Ben Affleck Once Revealed the 1 Project Jennifer Garner Stopped Him From Directing

Ben Affleck helped his career resurgence by becoming a top director in the film industry. But there was one passion project he blamed ex-wife Jennifer Garner for not being able to shoot.

Ben Affleck almost directed an episode of this television series

Affleck once credited Garner for his transition into directing. He was already familiar with writing projects in addition to acting in them, but he had no experience actually directing full length features. He decided to take a chance with filmmaking after his career experienced a downward spiral. His crumbling relationship with Jennifer Lopez, coupled with his film choices, inspired Affleck to take a break from Hollywood.

During his time off, he got into a deeper relationship with Daredevil co-star Jennifer Garner. After his brief hiatus, Affleck figured directing might be a good way to continue his comeback. His decision to shoot the movie Gone Baby Gone was a critical success, establishing Affleck as a true filmmaker. This led to Affleck filming several other successful movies like The Town and Argo.

But if it wasn’t for Garner, who knows if Affleck would’ve had the same motivation to pursue filmmaking.

“Getting to know her, falling in love with her and being connected with her gave me a foundation to reach out and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to do Hollywoodland; I’m going to direct Gone Baby Gone,’” Affleck said in a 2013 interview with Playboy (via She Knows).

Ironically, however, Garner inadvertently also stopped Affleck from directing a small little passion project. Affleck was a fan of Claire Danes’ Showtime series Homeland. So much so that he planned on filming an episode for the political thriller. But he couldn’t work around his and Garner’s established schedule at the time.

“I liked the show. I signed on. The guys were ready. I don’t want to blame it on ‘her,’ but my wife and I have an arrangement where when she works, I don’t work and when I work, she doesn’t work,” Affleck once shared according to Us Weekly. “She said, ‘I have this movie, it’s 10 weeks, it’s in Atlanta.’ I said, ‘Okay, forget it. I’m sure nothing will happen with it anyway.'”

Ben Affleck would’ve loved to direct Jennifer Garner even after their split

Affleck and Garner were already used to working together. They both collaborated on projects like Pearl Harbor, where they met, and Daredevil. But even when they were married, Garner never acted in any of Affleck’s own movies. And after they’d gotten married, Garner wasn’t sure if working alongside Affleck was the best idea for their relationship.

“I think he’s brilliant at what he does, but why rock the boat? It works between us pretty well the way it is,” Garner once told W Magazine.

She didn’t rule it out, but Garner joked that their work together would be short and perhaps pretty uneventful.

“I don’t know if I want to go to work with him. I’d be like, ‘OK already, you got the shot. Let’s go home,’” she added.

Meanwhile, Affleck seemed much more receptive to the idea of directing Garner in a picture even after their divorce.

“I would love to, are you kidding me? I think that would be great. I’ve often said that I want to direct a movie that Jennifer was in because I think she’s so great and she could do something really cool,” Affleck once told People (via Yahoo).

But their kids made the potential collaboration difficult.

“The problem that gets in the way is that one of us has to be looking after the kids at home,” Affleck said.