, and it sounds like he was following a poem/joke which he sought to clarify in a joking manner as well… though I’m guessing that it played much differently in person.
He didn’t really choose her to be the mother of his kids she got knock up after a couple of months of dating and married very soon after.
Well, thank goodness she got knocked up then, as it gives him a family to campaign for an Oscar today.
Who says long-term investments don’t pay?
Also, I notice the lack of names there. My wife. She. Her. My wife.
As opposed to what? My cat? My dog?
Somehow, this reminds me of Judy Syfer’s “I Want a Wife” essay.
Samuel is soooo cute!!
Baby Samuel is adorable… I think he looks a lot like Jennifer right now.
Ben looks HOT!
that’s so true! i didn’t notice that before, but i’ve always been bad at face recognition.
the picture with side profile made it clearer for me.
how cute is he, chubby cheeks and serious face.
Like a few on here it’s obvious to me it was a JOKE. Words can be miscontrued in print, when they are out of context.
We all know that Ben was a womaniser when single but I don’t think he’s a ‘douche’ at all. There have been far too many little stories and BVs over the years about his acts of kindness towards complete strangers. He’s one of the good guys. I hope he gets his Oscar.
Being a douche in a relationship and being kind to strangers aren’t mutually exclusive. He can be kind to strangers, quietly do good works for charity, and still be a tool in any sort of longterm romantic relationship.
co-sign 100%. People who have never lived with my father think he is the most kindest, wonderful, funny and generous man. Those that have suffered through living with him acknowledge that while he has those qualities for the most part he is an abusive, violent pr!ck.
all I can do is smile and nod when someone tells me how wonderful he is. he is 10 years older than one of his sisters and since he moved to the bush at 15 she has no memory of what he can be like and actually said to me once “you are so lucky to have **** as your father. He is such a good Dad” I just smiled and refrained from telling her that just the week before he punched me in the face because I took the sheets off the line before the towels.
Thankfully I don’t live with him anymore. The reason I’m not married or in a serious relationship? Daddy issues. I’m terrified I’ll end up with someone just like him.
Disclaimer- I am in no way saying that Ben Affleck is abusive. I’m just saying that the way a person treats strangers doesnt always correlate to the way they treat their family
slightly OT but was anyone else a little surprised by the resemblance Claire Danes to Mary Louise Parker in the beirut scenes with the brown wig and contacts?
Hey guys I can’t figure out exactly why but I have never seen anything remotely pretty about Jennifer Garner. I think she’s kind of gross looking actually. I’m serious. Does anyone else think that?? Oh and her “cheery all the frickin time” personality gets on my nerves too.
Sometimes you have to compromise and/or sacrifice in a relationship and I think the reality is that yes, it can sometimes suck to have to do that. But I don’t think the problem is saying that it sucks sometimes. To me, that’s just reality. We can’t always get what we want and when you’re an adult, you realize that. I’m pretty sure that’s one of life’s lessons. Thinking that you can always get your way is pretty immature imo when it comes to relationships.
I think the problem comes if you can’t get over it. OR, if you do end up compromising too much of your own values and integrity.
Whether that’s what’s going on here, who really knows. I’d be willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt for now. And no one’s holding a gun to Jen’s head, you know? She’s making a choice too as much as anyone else.
And if they’re both obessed with image and marketing, then that’s the row they’re gonna hoe, I guess, until they decided to use another strategy for living their lives.
Can I just vent about one more thing? Garner is on record saying Affleck wants more kids and is already pressuring her for #4 yet he’s grousing constantly about spending time with them. The constant putdowns of his wife and mother of his kids aren’t funny.
Wow! I thought I was the only one who found Ben to be smug and condescending.Without Jen staying home and doing all that she does,their is no way he would be able to achieve the career that he so clearly wants.
Everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that Homeland’s casting director brought the subject up FIRST. Ben didn’t just decide to talk about this–SHE did.
He was making a lighthearted reply.
