All language subtitles for Hart to Heart s04e01 Ben Affleck.eng

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-What up, champ?
-Nothing.

I just wanted to come say hi.

-I appreciate that,
'cause I was like,

"Where the fuck is Kevin?

He hasn't come said hi to me
and shit."

-Listen. It's 11:30.
I get here at 11:29.

It takes me two minutes
to put these clothes on.

-Dude, I'm very happy.
I love the show, man.

I'm happy to do it. I'm excited.
-It's the easiest shit ever.

Ladies and gentlemen,
my guest today has done it.

And when I say done it,
I really do mean it.

Guys, he's an actor,
producer, director, writer,

and he's won a ton of hardware
for all those jobs.

I'm talking about
multiple Oscars, Golden Globes,

too many more to mention,
so I'm not going to do it.

We'll talk about it here.

If you do not know who
I'm talking about,

well, you should.

Ladies and gentlemen,
it's Ben Affleck.

Come on out here, Ben.
-My man.

-How are you, sir?
-I'm good. I'm good.

Thanks for having me.
-Thank you.

You know, Ben, that's probably
one of the first live applauses

that we've had on this set.
-Is that right?

-Yeah. We've been doing
the show for a long time.

-There's no "applause" sign.
-Well, they never show up.

They never show up,
but there's certain guests

that they feel
like they should show up for.

-Is that right?
-You are one of those guests.

-Wow. Alright.
I appreciate it.

-I appreciate you coming.
-Thank you.

-I appreciate you coming.

DLynn, this is my somm
who takes care of me.

Come on out, D, and just tell me
what I'm drinking today, please.

-Yes, indeed, Mr. Hart.
-Yes. How you doing, man?

-Mr. Affleck.
-Yes.

-Do have a Diet Coke for you.
-Thank you.

It's a good vintage.
-I'mma top you off

with some water, as well.
-Thank you.

South of France,
Côtes de Provence,

about 30 kilometers west
of Saint-Tropez.

-Mm-hmm.
-A captivating blend

of Syrah, Grenache,
and Mourvèdre.

-Mm-hmm.
-2021.

[ Speaks French ]
-Ah. [ Speaks French ]

He said [speaks French]

A lot of people don't know
I speak French.

-Funny. Yeah.
They don't get that impression.

-Yeah.
[ Speaking French ]

Ah. Yes. Yes.

Give him some water.
-Thank you for the pour.

DLynn, want to tell you
I appreciate you, sir.

-I appreciate you.
-Thank you, man.

-Mr. Affleck, Mr. Hart.
-Thank you, sir.

-Enjoy.
-Thank you.

Ben, for you,
what was the decision

in the early days of starting?

Like, was it -- was it
family assisted?

Was it -- Was it you?

How did you come
to that decision early on?

-I was -- I grew up in Boston,

and my mother's friend was,
like, an assistant,

like, sort of local
casting director on, like,

if a movie would come into town
or a show

and they needed extras
or whatever,

you know,
she would help pull them in.

And so when I was a little kid,
like 5 or 6,

I randomly ended up
not just as an extra,

but, like, having a little --
I think I had a line or two.

I was 7 years old on this,

like, kind of independent movie
that shot there.

I think it was called
"Billy in the Lowlands," 1979.

And I was like, you know,

I didn't even know
really what it was.

But evidently,
and I don't remember this,

the casting director was like,
"Oh, he's comfortable,"

whatever it is
when you're a little kid.

It's not really act--

It's a different thing,
which is why sometimes you have,

like, young actors and kind of
that, like, Oscar Mayer Wiener

kind of, like, just smile.

When I was 8, I got cast in
this really small-time little --

Like, the local PBS affiliate
was called WGBH.

They did "ZOOM," which was like,
"0-2-1-3. Welcome to 'ZOOM.'"

That was their one before the,
you know, Zoom, like COVID Zoom.

It was this show.
And that was their big thing.

They aired "Sesame Street."

And so they wanted to make
this show that was, like,

an educational series that
would be used in sixth grade

to teach science and math.

It was called
"Voyage of the Mimi,"

non-union, like,
real small thing.

And I went -- I don't even
remember the addition.

I ended up getting it.

And then so periodically --

and it went, like, for a couple
of weeks when I was 8,

then a couple of months
when I was 10,

and almost a year when I was 13.

I went down to Mexico

and lived down there
and shot a season down there.

So I had a chance
to be kind of a child actor

but without the fame
or the craziness or the parents.

-It's a little under the radar.

-Yeah.
It was very under the radar.

My parents didn't want to.

My father was a guy who had --

you know, wanted to write
and direct stuff,

wasn't able to be successful.

Auto mechanic, bartender,

custodian-type work
to make money,

and my mother was a teacher,

taught sixth grade
and second grade.

