Bennifer 2.0 caught the world by storm, and just like Ben Affleck's role as Batman, the world will never get over it. Whenever Jennifer Lopez's name comes out of the star's mouth, it makes headlines. Most recently, Ben had nothing but nice things to say about his ex-wife.
© GettyBen stars in and directed Netflix's Animals, and he's been on an epic press tour. In an interview with Variety, the actor was asked about Lopez's acting. He produced her 2025 film Kiss of the Spider Woman, which had many people thinking she should have been nominated for an Oscar. It's the same sentiment people felt about her role in Hustlers.
© TheStewartofNYNeither did she get nominated, but when asked why he thinks she gets overlooked, he admitted he's "biased," then went on to say, "I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for what she can do."
He went on to explain, "What I’ve found with awards is that sometimes the degree of commercial success for things doesn’t always correlate to my taste." "It’s a part of this weird, subjective business that people bring a lot of their own stuff to," the Good Will Hunting star added.
Jennifer Garner enters the chat
© Getty ImagesEarlier in the interview, he not only mentioned Lopez, but his first ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. Making a rare two-for-one appearance of their names. When he was asked about stars and their branding power and his content and advertising division at Artists Equity, he praised them both.
"Artists should be making money. You see it massively in the music business. People — either tacitly or explicitly — are expected to make money elsewhere," he said.
"Now you’ve got your social media identity. You work to develop that. I’ve seen both Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner do amazing jobs cultivating and accruing value in those spaces," he said, admitting he doesn't think it's something he could ever do. "Don’t think that’s not real work. I couldn’t do it. What am I going to do, unbox something?" he quipped.
© Larry Busacca/NBCA rare glimpse into fatherhood
In the same interview, the notoriously private A-lister shared a rare glimpse of fatherhood. He explained that he and Garner, who share kids, Violet, Finn, and Sam, have shared custody.
His family is a reason he wants Los Angeles to be an important hub for film, amid the current conversations about major studios leaving Hollywood. "I’m divorced, I have shared custody, and I don’t want to miss these years," he explained. My kids are here, and their life is flying by."
© Grosby GroupFor Ben, he said he doesn't want to have to be in "Shreveport or New Mexico to work." "I know some people don’t have the luxury of making those choices. I’m certainly fortunate, but I know from experience that the best crews in the world are in L. A," he continued.
