“I fucking hate the show”: Why Ben Affleck refused to watch ‘Homeland’
For a time, nobody embodied ‘the movies’ quite like Ben Affleck. A handsome leading man with a string of box office hits and relationships with glamorous actors and singers? It doesn’t get more Hollywood than that! Though his career has fluctuated wildly since his glory days, for those of a certain age, Affleck remains a living symbol of cinema. Whist he’s made his biggest impact on the big screen, however, he hasn’t entirely ignored the small one.
When he was just a child, Affleck appeared on the PBS show The Voyage of Mimi. As a young man, he starred in a miniseries for NBC called Against the Grain, which was inspired by the same book that would give rise to Friday Night Lights. That’s pretty much it for his involvement in television, bar a brief cameo in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but if things had gone differently, he might have played a major part in a hugely successful series.
At the Artios Awards, which celebrate the work of casting directors, Affleck told a story about how he was supposed to direct the first episode of Homeland. “I was sure nothing would happen with the show. Now I hate the fucking show. I’ve never seen it,” he joked (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I’m going to attach myself to 14 pilots this year.” He explained that he and Jennifer Garner, his wife at the time, had an agreement regarding their children. They would take it turns to spend time with their three kids whilst the other went off to pursue professional projects. It was Garner’s turn to go to work, so Affleck had to turn the opportunity down.
Not to rub Ben’s face in it, but Homeland went on to become a massive success. Starring Damian Lewis as a soldier recently released from an al-Qaeda prisoner, the show followed CIA agent Carrie Mathieson (Claire Danes) as she attempted to convince the world that he had been brainwashed by the terrorist cause. Well, that was the plot, until they inexplicably killed of Lewis’ character and then decided to keep making the show. Weird choice, that.
Following the pilot, which ended up directed by Michael Cuesta, the show ran for eight seasons and a total of almost 100 episodes. It won eight Primetime Emmys, five Golden Globes, two People’s Choice Awards, and a Peabody Award for ‘Area of Excellence’. Whilst future seasons got good reviews, the first season remains the most acclaimed. For directing the pilot, Cuesta co-won the Emmy for ‘Outstanding Drama Series’. Again, not to rub Ben’s face in it…
Affleck is, of course, no stranger to directing. He’s made five feature films, including ‘Best Picture’ winner Argo, and is set to direct Animals, an upcoming Netflix movie. Whilst he’s never directed a TV episode, he has served as a producer on a number of episodic projects. He executive produced and wrote two episodes for the 2002 mystery series Push, Nevada, but that was cancelled after one season. Recently, he worked on the Holocaust series We Were the Lucky Ones starring Joey King.
He might have missed out on stamping his name on a major TV show, but Affleck really missed out on not watching Homeland. Maybe he’ll get over his jealousy one day and give it a binge. He won’t be disappointed.
