The movie Ben Affleck was warned against making: “Everyone told me to pass on that”
Ben Affleck has done it all, from his Oscar win at just the age of 25 to his iconic portrayal of Bruce Wayne or the messiness of his personal life and his on-and-off relationship with Jennifer Lopez. He is one of the most weathered stars in the business, with infamous images being leaked on the internet. He sadly clutches at a bag of Dunkin’ Doughnuts with a face as though he has seen the dark side of hell. However, despite his always entertaining presence online, he has forged monumental success in the movies, working both on-screen and off-camera in a myriad of roles.
Over the years, he has become most well-known for his role in films like Gone Girl, Good Will Hunting, Dazed and Confused and through his beloved iteration of Batman. However, while his credits glitter with independent and commercial success, there was one film Affleck starred in that he was advised not to take part in, despite its later sweeping success at the Oscars.
Marketing campaigns have blown out of control in recent years, with the release of A Complete Unknown coming alongside a barrage of advertising campaigns and personalised products to boost its visibility. However, the idea of Oscar lobbying was first pioneered after the release of Shakespeare in Love, in which the Weinstein brothers were desperate for their new company, Miramax, to compete with the biggest studio projects in competition at the awards circuit, adopting a new technique to increase awareness of their film which led to the films controversial win in 1998.
While the film is now inseparable from the cinematic impact of the Weinstein brother’s lobbying process, which has changed the current landscape of the film industry, the film was not always held in such high regard, with Affleck being warned away from working on the project by fellow director Michael Bay.
When describing this, Affleck said, “Everybody told me to pass on that. Michael Bay said, ‘Don’t do some Shakespeare movie in tights’. People said, ‘It’s not a lead. You’re doing somebody else’s movie, and this is like some art movie, and you got to build a career as a leading man, and you’re coming off Armageddon and on and on. And besides Gwyneth, there are a bunch of British actors in it, and nobody has heard of Joseph Fiennes’. But I loved it. I saw Joe’s screen test and thought that he was tremendous. I loved the script and I loved all those actors, like Judi Dench, and it was intimidating. I thought, ‘At least I’ll get the chance to prove to people that I can do this’.”
Despite the hesitation about Affleck’s part in the film, the film reached levels of success that were completely unexpected, with widespread shock at the film’s win and speculation over the ethics of the marketing campaign, especially given that people didn’t think it was deserving of this acclaim.
However, Affleck wanted the chance to stretch his wings, saying, “A lot of people could have done Armageddon, but this was a stretch. I was going to do a British accent. And to be in the company of some of those extraordinary actors and not be completely wiped off the screen was what I wanted. I am so glad I did it. People cautioned me about doing Dogma, and I’m glad I did that one, too”.
