Ben Affleck Almost Cast Jennifer Garner as His Movie Girlfriend, Then Reality Hit

Ben Affleck is opening up about a casting decision that could have made his new movie“Animals”very, very awkward. The actor and director originally cast his ex-wife Jennifer Garner as his love interest, then pulled the plug on the idea after realizing audiences would bring too much real-life history to the screen.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Affleck explained that the divorce baggage would have worked against the film.“I still would wanna work with her in the future, but what you don’t wanna do is take the audience’s baggage and have it work against you,”he said. Garner was on the exact same page, telling him,“We don’t wanna do that. You just get baggage.”Kerry Washington ended up stepping into the role instead.

There’s another layer here too: Matt Damon was originally set to star before“The Odyssey”took him off the table, which pushed Affleck into the lead himself. Despite the recasting shuffle, Affleck says Garner remains a good friend and he would happily collaborate with her down the road. Would you watch an ex-couple play a couple on screen, or would that be too weird for you?