And so they were like -- they
didn't want me to be an actor.

It was kind of like
they were scared of it

'cause the actors
they knew were miserable,

couldn't get work.

It was hard, you know,
all that stuff.

So I was kind of discouraged
from it,

but it was like, "You can go
do this sort of for fun

in this limited way."

I felt like I just liked it.

I liked the responsibility
of it.

I liked -- I don't know
that I understood

or was drawn to, like,
what the sort of art of it was,

but I know I liked doing it.

Maybe I liked performing.
I could do voices.

My father listened to
Richard Pryor records

all the time, and so that's --

When I was in the second grade,

I could do Pryor, like, verbatim
off of a bunch of albums

that, like, you can't even
say the name of now, you know,

and he used to laugh
and drunk with his friends

and get stoned
and have me do Pryor.

-"Ben, come out here
and do the thing.

Ben do the Pryor thing."

-He came into my second grade,

like, show-and-tell
brought his wrenches in.

"What does your dad do?"
And my dad came in.

So I thought, "Oh,
I'll go into the Pryor thing."

I started doing it.

And he was just like, "Hey!"
like, yelled.

-"Shut it down, Ben.
Shut it down, Ben."

-But I remember that
I liked that performance vibe.

I liked being funny.
I could imitate Pryor.

I mean, as well, you know,
as some second-grade white kid.

-There was a performance
attached to it.

-Performance
that I really liked.

And so then I kind of --

I was like, "I like acting.
I want to do this."

And I kept --
And I had a great --

The truth is, the difference
that was made for me

and my brother and Matt

and a lot of people that have
gone on to have careers,

we had a great teacher.

We had a high school
drama teacher

who was a fucking genius.

And what he was a genius at was,
like, inspiring young people.

-Wow.
-And he really --

Probably the most important
moment in my professional life

was definitely, like,

this was somebody that
I looked up to in a way that --

You know, that's why I believe,
like, in mentorship,

especially for young men
like, the way they --

We need that, like,
"Show me how to be a man."

-Yeah, you don't realize you
need it until you start to see

that you either don't have it
or didn't have it.

-Exactly.
-Is this somebody

that you stayed in touch with?

-Yeah, I have.
His name's Gerry Speca.

He was just a great teacher.

And I went to New York.

I started going to New York
to audition.

This, of course, back
in the days when, like,

my mom was like, "Okay.

You're 15.
Go to New York City."

-I was gonna say, like,
what age was this?

-Like, we'd just leave.
-Wow.

-I know. It's crazy.

Now I think, like, wanted
to go to New York by myself?

I walked home a couple miles
from school

when I was a little kid.

It was a different time.

-Your biggest success early on,

matched with
the child-acting experience,

where it came from,
you know, the ability to write,

the ability to go
and put the pen to the pad.

Before you get to that
screenwriting, like, time

where you and Matt
did an amazing job

on "Good Will Hunting"
the story --

before you get there,
were you writing?

-I didn't really think of it
as, like, "Well, I'm a writer.

I'm a this."

Because it was,
like, improvisation,

improv a scene, write it down,
or he would send us exercises

where we'd go listen to people
talking at Starbucks,

overhear, write down
what they say

or tape record it,
then look at it.

What does real speech look like?
Like, exercises like that.

And so we thought of it, like,

not as, well, you know,
a separate thing.

I never thought of myself,
"Well, I'm going to write

for its own sake.
and then say goodbye."

-Okay.
-But I understood it

as a necessary component

so that by the time
we were out in L.A. --

I went out to L.A.
when I was -- 1990.

-God damn, man.
-And I was a kid.

You know, I lived in Echo Park,
you know?

And it was just like,
"Okay, how do I do this?"

-Was it random,
like, impromptu,

like, "This is where
I want to be"?

-I was like --
I knew I wanted to do it.

And they wanted me to go college
and that kind of thing.

And I had been so inspired
by the experience

that I had mostly
in high school,

even though I went to New York.

I got, like,
an after-school special

and a TV movie of the week.

I thought it was real big-time.
-You're doing base hits.

-You know, I was the kid
or whatever,

but it was experience
being on a set.

And I was like,
"Okay, I want to do this,"

and I had a little agent,

and then I hooked up Matt
with my agent.

You know, went up to New York,

and then we were like --
you know, he was like --

We were doing it together,
which made it

a lot more comfortable and safe.

-When you start out
at the bottom

and you are trying
your best to get to the top,

you've already been
at the bottom.

So the things that look
like failure --

-Everything's better.
-Yeah. It's all a win.

So when you're talking, "Oh,
yeah, I got to go to New York,

and I got this part
and I got this," you're winning.

-That was huge.
-You're winning.

