It’s fair to say that almost from his first days in Hollywood, Ben Affleck has had more than his fair share of haters. For whatever reason, some people just love to diss the multi-Oscar-winning producer, writer, director, and actor. I’m not one of those haters. I’ve been a fan of Affleck's movies ever since I watched Dazed and Confused and Mallrats on repeat in college in the ‘90s. One of the things I like about him is that he is definitely self-aware and always a little self-deprecating–two traits I really admire. He showed both those qualities during a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
In the interview, Meyers brought up Affleck winning the celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, with the grand prize being donated to the Eastern Congo Initiative, Affleck’s charity in the DR Congo. Affleck immediately gave credit to his partner, 31-time Jeopardy! Champion Jamie Ding, one of the biggest winners in Jeopardy! history. Affleck told Meyers he was hesitant to play at first, until he was told who he would be partnered with. As Affleck explained when the pitch was made to him:
‘What, you want me to make a fool out of myself?’ He’s like, ‘I’m gonna put you with the smartest man in the world.’ I go, ‘That sounds like a plan.’
So there’s that first quality I appreciate: he’s self-aware of what he thinks are his limitations. Though, as Millionaire showed, he’s being a little self-deprecating there. He was even more so when he followed up that answer with a comment about how people constantly underestimate him. Affleck said:
Yeah, I mean, but this has been consistent in my life. I don’t know what it is that set such a low bar of expectations. I’ve had something of a colorful history. But people don’t necessarily anticipate great success with me.
It’s not just movie fans or people in Hollywood, either. Apparently, that goes even more for his personal life, too. As Affleck added:
So, I get the sense, especially people from home, they’re like, ‘unfucking believable.’ I get texts that are like, ‘Still got the horseshoe up your ass, I see.’ Thanks, nice to hear from you, Sully.
Watch the whole exchange here:
I have to say, as a former resident of Boston, “Sully” is perfect for the joke. That aside, it is kind of incredible that after decades of success in Hollywood with movies like Good Will Hunting, Argo (both of which he won Oscars for), The Town, and, you know, playing Batman, people still love to cut Affleck down. Most recently, we have Animals, which hits the 2026 movie schedule this week and can be viewed with a Netflix subscription. Maybe it really is because of his “colorful history,” as he alludes to. I don’t get it.
It’s the Gone Girl star who always gets the last laugh, though, as he just keeps churning out great movies both in front of and behind the camera.
