|
BEN AFFLECK: Well, when I was a kid I think there was a
contrast between that hero and others in the spectrum of the comic
universe, many of whom were kind of variable chaste, boy-scout,
black-and-white, golden-age '50s comic book heroes that were predictable.
They were fighting intergalactic foes, and it was fun in a little-kid way.
But it was nothing I could identify with. As I got into pre-adolescence
and into adolescence, this guy Daredevil was more realistic. It sounds
funny to say about a guy who puts on a red suit and fights crime at night,
but it was like he was a flawed hero. You know, he had his own struggles.
He was openly religious. He had these tragic love affairs. He struggled
with himself as much as he struggled with the rest of the world. And he
didn't always do the right thing. I guess that resonated with me. He was a
ground-level guy. He wasn't fighting various other intergalactic empires,
or traveling through alternate universes. Daredevil was just a guy. In
particular he had this handicap, so he had this peculiar vulnerability
that I thought was very interesting. I credit the artists who worked on
this comic and made it, in my opinion, a significant work.
*In what ways do you relate to Daredevil?
BA: This was far afield from my daily life, putting
on the costume, doing flips fighting crime, people getting stabbed, and
operating on this melodramatic scale of good vs. evil. But one of the
things I could identify with in this movie, was what's at the center of
it. Which is in some ways, really, the love story. And the transforming
power of love, and the redemptive qualities that falling in love has. And
without going into too much detail, I can tell you that's the part I
really could identify with. And I used it - as an actor - as the
centerpiece to hold onto when sometimes it felt like, I'm trying to think
what this is like in my life, and I can't think of anything.
*How hard was it to play a blind character?
BA: Emily Watson did a great job playing a blind
person in Red Dragon and Pacino did it famously and won the Oscar for
Scent of a Woman. There's a high bar of playing blind people out there.
The issue about this, is that Daredevil is blind because of this super
power that he has, you know, this advanced hearing that allows him to
create this sort of three dimensional map using a kind of sonar of his
surroundings. But he's not blind in the way we think of people who are
blind, technically blind. I worked with a guy named Tom Sullivan, who's
blind. And he's one of these guys who jumps out of airplanes, is really
good skier, and makes you feel really inadequate. He helped me realize how
one who is blind uses his other senses. But the big cheat for me was that
I was able to use these opaque contact lenses, which I couldn't see out of
at all.
*What do you feel is the public attraction to
somebody like Daredevil?
BA: I think it's a reflection as people feel more
and more in jeopardy, that they want their guardians, the watchmen, the
policemen. Even the vigilantes. There's more sympathy for that. I think
that trend means that more people are interested in stories about heroes,
and people being out there trying to protect us at large. I don't know if
that'll help us or hurt us with the movie, or if it's really relevant. But
I do think it's interesting to note that societally we're more willing all
of a sudden to be less restrictive of the people who are protecting us.
And maybe less judgmental of them.
*What was it like co-starring with Jennifer Garner
in Daredevil?
BA: Jennifer is so up with people. You keep thinking
that there has to be a dark side. You know, some twisted deep underbelly
of something under there. But as far as I can tell, there really isn't.
Jennifer was professional, really patient. I think if she has a flaw,
she's sometimes too patient, too indulgent. She puts out too much when she
should be saying, wait a minute, this is not exactly my job. She's kind of
that nice. It's a product of her upbringing. She's a girl from West
Virginia, very well mannered, very smart. And one of the great things
about Jennifer is she really doesn't know how beautiful she is. There are
a lot of women who are not only aware of that, but particularly in this
business are subconsciously constructed to use their physical attributes
to trade on their sexuality and their beauty. That's what is valued about
them, to put it out there and keep it up, with plastic surgery. And it
really isn't about that with Jennifer. I don't think she thinks that she's
as drop dead gorgeous as she is. And I think that is what gives her this
incredibly appealing quality. You know, where she's more than the
girl-next-door because she is va-va-voom. But also she's not threatening.
I think women look at her and don't say, she's going to try to seduce my
husband. They feel like, she's somebody I could trust. And as far as
working with her, she's better at the action stuff than I was. Flat out,
no question about it, she's just better at it.
*What's it like having your private love life in the
public spotlight all the time?
BA: It's so weird. I've been in a public
relationship before, with Gwyneth. But it wasn't quite the same thing. And
I don't know what's different about this. I didn't anticipate things would
be different. I just thought, okay, there's a degree of helplessness that
kind of goes along with this. But I was a little bit shocked. Now I
realize there's only so much you can say about that stuff. And then
there's somebody else, like Colin Farrell's dating Britney Spears. And
you're off the hook. But no, I'm not getting married anytime in the near
future!