Yeah, that was my takeaway too, actually. He has that kind of humour that doesn’t always translate well on paper AND more than anything, it’s just an opportunity for bloggers to make up stories and get page hits. Create controversy where there is none. It’s just too easy to pile on someone on the internet and he’s no exception. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t make him devil incarnate, FFS.
The problem is not so much the single incident, but the fact that he consistently seems resentful and passive-aggressive, even disparaging, in his comments about her. His praise is, at most, faint, whereas she seems to adore him. But hopefully all these soundbites don’t add up to as much as they seem.
Ben’s career resurgence is amazing, he is literally on top of the world right now, is in demand and can pretty much pick and choose whatever project he wants. Jen’s on the other hand is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the toilet… Inevitably Ben will take projects that will keep him away from his family, his marriage will suffer, he’ll continue to be an absent father and husband and will probably have an affair with a co-star again, this is what happens in Hollywierd, their marriage cannot sustain this kind of fame, especially when the other half is resentful and unhappy. This same time next year we will not be talking about Ben or Jen’s awesome movie, Oscar campaigns, or babies, we will most likely be talking about their separation and ultimate divorce. Ben has his career back, even as a divorced man he will continue to be known as a great director, he has already established that, divorce won’t hurt him, not seeing his kids will not bother him he’ll see them when he can. Jen is in her forties and it’s difficult to have a career in Hollywood at that age if you are a woman unless you are Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts. Jen is done…
What a f*ckwad.
The dad and son matching plaid shirts in the picture would be cute – except it’s Ben Affleck and I don’t get the feeling that he’s that “into” his family. I don’t feel like they really have his focus. So matching plaid shirts ceases to be cute when thet’s the case.
When does she actually do acting work? I will give him a pass, his comments don’t bother me.
Forget all the other sideways “compliments,” I’d be pissed enough at my husband saying “I’m a doll.” Truly, that is the faintest praise. It’s like saying, “she’s got a great personality.” Agree with the other posters, it’s one big BUT with this guy.
That baby Samuel is such a cutie!
I think he and Harper Beckham could be a thing around 2030.
I guess none of us have ever directed and acted in a potentially Oscar nominated film to understand the dedication and pressure involved. Why so harsh on Ben?! Most of these quotes are taken out of context so when he refers to Jen as a doll, he means it. She is! I like them and am not suspicious in the least. At least they prioritize the kids as a couple/family.
WAIT…Ben is saying all of this now, but at the time, he had no idea that Homeland would become such a hit show. However, would it have become such a hit show with Ben directing? Maybe not…whoever has directed has done a fantastic job. I wouldn’t change that up for anything….thanks, but no thanks, Ben. And as for letting us know that YOU could have directed it, except for the fact that you and your wife have an agreement…. well, better left unsaid, don’t you think? She has to miss out, too, due to your schedule, but has she complained yet? I LOVE Jennifer Garner, what a nice person, good wife and mother. Everyone knows that the woman as mother really has the more hands on role with the children in most cases…just a little reminder, BEN.
Samuel looks skeptical.
Agree 100% with Leeloo.
Ben has a self-deprecating sense of humor that a lot of people miss. He is between projects, hence plenty of time with his family. The paps camp in front of their home and follow them around.
Samuel looks like he just woke up from a delicious car nap.
He’s mean and disrespectful, not to mention full of spite.
You guys are taking this all out of context as usual. What brought this up was at the casting awards the other night Libby something or other, who won an award for Homeland, wrote and read a poem to the audience ribbing Ben about having to opt out of directing the pilot for Homeland that has gone on to great success. She mentioned that everyone they got came on board the project because Ben’s name, at that time, was attached to it and everyone wanted to work with him. She mentioned in the poem that he gave it up because of Jen.
When he got up to accept his award he responded to Libby’s poem. It was all in fun, and they were joking about it. Go google the poem and read it, it was quite funny.
He wasn’t be demeaning to Jen at all and you guys on here are all so quite to jump to the wrong conclusion. Happy/Positive disposition much???????????