Ben Affleck Had to Hide His Batman Body for ‘Gone Girl’ Role
When Ben Affleck signed up for Batman back in 2013, he went through a rigorous training regimen to properly fill out the Batsuit. Although he eventually achieved his desired superhero physique, Affleck’s character in Gone Girl came into conflict with his goals. In order to portray his Gone Girl character accurately, he had to hide the body he’d worked so hard for.
Ben Affleck got bigger than his own stunt double while playing Batman
Affleck not only achieved his desired physique for Batman, but he eventually got bigger than his own stunt double Richard Cetrone. Although there was no discrepancy between Affleck and his stand-in’s height, Cetrone admitted that Affleck put on more mass.
“To be completely honest with you guys, I’m not a good double for Ben,” Cetrone said according to Cinemablend. “He’s a much bigger man than I am. We’re the same height exactly, so there we’re good. But I’m guessing he’s about 235ish, and I’m 200-205, right around there. So he’s a lot bigger guy, but in the suit, it doesn’t matter as much.”
For Affleck, much of his transformation depended on simply dedicating himself to his cause on a consistent basis.
“It was about showing up every day, really. That’s the thing,” Affleck said in an interview with BackstageOL. “So just about like getting out of bed, being willing to do it even when you hate it. And I would’ve totally given up if I didn’t know….I had to be on camera, so I couldn’t cheat. I had to get up there and do it.”
The results of his hard work are clear in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. But before the superhero showdown, Affleck was filming a more intimate film with Gone Girl. The latter required Affleck to have a sloppier physique, which conflicted with the body he achieved for Batman.
Ben Affleck had to hide his Batman physique for ‘Gone Girl’
Affleck couldn’t show off his new body in David Fincher’s psychological thriller the way he could in Batman V Superman. One reason for that is because his character in Gone Girl, Nick Dunne, wasn’t nearly as disciplined as the caped crusader.
“I was trying to juggle this thing because that character is supposed to be out of shape, hungover and puffy, and I had to train ahead of time for that movie [Batman] for about a year,” Affleck said according to Daily Mail.
Affleck later added that he was trying to build for Batman while looking out of shape at the same time.
“I was trying to build underneath without looking like it,” Affleck said. “That wouldn’t look right to have some guy who is in great shape because all Nick Dunne does is eat junk food and drink Bourbon.”
Ben Affleck’s past with the media helped inform his ‘Gone Girl’ performance
Affleck revealed that he didn’t need to do much studying for the role because his life was once similar to his character’s. The Argo director knows what it’s like to be scrutinized and hounded by the media, for instance. And this was something that helped connect Affleck with Nick’s situation on a deeper level
“It wasn’t something I had to do a lot of research for,” Affleck said according to EW. “I knew what it was like to have the tabloid world paying attention to me and ascribing negative motivations to whatever I might be engaging in. I knew what it was to be cast in a soap opera I had no control over.”
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