Ben Affleck is speaking out about losing both parents within months of each other.
The actor, 54, told GQ in an interview published Tuesday that his father Timothy died in April at 76 and his mother Chris died in June at 83 after battling pancreatic cancer. The back-to-back losses have left him confronting his own mortality and rethinking how he wants to spend his remaining years.
“It’s a big year of life,” Affleck said. “That’s a lot, man.”
The “Gone Girl” star explained that the deaths forced him to reflect on his childhood and upbringing in ways he hadn’t anticipated. He found himself grappling with the gap between youthful expectations and middle-aged reality.
“And the bare fact of the very fleeting nature of all of our lives kind of stares you back in the face,” he added. “Often the end of life isn’t full of wisdom and resolve. Stuff you haven’t fixed in life stays unfixed.”
Affleck admitted that his “youthful illusions” of accumulating answers and solutions as he aged had dissolved. Instead, he confronted a more sobering truth about time running short.
“You face that stuff and it makes you think, ‘Okay, how do I want to spend the rest of this time?’ Because you realize there’s not all that much of it,” he continued.
The “Good Will Hunting” star spoke warmly of his mother, calling her “pretty extraordinary and brave.” He credited her final words with deepening his appreciation for her life and choices.
“I mean, she’s an amazing woman and her death really did cause me to even more deeply and fully appreciate her and her life,” Affleck told the outlet.
He also shared one of her last reflections. “I had a great life and I have no regrets, but I thought 83 years would feel like longer,” he recalled her saying.
Affleck described both parents as “lucky” for living “long lives … longer than one’s expectation.” He summed up their span simply: “That’s kind of what you get.”
Timothy’s death was not publicly announced until September, when Casey Affleck revealed it during the 2026 Venice International Film Festival. The younger brother was there promoting his film “Company,” which he dedicated to both parents.
“It’s dedicated to my parents because I lost both my mom and my dad this year, and they were very important to me,” Casey told reporters at the event.
Chris and Timothy had married in the early 1970s and separated in 1984 before Ben and Casey reached their teenage years. Despite the early split, both remained significant figures in their sons’ lives.
While Affleck did not detail specific plans for how he’ll restructure his time, he has identified his three children as his main focus. He shares Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Sam, 14, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
“You appreciate your parents in different ways, and you think about your own mortality and your own life and your own children and what you want to do with it,” Affleck said.
The double loss comes during a period of personal transition for Affleck, who has continued working while navigating high-profile relationships and co-parenting responsibilities. The GQ interview marks his most extensive public comments on the deaths to date.
