Jennifer Garner quit ex Ben Affleck's Netflix movie after sharing warning when he cast himself as her husband
Ben Affleck has revealed why he re-cast his former wife Jennifer Garner's role in his upcoming Netflix thriller, Animals.
The movie, which will be released on the streaming giant next month, was hit with a number of cast changes. Matt Damon was originally set to play the lead role of Mark Kimball, with Garner set to play his love interest.
The film first started production at the beginning of 2024 - but was halted for a brief period. When they returned, Damon was no longer available - due to his role in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
“I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role,” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly - referring to when Damon was scheduled to play the lead role in the Netflix movie.
Advert
“It also has the added benefit of - both of us will see our kids more because we do a week and a week and back and forth," he continued, telling the publication that he thought the former couple could 'co-ordinate their schedule around it'.
When Damon became unavailable, Affleck took on the lead role himself, which meant he would have to be playing Garner's on-screen husband. On top of that, the relationship, and marriage between the two characters is rocky.
“I talked to Jen, and she was like, ‘We don’t wanna do that. You just get baggage,’” he told the outlet that 'you don't want to take the audience's baggage and have it work against you'.
Garner was replaced by Kerry Washington - and although Affleck said he would 'love' to work with his 'good friend' Garner in the future, he told the outlet that
Affleck, 54, and Garner, 54, first met on the set of Pearl Harbor in 2000, making their first public appearance as a couple four years later.
In April 2025, the Argo star popped the question, and the couple quietly tied the knot just two months later in Turks and Caicos - revealing shortly after that they were expecting their first child, Violet Anne Affleck.
The former celebrity couple welcomed their second child, Seraphina Affleck, now Fin, who was born in January 2009.
They then welcomed their third child, and first son, Samuel Garner Affleck, in February 2012.
Three years later, they sadly announced they were getting a divorce.
"After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce," Garner and Affleck said in a joint statement.
"We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding."
Two years later, they officially filed for divorce - although they have stayed friends and have been co-parenting since.
In 2022, four years after Affleck's divorce to the 13 Going on 30 star was finalized, he tied the knot with his ex, Jennifer Lopez.
However, the former couple went their separate ways once again in 2024, finalizing their divorce last year.
Topics: Ben Affleck, Netflix, Film and TV, Celebrity
Kiesha Dosanjh