The cult icon who inexplicably hates Ben Affleck: “Kick his ass”
To say Ben Affleck has had a rollercoaster career would be a gross understatement. The Oscar-winning star burst onto the scene in the 1990s and quickly attained leading man status. He then rose again in the 2000s as one of the most acclaimed actor-directors in the game.
In between, though, his career and personal life tended to veer wildly between dizzying highs and harrowing lows. However, he generally seemed to retain the goodwill of most audiences and Hollywood colleagues. Well, all except one cult star, who never misses an opportunity to have a dig at Affleck.
The treasured star was none other than Evil Dead’s supremely chinned maestro Bruce Campbell, a man known to poke fun at anything and everything. In fact, Campbell has talked shit about so many people and projects over the years that it’s hard to tell if it’s all a joke or none of it is. Well, except for when he claimed to hate Peter Jackson and The Lord of the Rings, despite having never met Jackson and never watched LOTR. In truth, he hated the Middle Earth saga because all the good horses in New Zealand went to those productions instead of the forgotten TV show Jack of All Trades that he shot there at the same time.
The one star who had most regularly received Campbell’s barbs is Affleck – and this is where it gets slightly harder to tell if he’s simply poking fun or not. During a Comic-Con Q&A, he repeatedly jabbed at Affleck, even bizarrely claiming, “William Holden can kick Ben Affleck’s ass any day of the week.” Why exactly did he pick the Oscar-winning Stalag 17 star – who died in 1981 – as the person who could beat up Affleck? Was it because Affleck played a character named ‘Holden’ in Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy? No one knows.
Fast-forward seven years, and Campbell was at it again. When asked to wax lyrical about his Burn Notice character’s relationship problems, he mused, “These people are good at their jobs and just bad at their personal lives. It’s like most actors.” With a glint in his eye, he then gave a very specific example. “Everyone thinks it’s so glamorous that Ben Affleck is sleeping with all these different chicks,” he scoffed. “It’s only because he can’t keep a single relationship because he’s working all the time, and they’re working all the time.”
It certainly seemed like this jab would be harder to play off as a jokester pushing buttons, as it featured Campbell getting pretty personal about Affleck’s private life. Three years later, Campbell took his third public shot at Affleck, and this time, he kept it squarely professional. In fact, to the shock and horror of nerds everywhere, he questioned the actor’s credentials as Batman.
In the middle of a rant to the Los Angeles Times about the preposterous notion that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wouldn’t just end in half a second with Superman squishing the resolutely human Batman like a bug, Campbell complained about Affleck’s ‘Dark Knight’ wearing special armour to help him in battle. “Well, he’s gonna need it – he’s fighting Superman!” the cult idol exclaimed. “His face is exposed. Punch Ben Affleck in the face; you’re done. Walk away. What’s for lunch?”
So, all in all, it appears likely that Campbell has at least a low level of hatred for Affleck and everything he stands for. As for why this is the case, it’s really anyone’s guess.