*Who has been the biggest influence on your acting
career?
BA: Kevin Smith. He's the reason Good Will Hunting
got made. Kevin is the reason I have a career, and am playing meatier
roles and not being stalked by obnoxious bad guys and bullies. Kevin
believed in me, He's always been a big believer in me. I owe the guy a big
part of my career, if not the whole thing.
*How do you see your future right now?
BA: I would like to be able to work in this business
and make movies without being - as somebody put it - in the middle of the
tornado. Basically, it means the trade off is money. It just means you
don't make as much money. Right now a big part of why I'm cast in things,
I'd like to think, is that it's because I'm a great towering talent as an
actor. But I have to know it has something to do with marketability
visibility, name-on-posters, and sitting down talking with the press. And
that's the trade off. You make a bunch of money because you kind of sell
your life along with the movie. And the story of yourself and that sort of
thing. And there's part of me that wants to segue from doing that kind of
acting and work in movies, to the kind where you get to take a back seat
and there's somebody else up there talking about all their personal
details. And I'd like to do acting like I did in Shakespeare in Love. Or
come in and direct or write stuff where it's not so much about the
personal thing!
*How does Matt Damon feel about your Daredevil gig?
BA: I think he's threatened! You know, I think he
wishes he'd made that choice. So he's a little jealous. And he likes the
tights! He's like hey man, you're a superhero. As you know, Matt is a
pretty genial guy. But I think he's a little intimidated. I know he feels
a little comforted because on those lonely nights when he hears a noise in
his room, he can say honey get up and go look downstairs. And I'll go
downstairs and look!
*What do you think is the biggest misconception
about that other Jennifer in your life right now, J Lo?
BA: The common misconception is that Jennifer Lopez
trades on her good looks. The thing about Jennifer, is that she's also
somebody who wasn't told she was super beautiful in her life growing up.
She trades on and counts on this incredible work ethic. It's all hustle.
Nobody ever gave Jennifer Lopez anything. Nobody ever said, 'Hey kid,
you're going to be a star. This world's cut out for Latina women with a
different shape than Kate Moss. The whole world's your oyster.' So she
always knew, well, if it's going to happen it's going to be all on me.
She's very self reliant, very determined and very focused. And a lot of
times it's confused with naked ambition, and other unpleasant
characteristics.
*What did your mom say when People Magazine called
her about you being dubbed Sexiest Man Alive?
BA: She said, this is ridiculous. And don't get a
big head!
*Talk about showing up on Jennifer's video.
BA: I was so surprised that so many astute people in
the press missed the point. Which was to satirize the very thing that was
happening. We were in the midst of this manic, crazy paparazzi thing. We
were hiding in the bushes from photographers, while coming out of the most
mundane activities. And photos were not only published but bid on, it was
madness. I said to myself, here's an example to hold up this particular
pop culture phenomenon to the light, and ask what is this thing that we're
collectively engaged in. It's a group voyeurism, this act of paparazzism
that takes the very mundane and through the grainy prism of a long lens,
casts this other sort of light on it to make it look more glamorous, more
sexy, or different or something. Why does it fascinate people? The idea of
the video was to make people uncomfortable. And to have this degree of
voyeurism taking place that the audience watching it would think, this is
invasive. Why am I watching this? And then pass the question to
themselves: what is this process we all do? As luck would have it when we
were shooting it, the actually paparazzi showed up. We had to put them in
the video. I feel an acute sense of self-consciousness that people are
going to grow weary of this. I'm not out there saying, 'Hey, look at this!
I go shopping. I have pizzas with my girl.' I wish they weren't out there
so much. Because I understand eventually there's a limit to this, after
which it becomes nauseating. I can't really control that. The big concern
for me as an actor - because I've long since given up protesting the
process itself - is that it does get in the way of people being able to
watch your movies. Because eventually all you see is that you're inundated
with these other views of you as a real person. And it becomes harder to
suspend disbelief, and see the person as the character in the movie. And
you sit down and want to talk about the movie, but all people ever ask you
about is your personal life. If you're a people pleaser, polite or even
courteous, you want to respond to those questions. And hope the guy in the
superman shirt will be able to get back to talking about Daredevil!
Copyright 2003 by Prairie Miller
VIA CINEMAN SYNDICATE
|