-I was winning, like,
and I thought, I've done some--

Other kids,
and they were like, "Damn.

Like, that's crazy."
-Yeah.

-You know, I never saw anybody
in my life who had been --

I remember one time I saw,
in downtown Boston,

Christopher Lloyd
walking down the street.

And I followed him.

You know, I was that dude who
followed for like two blocks,

walking after him,
just 'cause I was like,

"That's the 'Back to the Future"
motherfucker."

-Enamored by it, yeah.

-And I just was, like,
so starstruck,

and I couldn't believe it
that a guy from --

You know, I had just seen
"Back to the Future."

And there he was.
I was 14 or something, 15.

And that was how rare.

That wasn't for, like --
Nobody could do this.

So the idea of just --
or even going to California.

Like, what do you mean?
You're gonna go to California.

Then what?
Like, work and live somewhere.

And a lot of people did that

and, you know, didn't end well,
obviously.

So it was like,
I'm gonna go out and do that.

So I come out.
I'm in L.A.

I got rejected for every fucking
thing you possibly think.

"Beverly Hills 90210,"
the worst shit in the world,

"Mickey Mouse Club," no.

And the few parts
I did get out in L.A.,

you know, you're trying
to get your sides

out of the fax machine
and come in.

It's just humiliating.
But you're used to it.

You're like,
"All I ever get is no.

Anything's better than that."

My father, though, as a model,
was like --

My thing was --
My whole goal was,

I want to be able to say
I make a living as an actor.

I'm not an actor
unless that's my job, you know.

And I think it was that thing
of the father.

It was like I didn't view him
as having failed

because I didn't know
what success was,

but I knew he didn't want to
make his living pushing a broom.

-Yeah.
-You know what I mean?

-That's not his first choice.
-And mopping the floors

and serving, you know,
beer in this bar or whatever.

He wanted to be, you know,
writing plays and doing stuff.

And so I was like, I want to be
able to say I'm an actor.

That means I make my living
that way.

That was my goal.

I know people
that wanted to be famous.

And I don't begrudge them.

Like, great.
You want to be famous.

You want to be a performer.
That's part of it.

For me, it really wasn't
the ambition.

It was just the dignity
to be able to say,

I do this for a living,
and it makes it legitimate.

-Okay, now, wait.

Before I, like, ask my next
question, 'cause I have to,

I want to take a break, because
the conversation's so good.

Let's pay the bills now.
Guys, we're gonna take a break.

We'll be back with more
"Hart to Heart" after this.

-I'm Ben Affleck, and I'm
in the Arctic test chamber

for the United States Army
Research Institute

of Environmental Medicine
in Natick, Massachusetts.

**

**

-Okay, we're back.

This is "Hart to Heart," and
I'm sitting with Ben Affleck.

And, guys, I want to pick up
where we left off.

Uh, Ben,
how was your dad's response,

though, to your decision
and your jumps?

-In those years that are
really so pivotal, right,

like, my parents broke up

and my mother threw
my father out when I was 11

because he was drinking
too much

and he was, you know,
old-fashioned alcoholic, drunk.

-I was 8.
-Ended up on the streets.

-I was 8 when my mom
threw my dad out. 8.

-So you know how it is.
You know what I mean?

And at the time,
I was like, "Good."

Because the motherfucker's scary

and, you know,
irrational and shit,

and, like, I don't know what --
you know,

and fighting and smashing --

You know, it was not
a pleasant environment.

-Not a good environment.

-And so then I --

And as that tends to happen,
you know, he had --

There's a low bottom.
He had to go a long, long way.

So I was seeing him
less and less.

Like, I had the classic stories
where, like, you know,

my seventh grade went to
their little field trip

to the courthouse,

and my father was
getting arraigned on that day.

You know what I mean?
I'm like -- I was that kid.

You know, they're like,
"What's your father's name?"

The older kids came back.

I had seventh graders
talking to me.

I was sixth grade.
I was all happy.

I was like,
"My father's name Tim."

They were like,
"We just saw him in jail."

-Yeah.
-You know, it was --

I was like, "Oh."
-"Oh, okay."

-So I had this relationship
that was, like,

I associated
those disappointments.

It really didn't have to do
with that

or that pain of not know--

You know, parent becomes not
able to take care of themself,

it's very difficult,
and you don't know

what's your responsibility
or how to manage that.

So I didn't -- I needed
somebody else to say,

"Hey, I believe in you."

And I think that was
very meaningful.

My father actually, you know,
got sober,

got his life together,
and he's still sober now.

He's doing great,
and that's great.

But those years,
that's just what happened.

-You just said something that
was so dope where you're like,

"Look, I had Matt with me.

You know, we came out,
and we were able to use

one another, the energy
of one another."

