Ben Affleck has finally revealed the actual reason why he doesn’t like to take on as many lead roles in films now. Affleck, who is all set to appear in The Tender Bar, which is a drama by George Clooney, is one of the most recognizable actors working today. Ben also happens to be an Oscar-winning director and writer. Starting with films like Good Will Hunting (for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay), Affleck has gone on to star in various hit films, including The Town, Argo, and Gone Girl, as well as appearing as DC’s Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and later in  Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Ben Affleck Has Been Doing More Supporting Roles Now

Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck

However, Affleck has recently changed his course in his acting career, previously appearing in The Last Duel in a supporting role opposite Matt Damon, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer. While the film was a box office disappointment, earning a little over $30 million on a budget of more than $100 million, it has done well among critics, with many critics even praising Affleck’s performance. Affleck will be next appearing as Uncle Charlie in The Tender Bar, a father figure to the film’s protagonist J.R., played by Tye Sheridan.

In a recent interview with THR, Affleck went deeper into detail regarding why he’s liking doing more supporting roles right now in his career. As per Affleck, lead roles usually have less flexibility in terms of characterization. The Batman star argues that, when there’s lots of money involved on the line, protagonists have to stay “relatable” to the audiences. However, supporting characters aren’t put in these same boxes, says Affleck, and gives actors more room to explore “flaws.”

Here are Affleck’s full comments below:

“When you’re the protagonist, you have to do this and you can’t do that and there’s a certain essential virtuousness that has to be present or people think, ‘Well, the audience will lose their ability to identify with this person, and then we’ll lose $100 million.’ That may be true in the case of $100 million, but I’ve found it more interesting and always have, actually, to play rich characters. The similarity, for me, is playing parts in films where I’m not the protagonist, whether it was Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, The Last Duel or [The Tender Bar] where I get to be somebody on the side who is allowed to be more complicated, flawed and interesting.”

Although Affleck has a lot of hit leading roles on his resume, he also has numerous infamous duds, including Man About Town, Daredevil, The Last Thing He Wanted, and Live By Night, among others. Affleck still has the charisma to play a lead character, but exploring more complicated roles in new ways seems to be a more compelling option for him right now.

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