Ben Affleck Revealed the Part of His Personality He’s ‘Least Proud of’

Ben Affleck identified the part of himself he's least proud of. He shared why he saw this trait as a "nightmare."

Ben Affleck believed there was a personality trait that nearly everyone in the film industry shared. While Affleck said he did not like fame, he thought that there was some level of narcissism necessary to being an actor. He said that while it was an inherent part of the industry, it wasn’t something that made him proud.

Ben Affleck said he wasn’t proud of one element of his personality

When Affleck and Matt Damon were trying to make it as actors, Damon’s mother told them the path was egotistical. Once he found some success, Affleck said he couldn’t disagree with Damon’s mother.

“I’d say it’s the one quality that unites everybody in the film industry, whether you’re an actor, a producer, a director, or a studio executive,” he told Interview Magazine in 1997. “You want people to look at you and love you and go, ‘Oh, you’re wonderful.’”

Affleck said he was not proud of his narcissism. As a result, it was difficult to see the same trait constantly reflected back at him.

“It’s a nightmare,” he said. “Narcissism is the part of my personality that I am the least proud of, and I certainly don’t like to see it highlighted in everybody else I meet.”

He said people shouldn’t look to actors as authority figures

Though Affleck admitted he had a bit of an ego, he did not think people should treat him as someone important just because he was famous.

“Making movies has become such a golden ring, and it’s all such a big business, that the rewards system has gotten totally out of whack,” he said. “Suddenly, you’re treated in a manner befitting someone who is actually an important person. You get the best table, you get all this money, you get people saying, ‘No, no, I’ll pay the check.’ It implies there’s a way of treating certain people as if they’re better than other people, and I don’t think you should do that. It’s difficult for me to see the benefits of fame, except that you get the chance to do the stuff you want to do.”

He didn’t think being an actor made him any more important than the average person. He thought problems occurred when actors did try to establish themselves as authority figures.

“I don’t think actors should have any authority in the world. It’s a scary world when actors have authority,” he said. “That was the problem with [Ronald] Reagan.”

Jennifer Garner shared what Ben Affleck’s personality is like

Jennifer Garner, who married Affleck in 2005, gave some insight into the actor’s personality. While he didn’t speak too highly of himself, she said he was brilliant.

“He’s the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous,” she told Vanity Fair in 2016. “He’s just a complicated guy.”

Still, she said her former husband was prone to moodiness.

“I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold,” she said. “He can cast quite a shadow.”