Professionally Ben Affleck’s an actor who’s had his ups and downs. The star’s helped make some of the best movies ever made, including Good Will Hunting and Gone Girl, but he’s also made some absolute stinkers, including the dreadful superhero movie Daredevil.
Still, Affleck’s managed to make lemonade from his misfortunes and credits one of the worst movies he ever starred in with pushing him into a new phase of his career, directing. So what film was it that made Affleck want to change his life? It was the rom-com Gigli.
“If the reaction to Gigli hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have ultimately decided, ‘I don’t really have any other avenue but to direct movies,’ which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life,” Affleck told EW. “So in those ways, it’s a gift. And I did get to meet Jennifer [Lopez], the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life.”
During the same interview, Affleck explained why he wanted to star in the comedy movie, and it mostly came down to the director Martin Brest who’d previously made Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run.
“It was a really easy choice,” Affleck explained. “I loved Midnight Run. I loved Beverly Hills Cop. I loved Scent of a Woman. Marty’s obviously enormously gifted. There was no question in my mind that this was a guy I wanted to work with… But really, what it taught me was how much everything around a movie dictates the way people see it. For being such a famous bomb and a disaster, very few people actually saw the movie.”
While Affleck’s not wrong, Gigli is a legendary box office bomb; it all worked out. Affleck went on to direct the fantastic crime drama movie The Town as well as the amazing thriller movie Argo.
He’s also Batman! Which has to count for something. Speaking of which, if you love the Dark Knight, check out our list of the best Batman actors.