Ben Affleck finds ‘predictable’ characters ‘not interesting’

Ben Affleck revealed what makes a role “interesting.”

Recently, speaking with GQ on One More Question, Ben shared that he does not pretend to portray himself as perfect, saying, “Once you’ve been, however briefly, the world’s leading example of the beleaguered man having a cigarette behind his house, and people look at a picture of you and go, ‘Yeah, I felt that way too’—I’m not going to try to pretend that everything I do has always been happy and cheerful and perfect.”

“It hasn’t, right?” the argo star continued, “But that’s kind of who we all are, right? That’s the point.”

That’s the reason he is drawn to roles that feature “tarnished leading man.”

The Oscar winning filmmaker went on to say, “I don’t think any good actor’s interested in playing somebody who’s two-dimensional or just particularly virtuous.”

“It’s always, ‘Become this guy and he’s the best. He’s the best there ever was at whatever it is.’ It becomes predictable,” he added.

Noting, “I f---ing don’t want to have my hands tied and be like, ‘No, your character wouldn’t say that or can’t say this.’ It’s just not interesting.”

“And if my life and the events of it, or at least the perception of them have contributed to allowing me to do that, well then great. That’s a silver lining,” the Hollywood star shared further.

It is pertinent to mention here that Ben Affleck's upcoming movie Animals is set to hit theaters on October 9, 2026.