Ben Affleck has revealed that he nearly cast his ex-wife Jennifer Garner in his Netflix crime thriller Animals before deciding their history could bring too much “baggage” to the project.
While conversing with Entertainment Weekly, the Gone Girl star shared that he wanted to cast his ex-wife, the Family Switch actress as the leading lady in his latest directorial effort.
“I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role,” he said.
Affleck mentioned, “It also has the added benefit of, like, both of us will see our kids more because we do a week and a week and back and forth. I thought, well, we can coordinate our schedules around it.”
He also noted that he thought Garner could “bring something interesting that she hasn’t [done], that I kind of know she can do, that I don’t think she had a chance to do in one movie.”
Matt Damon was originally attached to star as Mark Kimball, but Affleck put the project on hold shortly before filming began because of scheduling issues and another similar film approaching release.
By the time Animals was revived, Damon was already set to appear in The Odyssey.
“Matt was unfortunately doing another lesser film, obviously, with Odyssey,” Affleck joked.
He noted, “He chose a smaller director and a smaller film and a smaller role for his career, and I think he’s gonna suffer for it. He’ll regret this choice.”
Affleck stepped in for Damon, but he and Garner ultimately decided against the on-screen pairing to avoid the “baggage” that could come with it.
Despite this, Affleck said he would “love to work with her” again, praising Garner as “fabulous” and saying they remain “really good friends.”
Animals
Affleck co-wrote Animals with Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray, while also starring as a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose kidnapped son forces him and his wife Abigail, portrayed by Kerry Washington, into a race against time to secure the ransom.
The film is set to release on Netflix on October 9.