-Having a friend who was
with me from where I was from,

and my brother was with me
and some other friends

that kind of came out, were
like, "Oh, you went out there.

What's it like?
You know, maybe we'll try."

'Cause there's a lot of, like,
that tension between,

do I stay here
and kind of stay in Boston

and do this thing,
or do I kind of get out of here?

-You make the jump.
-Whatever that means. Yeah.

-Am I going to be a story
of one that got out?

-Right.
-That tried?

Or am I going to be
the story of the conversation

of what I want to do
but I never actually did it?

And then I'll get to an age
where I regret the fact

that I never made the jump.

I'm gonna make the fucking jump.

I moved out to L.A.
I think, you know, I was --

I want to say 21.

Came out.
I just --

I just got, like,
a pilot check that I did.

Check may have been 25 grand.

-I remember a check
for $25,000.

-25. You couldn't tell me shit.
-I was like, "Shit."

-This is it.
-"I'm done. I made it."

-I'm making a lot of money now.

-For real.
-I think I'm a millionaire.

-I'm like, $5,000 a week I made
for five weeks.

-I think I'm a millionaire.

So let me call my family
and say, "Y'all set."

-"It's gonna be alright, Mama."

-You and Matt
then cracked the code of saying,

"Let's develop this thing
together."

-That was a time
where there were these movies

that came along
where it was the first kind of,

like, hey, you might not
need to go

through the gatekeeper
kind of system.

Like, if you get,
you know, Harvey Keitel

to be in your movie or
whatever -- this was the myth.

I don't know if it's true
or not,

but you can get $1 million,
you can make "Reservoir Dogs."

Start seeing that stuff,
and I started to have ambitions.

I like photography.
I like cameras.

And I was like,
"I want to direct."

I directed.
Like, I worked my way on --

-So this was early on. Wow.
-Yeah, early.

Like, short films,
like, students.

People come out, I'd direct.

I didn't know what the fuck
I was doing.

But I just got in there
and started filming things,

just a couple of times,
but I liked it.

And when me and Matt were
talking about, like, you know,

we kept on getting
these things to audition.

Our thing was like,
"Everybody else has a reel."

At that time, it was like
a VHS tape with your shit on it

that you can show somebody
that's good so they'll hire you,

'cause a lot of times it's like
they don't know who you are,

you can't audition,
you can't come in, whatever.

So our obsession was like,
"Let's write something for us

that we can make
as a real low-budget movie."

The goal was like,
"But we'll have

some good acting scenes on it."
-Your reel.

-It's gonna be our reel.

So we're gonna have this scene
for the reel,

that scene for the reel.

That's how we started writing,

from a self-serving, like,
"What can I do as an actor?

What can I do performance-wise?"

Okay, the accents
where we grew up.

This is different.

We had a different view
on things.

You know, and a lot of it was
just sitting around drinking,

coming up with shit,
telling stories.

What we learned was, like,
have a tape recorder going,

play it back, listen to it.

And then we would do it as like,

"What if it was
Morgan Freeman playing the part?

What if it was Ben Kingsley
playing the part?"

And do the scene that way,
doing our Morgan Freeman.

I mean, I hope those tapes
are long gone, because --

-I hope they're not.
I hope they're not.

Not to see them and laugh at
them, by the way, which I would.

I hope they're not
because from what I'm hearing,

you were extremely,
like, proactive.

-I just was a fan.
I love movies.

This was like, we thought
about it all day long.

And so it was like,
"Let's do something like that."

And I don't know that we --
Again, it's that, like,

kind of reckless hubris
of youth.

You know, we started thinking,

"Okay, what if we get it
to one person?

So we got to write a part
for a movie star.

Now, we got to
make it short weeks

so that they come in quick.

They got to have
the cool monologues."

Like, literally planned it out
that way.

"Like, we got to write the movie
all just in houses

so it doesn't cost money
and parks, no effects

or anything like that."

And there's, okay, got to be
a love interest.

Okay, great."

-But your intelligence
is so high.

Like, at this point,

your understanding of simply
what a production could be,

the common sense of saying,

"Make it this way
so we can afford it,

so these people
can come in quick."

This is coming, of course,
from the history of acting

that you were able
to embed yourself in.

-And also just reading
about it, studying about it,

paying attention to it,
and, yeah, being on sets.

That's the value,
as I tell, like, a lot of actors

who ask me a question,
like, yeah.

Like, I did 50 jobs as an extra,
at least, right?

I did so much extra work.
You know, you're there.

And you have to go eat
the wrapped-up shit,

and, like, you know, they treat
you like cattle or whatever.

But I was happy to be there.

Before I was in the union, $50.

Come down, $50, and
you're gonna be there all day,

and I was like, "Okay, for $50,

I'm going to get to watch
and see how they're doing this

and pay attention."
-"I'm going to study the craft."

