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Ben Affleck Reflects on His Time as Batman in Justice League

In a recent interview with GQ, actor Ben Affleck opened up about his experiences portraying Bruce Wayne, famously known as Batman, in the 2017 film Justice League. Affleck, now 52, described the experience as “really excruciating,” reflecting on the hardships he faced during production.

While Affleck noted that his difficult experiences were not solely due to the superhero genre, he expressed a lack of interest in returning to this type of role. “I’ve lost interest in what was once captivating about it to me,” he stated. He emphasized that he wouldn’t want to go through a similar experience again, attributing his struggles to a misalignment of expectations and personal challenges he faced at the time.

“A lot of it was misalignment of agendas,” Affleck explained. “At the time, I wasn’t contributing anything particularly positive to the film either; I had my own significant failings.” This sentiment resonates with how he felt on set, where he admitted to battling feelings of inadequacy as an actor and discontentment during the production of the film, which featured other notable stars like Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher.

Affleck revealed that his unhappiness affected his contribution on set, stating, “What I was bringing to work every day was a lot of unhappiness… 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.”

This isn’t the first instance where the Argo star has voiced his dissatisfaction with the filming experience. Previously, he referred to Justice League as the “worst experience” of his career. The film encountered multiple challenges, including delays, budget constraints, and significant changes to the script. Furthermore, the project underwent a dramatic shift in direction when original director Zack Snyder stepped back following a personal tragedy, leading to a last-minute takeover by Joss Whedon and extensive reshoots.

Affleck’s experience is echoed by several costars, who have publicly criticized Whedon’s behavior while filming. Gadot noted being “shocked” by his remarks towards her, and Fisher accused Whedon of abusive and unprofessional conduct. An investigation by WarnerMedia into the set dynamics concluded with some form of remedial action.

In his conversation with GQ, Affleck also highlighted another issue with Justice League: the film’s inability to connect with younger audiences. He recalled that even his own son found it scary, which he considered a significant problem. “Then I think that’s when you had a filmmaker wanting to pursue one vision and a studio wanting to attract a younger audience, resulting in conflicting goals,” Affleck explained. “And that’s a really bad recipe.”

Despite the challenges, Affleck conveyed that he enjoyed his time within the DC Universe. “I had a really good time playing Batman,” he acknowledged, mentioning his satisfaction with films like Batman v Superman, and his roles in The Flash and Suicide Squad. “Creatively, I liked the idea of portraying an older, broken Bruce Wayne, which was a vision we passionately pursued in the first film.”

Source
people.com