Ben Affleck has had an incredible career in Hollywood that has included blockbuster superhero movies and Academy Awards. But he, like many actors, had to start small. Affleck has uncredited cameos in movies like Field of Dreams and Buffy the Vampire Slayer before he moved on to more memorable appearances. Although it turns out one of Affleck’s key early roles almost prevented him from getting another important role.
Apparently Ben Affleck Increased The F-Bomb ON Dazed And Confused
Ben Affleck has a small but memorable appearance in Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age story Dazed and Confused. It’s a role that has a fair amount of foul language, which was apparently largely a decision made by Affleck himself.
Speaking with People, Smith says that when he was auditioning for his Clerks follow-up, Mallrats, producer James Jacks, who had worked on Dazed and Confused, didn’t like it when he saw that Affleck was coming in. Smith said when he asked why, Jacks said…
Oh, because he's got a potty mouth. He's always cursing. We had him in Dazed and Confused. There were only a few uses of the word f--- in Dazed and Confused, but when Affleck got there, he increased it. Every scene he's throwing f---- around like crazy.
There’s an argument to be made that Affleck‘s ability to swear would have been a benefit, as Kevin Smith has rarely found an f-bomb he didn’t like. However, Jacks felt that Mallrats had “enough bad language,” so he didn’t want Affleck in the film.
The Mallrats Filming Experience Was Quite Different
Unfortunately for the producer, Ben Affleck was clearly “the guy” for the role of Shannon Hamilton, the manager of an upscale men’s clothing store in the mall, who becomes the romantic foil for Jason Lee over the affections of Shannon Doherty.
In many ways, language included, the roles in Dazed and Confused and Mallrats had a lot in common, as Affleck plays a bully in both, though Smith remembers the experience of working with Affleck was quite the opposite. He said…
Working with him on set over the month and change we made Mallrats out in Minnesota, that's where I fell in love with Ben Affleck and discovered who he was. He's so f------ funny, so smart, so charming. And here he was playing bullies in movies, including my own.
While Ben Affleck had already sold Good Will Hunting before he got the Mallrats gig, it’s still a key moment in his career as it led to a friendship with Kevin Smith that, despite a bumpy relationship between the two in the past, has still been important to both men.
Smith has continuously promised a Mallrats sequel, and while it has yet to be realized, considering that Smith has made sequels to everything else from his early career recently, it seems likely that the movie will eventually happen. Affleck has also at least cameoed in many of those films, so if that movie ever happens, we can expect these two to work together again.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