-And that's the way
I approached my acting career

throughout to learn
how to direct, was like,

the closer I can be to the
director, the more I can learn,

the more I'll have
the position to ask questions.

And so that was what we did.

By the time
we wrote that script,

and it took years to write it
and then, you know, rewrite it.

-How many years in total?

-Three or four years of writing
overall before it got made,

but there was 2 1/2 years
of just writing,

you know,
passing it back and forth.

The fact that we finished it,
it would sit there,

then we'd have an idea,
Matt would write me something,

I would write something,
we'd get together, we'd do it.

And then we also
at the same time,

I started -- Matt started
getting work in studio movies,

and I started getting work in,
like, independent,

Sundance type movies.

Like, I did "Chasing Amy,"

this movie called
"Going All the Way."

I did a million-dollar movie
called --

So I started working
as an actor.

-What was the level of support
at that point?

-The level of support was --
The thing about me and Matt

was, like, if we were
to get along and be friends,

we had to find that out right
away, 'cause when we were 16,

we were going down to New York
to read for --

you know,
we read for "Prince of Tides"

or we read for, like,
Barbra Streisand's son.

Those are good movies.

We auditioned for
"Dead Poets Society."

We auditioned all these movies
as kids.

So I had to feel like, you know,
"I want to get the part

more than I want you
to get the part.

But if I don't get it,
I want you to get it."

So by the time actually,
you know, we did movies.

Matt got a part -- He got
the lead in "School Ties,"

which I had a small part in,
and then he got --

Really the thing,
he got a couple of TNT movies.

And then, in fact, I remember

when we had written
"Good Will Hunting,"

Matt got hired as a lead
or the second lead

in a Tommy Lee Jones
TNT Western.

And he was like -- It was called
"The Good Old Boys."

And he was like,
"Listen, man, you know,

I think we give the script
to Tommy and we get Tommy.

We could get our mil--"
You know, and I was like,

"Alright, how are we gonna
approach Tommy?"

We talked about it,
planned it out.

We're going to Tommy.

And, like, he went down
to wherever he was,

Oklahoma or Texas,
whatever, that first day.

I called him at the hotel,

you know, the Motel 6
where he was at.

I was like, "How'd it go?
Did you talk to Tommy?"

He goes, "I don't think
Tommy's gonna do it."

-[ Laughs ]

-I was like, "Say no more.

So it's not gonna happen
with Tommy?"

He was like, "No, it's not
gonna happen with Tommy."

-I love your take on it, man,

but I don't want to stop you,
but I have to.

Guys, we're gonna take
a quick commercial break.

We'll be right back with more
"Hart to Heart" after this.

**

Season 4, we're kicking it off
with, hey, man, a good friend.

Actually, a fellow hyphenate,

which means that you're
dealing with a multi--

a multi-layered individual
in the business.

I get to kick it off --
Huh?

-I always thought
that was an insult.

Now I know they were trying
to say a nice thing.

-I thought
they were saying that --

-They're fucking with me
with the hyphenate thing.

-No, no. Okay.
Oh, that's good, Kev.

-Oh, that's good?
Oh, yeah, no, hyphenate.

Yeah.

**

**

-Hey, everybody, welcome back.
This is "Hart to Heart."

We're talking to Ben Affleck.

What an amazing
conversation it is.

So, Ben, I interrupt you.
I apologize.

But finish, please.

-So, we had a great agent,
Patrick Whitesell --

young, didn't have cli--
you know, just starting out,

was like, "Fuck it.
Like the script."

And we said,
"But we got to be in it."

And everybody else was like,
"That's not --"

You know, he was like,
"Alright, okay."

And he wasn't like,
"You're crazy,"

or, "That's not gonna happen."

-His energy matched
the same level of ignorance

that yours did in the beginning

of not realizing
the consequence.

-It was, like, ridiculous,
so we went out

and auctioned this fucking thing
off to where one bidder --

And we were living -- I actually
had moved in with this woman

to -- We moved out of the house
in Eagle Rock,

and I was gonna move in
with this girl.

And I moved in with her,

and Matt and my other buddy
got another apartment,

and I think I was there
for three days, and we broke up.

And I was like,
"Yo, Matt, I got to come back."

-"I'm coming over there."
-He was like, he had a couch.

I was sleeping on
a Naugahyde couch in --

on, like -- it was Curson
in West Hollywood.

And there was three of us
in a two-bedroom little thing.

And I'll never forget it.

Our agent was like, "Yo, someone
wants to buy the script,

somebody else," and then
it turned into this crazy,

surreal thing where somebody's
offering $100,000,

and then they're like,
"Hey, they want to meet you,

'cause you guys want to be it,"
so we started going around

and having, like, meetings
where all of a sudden

you got onto the studio
and let you in the gates.

