It’s fair to say that Ben Affleck is a man of many talents. He can act, write and direct and, if that weren’t enough, he’s also a skilled producer, with those skills having earned him one of his Oscars. Those who’ve long followed Affleck’s career and personal life may also be aware that he’s bilingual, as he can speak Spanish fluently. He was able to put that skill to use in his latest 2026 movie schedule entry, Animals. CinemaBlend recently spoke to two of Affleck’s co-stars, and they shared a funny take on his “sexy” delivery of the language.
This 2026 Netflix movie release sees Affleck (who also directs) playing mayoral candidate Mark Kimball, who – along with his wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington) – experiences a crisis when their son is kidnapped. Mark and Abigail’s crisis ultimately has far-reaching ramifications, and married undocumented immigrants played by Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez end up being drawn into it. When CB spoke to Méndez and Paz, who are both of Mexican descent, we asked about their director/co-star’s Spanish, and Paz said:
It's good, it's good. I never imagined that he speaks Spanish, and he loves Mexico so much. Of course, he had a good coach.
Believe it or not, the “coach” Paz referred to wasn’t a specified member of the crew but instead Méndez. In fact, as the Me Time alum explained, Affleck told him directly that he wanted him to be his dialect coach. Méndez did indeed assist his colleague and, while Affleck ultimately nailed it, his Spanish also sounded “very sexy.”
There's actually a really funny reason for this, and I'm so glad Méndez told us about it. It all goes back to Affleck's formative years...
I was there when he had a big monologue. It would be like, ‘Ben, don't say the word like [that], please.’ But he has to have very good Spanish. He does a funny thing. Because he grew up watching Mexican soap operas because he was working in Mexico when he was 13 or 14 or whatever. So when he speaks Spanish, he speaks like an actor from a soap opera in the ‘90s. He starts speaking like, ‘Hola, guapo. Like, how you doing?’ [In] this very sexy voice, which is weird, but yeah. His Spanish is very good.
Anyone who’s seen a telenovela can likely tell you that many of them are very over-the-top, and that motif extends to the way actors deliver dialogue. Honestly, that’s pretty much a trope of many soap operas at this point.
However, it’s cool and funny to hear that it worked for the purposes of Affleck’s latest role. Paz also spoke to the significance of the filmmaker speaking her native language in the film:
I think it's very amazing that he wants to speak in Spanish. That gives reality to the movie. Because in some movies it is like when they talk with the Latinos or Mexican characters, they are all speaking in English. No, and with [an] American accent. So it was great. When he's speaking with Ramon, he tries to speak in Spanish and I think it was great that he did that.
On the whole, this movie was a bit of a passionate project for Affleck, who was originally set to direct the film with his buddy, Matt Damon, and his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, playing the lead roles. However, the project was eventually put on the back burner and, when it was revived, Damon stepped away to film The Odyssey. Affleck decided to take on the role in Damon’s place, though Garner exited the project, after advising her ex that playing spouses may be distracting to audiences. Luckily, though, Affleck cast Washington.
All in all, Ben Affleck and his cast – which also includes beloved actors like Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson – seem to have enjoyed their time working together. The trailers suggest the stars are giving it their all and, based on Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez, audiences will also want to take note of Affleck’s sexy way of speaking spanish. Check out Animals when it becomes streamable for Netflix subscription holders starting on October 9.
