Ben Affleck shares personal struggles in revealing interview

The Argo star dishes on some of his biggest struggles including addiction, divorce — and his big break with the disgraced movie mogul.

It’s no secret that Ben Affleck has endured some personal struggles in recent years.

But now he’s finally in a good place, with an upcoming action movie, Triple Frontier, and a healthy relationship with SNL producer (with whom he has reunited), Lindsay Shookus.

In a revealing new interview with news.com.au, the Oscar-winning actor-director considers his relationship with his former wife, Jennifer Garner, as well as disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein.

“Oh, I have plenty of regrets,” he nods, slowly.

“But I don’t focus on them too much.”

Weinstein co-founded Miramax, the company that took a financial risk producing Good Will Hunting, the film that gave Affleck and Matt Damon their 1997 break into Hollywood — and resulted in them taking home their first Oscar.

“It’s something that you have to reconcile when somebody that you know and work with turns out to have a very different side to them,” Affleck says now of Weinstein.

“I’m grateful to them [Miramax] and I’m glad that I got a break, and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to get that movie made, as well as others.

“But, obviously, the memory is now coloured by these extremely disturbing facts that have come to light.”

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon celebrate winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting at the 1998 Academy Awards.

Affleck’s struggles with alcohol addiction are well documented (he received treatment in 2001 and 2017, as well as a brief stint last year), and ex-wife Jennifer Garner, mother of their three kids, remains an integral part of his life.

In fact, she staged the 2018 intervention to help him back into rehab, following his fling with model Shauna Sexton.

“I’m lucky. I have a pretty good support system of people in my life. I have a therapist, I have all those kinds of relationships and people who help me,” he acknowledges.

“Time with my kids is the most important thing to me now, and it’s definitely the thing that I chase after the most and protect the most.”

His relationship with Garner is a glowing example of how to co-parent after divorce.

“We have one of those shared calendars that we can both access, which makes things a little bit easier, and I call her to make sure I have everything she’s added to it.

“If it weren’t for that love of organisation, I would constantly miss soccer and karate and all the stuff they do.”

Affleck and ex-wife Jennifer Garner are capable co-parents — and sing the praises of shared calenders. Picture: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1

As any parent knows, there’s nothing like having children to give you perspective.

“My kids definitely open my eyes in all kinds of ways. A lot of times it’s just discussions about the world, what’s going on,” he said.

“They ask questions that force me to re-evaluate assumptions that I have, and I think, ‘Well, how do I explain this?’ And that’s a really nice thing.

“And you know you’re getting old when you’re getting exposed to music through your kids.”

Speaking of age, in heist movie Triple Frontier Affleck stars alongside Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal, all of whom are Special Forces veterans who band together to raid the house of an infamous drug lord and relieve him of his millions.

How does it feel to be the oldest on the team?

“Hey, I just look like the oldest. I’m actually 27 years old,” he jokes.

“I love Oscar and Charlie and Garrett and Pedro. It’s just a wonderful group. They don’t make me feel too old. I still keep it together. I can still run with the 40-year-olds.”

The pursuit of money is the driving force behind the storyline.

Affleck, who boasts a reported net worth of US$130 million, is a long way from his humble beginnings raised in Boston with his younger brother (and fellow Oscar-winner) Casey, by a single mum on a primary school teacher’s wage.

Once he decided to become an actor, he continued to struggle to make ends meet.

Affleck in a scene from his latest film, Triple Frontier. Picture: Netflix via AP

“Oh gosh, I didn’t even have health insurance for a long time. I wanted to be an actor without having to say, ‘I’m an actor and a dishwasher’ or ‘I’m actor and a bartender’,” he explains. “Money was just a means to an end. I wanted to feel good calling myself an actor.”

Affleck is known around Hollywood to be magnanimous with his good fortune.

“I’m definitely very generous; I really believe in helping other people and in giving away money. I give to philanthropies and feel like it shouldn’t be hoarded. Certainly, it’s good to share, but, obviously, you have to have a balance,” he says.

“Once I started having kids and having that kind of life, my focus was less on what can I buy for myself. I don’t remember the last thing I bought that was super-extravagant.”

In a reflective mood, Affleck considers the choices he made in his youth. What would he tell himself if he could go back in time and talk to his younger self?

“Well, you wonder whether you’d be in a place to hear or take the advice that you would give your younger self. The late ‘90s were fun and filled with opportunities. All of a sudden I was getting to do stuff that I had never had a chance to do,” he smiles.

“And through that, I didn’t get too carried away with it, thinking ‘Oh, I’m the greatest’.”

Mindful that he did not have the support of a loving (extended) family, he recognises that his current situation could be very different.

“Oh, I’m very lucky. I have this great family, I’m really happy with my career, so I don’t go around saying, ‘Oh, if I only had this, then I’d really be happy!” he said.

“I realise that I’m very fortunate.”

Triple Frontier comes to Netflix on March 13.