You go in the fancy offices.
And I was like, "Oh, shit.

This is the real thing."

Paramount, Warner Bros.,
all these places that were like,

at most, you park in the lot,
walk over, read your scene.

And we started meeting
all these people,

and all one after another.

And we benefited from the fact
that Hollywood is very --

it's like,
"Oh, this is the hot thing.

Well, then let's go after that."

And there was some original
stuff in the script, I think,

and it was just a time
when people

were taking risks on
those back-sale things.

I don't think any of them
wanted us to be in the movie.

They all were gonna buy it
to get rid of us somehow.

But when it got to be
more and more and more interest

and money, we started telling --

Our agent said,
"No, you got to actually --

there's going to be a penalty
if you get rid of them."

And then it was, "No,
they got to shoot for a week."

And it was like trying to make
just the whole thing

so they can't fire us,

'cause we knew
they'd want to fire us.

-Yeah.
-There was no question.

And then
when we finally sold it,

we sold the script for $650,000.

-At a time where selling specs
was so cool

but the number attached to a
spec was significantly smaller.

-$650,000
-Insane.

-And we split it, $325,000 each.
-Yeah.

-Me and him both bought new
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limiteds.

-Yeah. By the way, first thing.
-Right away.

First check,
"When can I get my Jeep?"

-Hey, you gonna go get
the Cherokee?

God damn right
I'm gonna get the Cherokee.

-Then we had to flip for colors

because we both wanted black.

-Yeah. We can't both get black.

-No, one had to get green 'cause
that was too much his and his.

I'm like, is it his and his
if we get black and green?

-Getting off the couch --
not the priority.

-No. I had the car
before I got off the couch.

I had the car before
the apartment.

Then we wanted to rent, like,

a dope house
in the Hollywood Hills.

We had no credit.

But they had run
this story in "Variety."

We had been on the cover,
I think, of "Variety."

It was like, "Hey,
these two knuckleheads,

like, sell this script,
and they're gonna be in it."

-This is so good.
-So to get the lease,

we had to go in to the landlord
and bring it.

We were like, "We don't
have credit, but we have this."

We show him the cover
of "Variety."

"We got $650,000.
We can pay for this lease."

Lived right up by
the Hollywood Bowl

in this, like, kind of, like,
you know,

now I'm like, little janky
kind of party house,

but I really thought
it was the shit.

All our friends from home
moved out.

We had like seven,
eight people living in there.

Between the Cherokee
and the rent...

-Bye-bye.
-...I was broke in eight months.

-Yeah. Bye-bye.
-And taxes.

-Yeah.
-I was like, "We made $650,000.

$325,000, $160,000."

-Who the fuck is taxes?

That's what I said
the first time I had to pay it.

I said, "Why do I owe tax?
I don't even know them.

They didn't do shit for me."
-I was like, tax, what?

-Yeah.
-That much?

And it was like, yeah.

It's like, so after
you get your money,

you got to get 40% tax
and commission.

I was like, 40%?
Half to him, half --

So [Mumbling] 40%, we're at
like, you know, $100,000.

Well, I spent $50,000
on the truck.

And then, like,
the rent and being rich.

Once you're rich -- I was rich.
I was like, "I am rich."

Then I'm really done.
I was like, "We're rich."

-Can I ask you a question?
Would you change any of that?

Would you do it
the same way again?

-No, I would --
-I would do it

the same fucking way.

I fucked off my
first check for $250,000.

Mine's was on throwback jerseys
and Air Force 1s.

-Oh, really?
-That's a true story.

I think I spent $250,000...
-Really?

-...on throwback jerseys,
Air Force 1s, and rental cars.

-At least you have shit.

I don't know
where any of the money went.

The rental house went back.

-I don't know where
them fucking jerseys at.

Ben, I got no idea
where them jerseys at.

But you wouldn't change it

because the stories
are worth it.

And the education
that comes from it is worth it.

-And what you learn
is, like, "Oh."

Like, that was the first
I got a credit card,

'cause I could get a credit
card, and a business manager.

"You need a business manager."
I was like, "I do? Okay.

Sign me up for
the business manager."

-Threw the kitchen sink at you.

Although the education
attached to that

is sometimes what's
skipped over.

Making a client understand
what they should do,

why they should do it
is skipped over.

-And you have to get lucky
and have really ethical people.

That's what I really mostly did.

Like I said, our agent,
Patrick, was my best friend.

And I realized how rare that is
in Hollywood

to have somebody that you trust
who's giving you advice

where you don't have to
kind of go like,

"What do they have in it,
and why am I --

And what's the angle?"

A lot of that unhealthy bullshit
that goes on.

-Alright, wait, Ben,
before we keep moving,

man, we got to pay bills here
on "Hart to Heart."

