Ben Affleck's Casting Search Almost Ended in an On-Screen Reunion With Jennifer Garner
Ben Affleck is the co-writer, director and star of Animals, which premieres Oct. 9 on Netflix, and he took over the lead role himself rather than stay behind the camera. As he recounts how the casting came together, he describes a game of musical chairs that nearly ended in an on-screen reunion with his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. The reunion didn't happen, which leaves the most talked-about version of the film permanently hypothetical.
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A near-miss is often the better story. An actor-director almost casting his ex-wife opposite himself is the kind of detail that sells the interview, and the finished film never has to live up to it.
Or the film could have gained something: two people with a long shared history acting opposite each other is hard for an audience to look away from, whatever the movie turns out to be.