Jennifer Garner Helped Stop Ben Affleck’s ‘The Way Back’ From Getting Canceled
Ben Affleck’s 2020 picture, The Way Back, which was based on a true story, hit close to home for the actor because of its subject matter. But because of Affleck’s personal issues, there were serious concerns that the movie would be scrapped. However, Jennifer Garner helped make sure that The Way Back would see the light of day.
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck didn’t want to see ‘The Way Back’ go to waste
The Way Back was a drama directed by Gavin O’ Connor where Affleck portrayed an alcoholic high school basketball coach. The story resonated with Affleck personally, given his own real-life battle with alcoholism in the past. His history was one of the reasons why the film’s producer, Jennifer Todd, felt the script was sent to Affleck in the first place.
“Maybe they thought for the right reasons it would connect with him,” Todd said in an interview with Variety. “If they feel there is something that speaks to them that they can mine in a deep emotional fashion, then yes, you can go there. I thought it was brave of Ben to want to play something that felt familiar.”
But there was concern the project would be put back on the shelf after his addiction resurfaced. Eventually, the Oscar-winner had to be sent to rehab to help with his recovery, further casting the movie’s future in doubt. Although they were divorced at the time, Affleck’s ex-wife Garner became a big help for his journey to sobriety. She further showed how valuable her support was when she urged O’ Connor to continue developing The Way Back despite Affleck’s state.
“His ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, called me up and told me that when he went to rehab, he took a basketball with him,” O’Connor said in an interview with 34th street. “She said, ‘Gavin, he’s asking you: Please don’t pull the plug on the movie. He really wants to do this.’”
Afterwards, O’Connor would visit Affleck while he was in rehab to assess his star.
“So he had about a week of detoxing, because he really went off the deep end, and after a week, I was able to go see him,” he said. “We spent half a day together and figured out a way to do this that will work for him, because most importantly he needed to recover and needed to get his sobriety on track. That overtook everything. And then he got out the day before we started shooting. So we had a very raw, vulnerable guy showing up for our first day of shooting.”
How Jennifer Garner has been helping Ben Affleck with his alcohol addiction
If sources are to be believed, Garner has been motivating Affleck to maintain his sobriety since they got together. One insider expressed to ET that Affleck was always drinking in one form or another. But he began to straighten up a bit more thanks to the Alias actor’s influence. When the Justice League’s alcoholism returned in a big way, however, it began affecting his marriage for the worse.
Some even felt that Affleck blamed Garner for his alcohol problems, but Affleck debunked those claims. Sources explained that Garner still tried to hold onto Affleck and her marriage as much as they could. Although she and Affleck couldn’t make their marriage work in the end, the breakup only gave Affleck further incentive to correct his behavior.
“Deep down he knows he can’t live the life he used to,” the insider alleged. “He knows that life was the downfall of his marriage. Jen set boundaries, she did everything to help him. She stuck by him and gave him ultimatums but he’d eventually fall off the wagon. He would go back to partying and gambling and she would try again. This has been going on for years.”
Later, Affleck would find himself in a much better place than he’d ever been thanks to his wife’s help and his own perseverance.
“I have a better relationship with my kids today than I did three years ago. I have a better relationship with my ex-wife, I think, than I did three years ago. I think I’m a better actor. I think I’m a more interesting person because most of the growth that I’ve had has come from pain,” he once told Associated Press.
