Ben Affleck Explains Why Ex Jennifer Garner Won’t Play His On-Screen Wife in New Movie

Ben Affleck revealed why plans to work with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner on his new movie ultimately fell through.

Affleck, 54, discussed how the casting for his upcoming Netflix thriller, Animals, changed dramatically before filming began, according to a report Entertainment Weekly published Monday, September 14.

“I thought, ‘God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role,'” Affleck told the outlet. “It also has the added benefit of, like, both of us will see our kids more because we do a week and a week and back and forth. I thought, ‘Well, we can coordinate our schedules around it.'”

According to the article, the original plan had Garner, 54, playing the onscreen wife of Matt Damon, who was set to star in the film while Affleck directed. But after Affleck scrapped the project and later decided to revive it, Damon, 55, was no longer available because he was working on The Odyssey. Affleck stepped into the lead role himself, which meant he and Garner would now be playing a married couple whose relationship was falling apart.

The exes ultimately decided their real-life history could be distracting.

“I talked to Jen, and she was like, ‘We don’t wanna do that. You just get baggage,'” Affleck said.

Kerry Washington ultimately took over the role.

But Affleck made it clear there’s no bad blood.

“I would love to work with her, frankly,” he explained. “She’s fabulous, and we’re really good friends, and I’m profoundly grateful to her, and we have a great thing. 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, you know?”

As First For Women previously reported, Garner honored Affleck’s bond with their three kids — Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14 — in a Father’s Day Instagram tribute, writing, “I see the way my kids dote on their dad and I’m happy for them. To love and be loved by a great dad is a gift.”