Ben Affleck remembers Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lopez in career lookback

Ben Affleck is getting a little nostalgic — and maybe a little sentimental — while looking back on some of the biggest movies of his career, and yes, his famous exes Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Lopez came up along the way.

In a new interview with GQ published Thursday, April 17, Affleck, 52, opened up about joining the cast of 1998’s Shakespeare in Love.

Turns out, he wasn’t aiming for a leading role but was definitely intrigued by the project — and maybe the fact that then-girlfriend Paltrow, now 52, was starring had something to do with it.

“I read that script, remains the best script that I’ve ever read. I was never gonna play a lead,” Affleck shared.

“When I read that Joe Fiennes was playing the lead, I read it because I was dating Gwyneth at the time — or I don’t know if I read it because of that, but I remember that she was going to be in it. I read it and loved that character. It was like the actor who’s full of himself and I thought it was very funny.”

He didn’t stop there.

Affleck gushed about the screenplay itself, adding, “And more than that, I like the idea of a Tom Stoppard screenplay, you know, to me just seemed like this is amazing. This brilliant guy has actually written a screenplay for the movies and it was the best screenplay I’ve ever read. I loved it and I loved making the movie and it was a thrill and an honor to do.”

Affleck and Paltrow’s on-and-off romance wrapped up in 2000, but just a few years later, another leading lady came into his life.

Reflecting on 2003’s Daredevil, Affleck shared his appreciation for working with Jennifer Garner, now 53.

“I love the comic book and I loved working with Mike Duncan and Colin [Farrell] and Jen Garner,” he said.

“It wasn’t the adaptation ultimately that, like, I thought was the best version of what it could have been and that was disappointing.”

Life quickly imitated art when Affleck and Garner’s offscreen relationship blossomed. They married in 2005, welcomed three kids — Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel — and although they eventually announced their separation in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2018, Affleck still speaks fondly about that time in his life.

Of course, no trip down memory lane would be complete without mentioning Jennifer Lopez.

Affleck reminisced about starring with Lopez, now 55, in the 2004 film Jersey Girl.

“Oh my god, I love doing that movie too. I love Kevin. We had a beautiful time together. Vilmos Zsigmond shot that movie,” he said.

“Jen was great, Liv [Tyler] was great and George Carlin was such a … Raquel [Castro], the actress played the young girl, you know, by the way, she’s like, 30 now or some crazy thing. But George was a wonderful guy and a hero of mine. And to get to work with him and get to know him was an honor and a treat.”

Affleck and Lopez first got engaged in the early 2000s, called it off, then famously rekindled their romance in 2021 before tying the knot in 2022. Sadly, Us Weekly confirmed that Lopez filed for divorce in August 2024, with their split finalized by January.

Through all the career highs and personal rollercoasters, Affleck seems to be looking back with a lot of love — and just the right amount of humor — for the roles and relationships that shaped his journey.