Ben Affleck recently revealed why he nearly gave up his A-List career as a Hollywood actor, producer, and writer six years ago.
Affleck has enjoyed incredible success in his life. During his more than four decades in the industry, he’s taken home two Oscars and dozens of other awards, which are achievements most will never know.
But despite all of that, he found himself in a dark place while he was starring in and executive producing Justice League in 2016. For a wealth of reasons, he spiraled to rock bottom, turned to alcoholism, and then realized he didn’t want to live the typical Hollywood lifestyle anymore.
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Affleck detailed the reasons behind that choice during a chat with Hollywood Reporter.
“[Justice League] made me go, ‘I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited.’ That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business, which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart,” he admitted.
The issues with production began when the original director, Zack Snyder, had to leave due to a death in the family. Affleck wasn’t prepared to take over, and he lost control of the situation.
Ben Affleck Got to ‘a point’ Where His Career Was No Longer ‘Creatively Satisfying’
Affleck explained that the movie was such a mess that director and producer Joss Whedon had to come in and help clean it up. Whedon said he’d “rescue” Affleck and write something that fit what was already on film.
“That was hard,” he added.
In the midst of that, the Goodwill Hunting star started drinking “too much.” And he remembers the exact day that the gravity of the situation hit him.
“I was back at the hotel in London, it was either [drink] or jump out the window. And I just thought, ‘This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable,'” he shared. “You want to go to work and find something interesting to hang onto, rather than just wearing a rubber suit, and most of it you’re just standing against the computer screen going, ‘If this nuclear waste gets loose, we’ll …’ That’s fine. I don’t condescend to that or put it down, but I got to a point where I found it creatively not satisfying.”
Interestingly, Justice League went on to be one of his biggest hits yet, which didn’t sit well with him. Before the experience, he had planned on directing his own Batman film, but he scrapped that plan and eventually returned to project more suited for him.
“I don’t want to participate in this in any way,” he remembered thinking of the DC universe while also pointing out he has no issues with the DC head James Gunn. “And I don’t want to squander any more of my life, of which I have a limited amount.”