So, guys, we're gonna
take a quick commercial break.

We'll be right back with more
Ben Affleck after this.

**

-Sure.

-Ben, this is so fucking good.
It's so good.

-Thank you.

My wife will tell you,
I like to talk.

-No, no, no.
This is so good, man.

**

**

-Guys, this is "Hart to Heart,"
and we are back.

I'm talking to Ben Affleck.

And, Ben, you were saying?

-First thing we did
after "Good Will Hunting"

was we went back
and asked him --

me and Matt said --
We got an option

to write another screenplay,
and we went back to Gerry,

our teacher, we were like,
"Will you write it with us?"

Went back to him, we're like,

"We're gonna write this
together."

Yeah. It was cool.

And I wish -- Of course,
then we were like, "Oh --"

You know, it was that thing
where we started being like,

"Hey, Gerry,
let's all write this,"

like it was before when we had,
like, sitting-around time.

But then, because things
that started happening,

it was like,
"What about this movie?

What about that movie?"
So we kind of got pulled.

I regret -- I wish we had
really invested in that

and finished that script
and spent more time with him

because part of it was like

we wanted to give back to him
and do that with him.

But also, it was like --
You know how it is.

When you've been working,
working, working

and nothing is happening

and all of a sudden
you have an offer,

you're like, I don't know.

I'm not in a position
to say no to shit.

-I don't want to go away.

-Yeah, I got to take it
'cause it's gonna go away.

-I remember what it felt like
when I wasn't getting the calls.

I remember what it felt like

when nobody wanted to work
or hire me.

-And this can't be forever.
You know what I mean?

Like, okay, as long as
this lasts, let's do it.

-I only got three months.

They say you probably got
three months of being a hot guy.

So I want to take everything
for this time.

-And so you start --
I worked nonstop,

you know, for probably
at least like five years

where I was doing as many movies
as I could do

so I wouldn't be my father.

That gets in your head.

It doesn't matter if it's like,
"I got $6 million."

And I'd be like, "Well, there's
taxes, you know, and I know

shit can go away, you know,
and I'm not gonna fail.

I'm gonna make a living."

Like, and so I really --
I realized how much of a driver

that was for me, and I just
start plowing through stuff.

And that's the tricky thing

'cause the most important
question when you get --

You either have, in Hollywood,
no options or all the options.

And it's a very hard
fucking jump to make.

I remember when I saw, like,
Michael B. Jordan at Sundance

when he did "Fruitvale Station,"
I was like, "This dude's a star.

And he's gonna
blow the fuck up."

And I loved his performance.

And I said, "Hey, man,
I just wanted to meet you."

I said, like, "I just wish
somebody had come up to me

at this point in my life
and been like,

'Shit's about to get
really crazy.'

If you need anything
or if you ever want advice,

I'll never tell anybody anything
that you and I talk about.

And you can always call me, and
I'll always tell you the truth."

He actually -- you know, smart.
He didn't need me.

-He's a good dude.

-But I just became friends
with him.

I got as much or more out
of that friendship and still do,

I think, than he does,
but every now and again,

I get that call, and I'll be
like, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Okay. I hear you.
Alright."

And I felt very good
to be able to be like,

"This is what's really going on.

And this is how --"
You know what I mean?

Because it's just
a very unusual,

weird, rare spot to be in.

And somebody who, like, you
know, the big lesson is, like,

what you say no to matters.

You know, all of a sudden,
that matters more than anything

in some ways, you know?

And the way -- you know,

personal interactions
get very strange.

Things change.
Whole world changes.

I'm like -- 'Cause I remember,
really, I got famous

for winning the Oscar, because
that Oscars was the "Titanic."

So I think to this day, it's the
highest-rated Oscars has been --

There's never been, you know,
a bigger number of people

that watched the Oscars
since that day.

-That's your defining moment?

Do you think that's
your defining moment of,

this is when
the fame shit kicked in?

-Absolutely,
because I could tell.

Because the day before,
I was doing a movie.

I flew back. I flew to L.A.,
went in the thing.

When we won
and I flew out to Pittsburgh

and there was a line
outside my trailer,

I was like -- It was
an actual overnight thing.

And I was like --
My whole life had changed

completely in one night.

Before that, it was
like some people

had seen "Good Will Hunting"
but only at the time

had made, whatever,
$100 million,

$80 million at the box officer.

That's not that many people.

And I also was doing
"Shakespeare in Love."

And the movie hadn't come out
over there, and they didn't,

like, sort of pay
as much attention

to the Oscars and shit.

So I could see, I would fly.
I'd be in Pittsburgh.

I'd be like --
I felt like Elvis.

You know what I mean?

I have very low bar
for what Elvis was.

