Ben Affleck has featured in over 50 movies since he and Matt Damon made a significant impact with their 1997 breakout film, *Good Will Hunting*. The film, which they co-wrote, propelled them to the forefront of Hollywood.
In the years that followed, Affleck experienced a mix of successes and setbacks in his career. While he landed some noteworthy roles, he also faced challenges due to several high-profile flops, including his poorly received performance in Michael Bay’s *Pearl Harbor*. Additionally, his personal life drew heightened media attention due to his relationship with Jennifer Lopez.
Despite these challenges, Affleck remained determined to pursue major roles with some of the film industry’s top directors, including Steven Spielberg, seeking opportunities to demonstrate his substantial acting abilities.
However, even someone like Ben Affleck isn’t guaranteed success in every pursuit. To date, he hasn’t collaborated with the renowned Spielberg. As it turns out, Spielberg had a very specific reason for not hiring the *Armageddon* star, a reason that many fans have criticized as unfair.
On the *One Bad Movie* podcast, writer and director Mike Binder shared his attempt to cast Affleck in his 2005 film *Man About Town*. Both parties were eager to work together.
However, the plan was thwarted when Spielberg, a legendary figure in the industry, was consulted. When Binder mentioned Affleck’s recent setbacks to Spielberg, the director offered a personal reason for his reluctance to hire him, unrelated to Affleck’s acting talent.
Binder recounted Spielberg’s story, saying: “One time, he was going with my goddaughter Gwyneth [Paltrow] and we all went on a trip to Spain. My son was a little boy who was playing in the pool and he got out of the pool. Ben came in fully dressed and my son pushed Ben into the pool. Ben got really mad at him and he came out of the pool and he picked him up and he threw him back into the pool and made my son cry.”
Binder noted that Spielberg added, “I just don’t like to work with him,” causing podcast host Stephen Baldwin to react with disbelief at Spielberg’s rationale for not collaborating with Affleck.
The reasoning was not only questioned by Baldwin but also criticized by viewers, with one commenting: “Hold up… do I hate Spielberg now? Because the fuck is this bulls**t.”
When Binder informed Affleck that Spielberg was preventing his casting, Affleck immediately understood the reason. “Did Steven Spielberg tell you I threw his kid in the water? Is that why I am not on the movie?” Binder recalled Affleck saying.
Binder approached Spielberg again, insisting that Affleck was ideal for the role. Nonetheless, the entire project was ultimately dropped by Dreamworks.
Despite Spielberg’s apparent aversion to Affleck, the two were seen embracing at the Academy Awards three years later, following Affleck’s Oscar success for *Argo* (2012), which won Best Picture, surpassing Spielberg’s entry.
Binder couldn’t resist making a lighthearted comment to Affleck after witnessing their reconciliation: “I text him… Ben tonight you could throw Spielberg’s whole family in the pool and get away with it.”