Ben Affleck has spoken publicly for the first time about losing both parents within months of each other.
The Oscar-winning actor, 54, revealed on Kerry Washington’s “Street You Grew Up On” podcast Wednesday that his mother, Chris Anne Affleck, died in June and his father, Timothy Affleck, died in April. The disclosure came during a wide-ranging conversation with his “Animals” co-star, recorded as the “Gone Girl” star processes the back-to-back losses.
Chris Anne passed away on June 2 at age 83 following a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She spent 35 years teaching public school children before retiring in 2008. Timothy’s death at 76 had been confirmed earlier this month by Ben’s younger brother, Casey Affleck, 51, during a press conference at the Venice International Film Festival.
Ben said the dual bereavements have reshaped how he views his own upbringing.
“I’ve certainly learned to sort of even more deeply appreciate my mom and really value and see what she did and what the sacrifice and commitment that she made and how complete it was,” he told Washington.
The actor explained that after Chris Anne’s death, he discovered letters she had written to her own parents as a young woman. The correspondence opened a window into a life he never knew she had lived.
“First off, it’s this young woman, full of life and ambition and dreams,” he shared on the podcast. “It was really fascinating. But of course, the thing that struck me was this has nothing to do with me. This woman had her own whole life for 30 years that had zero to do with me.”
Ben said his entire previous understanding of his mother had been filtered through her role as his parent. All he knew was that she “made me and my brother the absolute most important center of her life.”
“She was, I mean, gorgeous and smart and thoughtful and passionate,” he continued. “I just thought this woman’s amazing and she could do anything. She worked really hard, and she came home and did everything.”
The discovery prompted a painful realization about his own blind spots as a son.
“Probably in a way that she wants, in a way I want my children to take for granted,” he said, adding that “she did that so thoroughly and effectively over her whole life, that I didn’t even see her in a way as her own whole person apart from me. And it blew me away.”
Ben and Casey grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Chris Anne and Timothy raised them after marrying in the early 1970s. The couple divorced in 1984 when both boys were still preteens, yet each remained present enough in their sons’ lives that both eventually entered the same profession.
Ben is father to Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Sam, 14, from his marriage to ex-wife Jennifer Garner. Casey shares two adult children, Indiana, 22, and Atticus, 18, with his former wife, Summer Phoenix.
The brothers have taken markedly different paths to processing their grief publicly. While Casey broke the news of Timothy’s death during promotional duties overseas, Ben chose a more intimate setting for his first comments, sitting down with a colleague in a podcast format that allowed for extended reflection rather than a brief statement.
The “Argo” director said the losses have caused him to start “thinking about my own childhood in ways that have been a little bit different,” though he was careful not to frame his comments as a formal announcement or appeal for sympathy.
“My parents just died, both of them. In April and June,” he said simply. “So I’ve been just like, you know, not just now or anything, but it’s just sort of a big thing.”
The timing of the interview places Ben’s remarks roughly four months after Timothy’s death and two months after Chris Anne’s, suggesting a deliberate choice to speak only after some initial processing rather than in the immediate aftermath.
The podcast episode arrived as Ben continues work on “Animals,” the project that brought him together with Washington. He has not indicated whether the experience of losing both parents will influence his creative output going forward.
Ben Affleck’s next scheduled public appearance is at the Los Angeles premiere of “Animals,” though no specific date has been announced.