Ben Affleck just got a rare stamp of approval from his toughest critic: his 13-year-old son, Samuel. The teenager was at one point too young and scared to watch his Batman movies, but now, he's starting a running list of his favorite films that his dad is in.
While chatting with E! News at The Accountant 2 premiere on April 16, the Gone Girl star revealed that Samuel recently watched the original The Accountant ahead of the sequel, and came away surprisingly impressed. “He watched it and was like, ‘Dad, I think it might be my favorite movie of yours,’” Ben said. “That was high praise, which doesn’t come easy from your kids.”
It's a sweet moment for Ben, who said in the past he took on the role of Batman, starting with 2016's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, for his kids. "I did Batman because I wanted to do it for my kids. I wanted to do something that my son would dig. I mean, my kids didn't see Argo," he told The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast.
However, Samuel was too young to enjoy it. "But what happened was it started to skew too old for a big part of the audience," the dad of three told GQ in his cover story last month. "Like, even my own son at the time was too scared to watch the movie. And so when I saw that, I was like, 'Oh s---, we have a problem.'"
Samuel on his dad's fame
Like most celebrity kids, Samuel still can't quite wrap his head around his dad being famous. “He’s shocked that I somehow know people he thinks are cool,” the 52-year-old told E! at the premiere. “He’s like, ‘Why do these people want to hang out with my dad?’ Which may be a valuable question, but I’m getting away with it.”
While they didn't walk the carpet, the premiere turned into a full-on family affair. Not only were his kids he shares with Jennifer Garner—Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel—but his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez’s twins, Max and Emme, 17, were also along for the ride.
“It’s a great night. The kids are here, Jen’s kids are here. I’m very, very excited,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I love when all the kids come out. It’s really fun, it’s exciting," Ben added.