Ben Affleck doesn’t regret wild past, looks forward to future
With gambling and dating glamorous women behind him, actor Ben Affleck, 35, has settled down with actress wife Jennifer Garner, 36, and their daughter Violet Anne, 2 ½. This month, Ben celebrated the release of his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone in the UK. While promoting the movie, Ben talked about fatherhood, how his life has changed, and what compelled him to tell the film’s story.
Gone Baby Gone, which had a delayed release in England out of respect for the Madeleine McCann case, deals with the issue of child abduction, a topic Ben says, "[gives him] tremendous concern and fear as a parent." Ben also added that he doesn’t believe he would have been drawn to this project had he already had a child.
I started developing the movie a year or two before I became a parent. I don’t think I would have been drawn to this subject or directed the film if I’d already had a child. Fatherhood made my opinions change from purely academic to acutely emotional.
Adding that he believes he is a "product of everything that came before," Ben professes that he holds no regrets about his life or past relationships.
Now I’m just a happy guy. When I think about the path of my life, I know I did the right thing ending up being married to my wife, because I wouldn’t change where I am.
Gone Baby Gone was released in the US last year and stars Ben’s younger brother Casey Affleck. Casey is also a celebrity father, being a dad to Indiana August, 4, and Atticus, 5 months. Mom is Summer Phoenix.
Source: Mail Online; Photo by Ramey.
Thanks to CBB reader Chandu.
- Posted on Jun 13, 08 at 10:00AM
- Permalink
- 8 Comments
June 13th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hey, Jennifer Garner IS a glamorous woman. True, he isn’t dating her – married, but still. Kinda feels like a slight. JG is fantastic!
June 13th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
he sounds like a great guy
June 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I love Ben…he seems so real and down to earth…much like his lovely wife and gorgeous daughter…and each day it is proven why I adore this family so much…we all learn from things we’ve done and hopefully we take what we’ve learned and be better because of it…and I think Ben is a very good example of that…
June 13th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Amanda I was thinking the same thing!!! Gone Baby Gone was a great movie, Ben and Casey did a great job!
June 13th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Calm down Amanda, I don’t think this in no way meant to slight Jen G by not referring to her as “Glamorous. She is all that and more. Granted that is not the first thing that comes to mind when describing her. We all know how flexible and adaptable she is from her Alias days. We’ve seen her in lots of roles. We’ve seen her on the red carpet and at the park and the farmer’s market with Vi. In the words of the song “I’m every woman” by Whitney Houston is what describes Jen exactly. I think Ben is saying that if he had not been exposed to certain things in his life before, he would not have recognized the real thing when he saw it.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Amanda, I think the point was just that his “dating” days are behind him, and he’s settled down and married now, albeit with a glamorous woman.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Ditto Amanda! Came here to post exactly that.
Jen is fabulously glamorous!
June 14th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Happy Fathers’ Day Ben. With the past behind behind you the future looks bright ahead. Good luck. You have a beautiful baby girl and a lovely wife.