I'd be like, "Six people.
I'm Elvis."

But still, it feels like that.

I go to England, nobody gives
a fuck or know who I am.

By the way, I can't imagine
what it's like now

to be in that experience
with social media.

-No, it's nowhere
near the same.

-Because at least then,
you know,

you could say something stupid
or make some mistake,

and, like, it wasn't --
you know, might not show up.

-The idea of bad taste and bad
judgment is always attached to,

like, the bad idea, right?

And, you know, like,
nobody robs a bank

'cause they think
they're gonna get caught.

Like, nobody robs the bank

'cause they say, "After
we get the money in our hand,

we're gonna go outside,
and they're gonna catch us."

-Prison.
-Yeah.

Like, the bad idea isn't a
bad idea until they get caught.

Everybody's idea
in the beginning is always good.

-You think it's gonna work.
You think it's good.

Yeah, exactly.
-Oh, no,

we're gonna get away with this.

Then you get caught
and you're like,

"This is the stupidest shit
we ever did in our life, man.

We didn't even make it
to the fucking car, Earl."

"I thought that we had
30 seconds.

I didn't know that the cops
was in the same building."

"Bitch, you told us
the plan was safe."

"No, I did.
I did tell you that."

Like, nobody ever sees
that happening.

So all ideas are good
at the beginning.

What I know -- I don't think --
what I know I see today

is a lot of, like -- a lot
of abuse to the "celebrity"

or famous individual
that's done from the outside

that tends to break
our celebrity

or break our person of fame

in a place where they just can't
deal and they just can't handle.

Those that have survived,
those that have recovered,

those that have figured
out a way to get up

and, you know, take the dust
and break it off and go, "Okay,

like, this is what it is,

and now navigating in it
is what I have to do

until I figure it out."

Those stories are some
of the most amazing.

As a person who's been in it --

I've been in the fucking shit,

been in the fire
on all different sides of it.

Prevailing and succeeding
through that is not a win.

It's a self-accomplishment.

It's a self-accomplishment
because you go,

"I understand who I am."

And when you start
to understand who you are more,

the world of outside
doesn't affect the inside

because you then put
yourself in an environment

where you only care about those
that really know.

And I think that's
when the work gets better,

your understanding of why.

-Everything.
-Everything fucking gets better

when you go,
"Kind of I'm good."

-It's not -- First of all,
it's learning

that I can do difficult things.

-Mm-hmm.
-I can survive painful things.

-Mm-hmm.
-It doesn't mean you --

And this is gonna be
part of life.

And it's sort of like what I see
in parenting children.

It's like, you're
not gonna protect your kid

from falling down, getting hurt,
having a bully, whatever.

It's that I'm gonna be with you,
stand next to you

as you go through the process
of discovering

that this is gonna be painful
and that you're gonna recover.

'Cause that's the
most important lesson to learn.

And that you have support and I
love you and you can get better

and it's gonna be okay
and this is gonna be a memory.

And, in fact,
you're gonna have grown from it.

You're gonna look back on it.

You know, it takes a lot
to look back on some --

which I have reached
the point of.

There are some things
I'm grateful for

that I never thought
I'd be grateful for.

But what you're teaching is
that you can do it,

and it makes you --
it gives a confidence

and is really what, you know,
especially for young men,

it's like what makes us men

is that we don't have
anything to prove.

I don't need to worry about who
said what or fighting somebody,

all this bullshit that comes
from, I'm insecure,

I'm worried, I'm afraid
of something bad

happening to me,
so I'll get you first.

You know, you're in this fear
mindset, and it's like

at the end of the day,

my life's ultimately
going to be my responsibility.

That's the person
that's gonna --

principal driver
of the events in my life.

I sit around and go,
"Well, this and that."

The healthiest thing I ever did
was somebody said, like,

"All these resentments
that you have,

all these things
that you feel were unfair,

what was your part in it?"

I'm like, "My part in it?
That's the point."

Da da da da da.
-Yeah.

-But you look at every one
and you go, "Well...

I guess if I hadn't have,
you know,

got in business with that dude,
'cause I kind --

Well, if I hadn't gone out."
You know what I mean?

'Cause I didn't really --

And it's not that it's
all my fault or it's all --

It's that you understand

that you participate
in the events of your life.

And you go, "Okay."

And now, there are some things
where you're just walking

down the street,
a piano falls on you.

I understand that.

That's just
another part of life,

which is that bad things happen,

and some people have much more
difficult lives than others,

and I wish it weren't so,
but it is.

And if you're there, you go,
"How do I deal with that?"

That's the question.

And it's by learning.

And I have had --
I would say in my career,

I mean, it's been, you know,
30 -- you know, 30 years.

And I've had the crash,
multiple wipeouts,

never gonna work again,
never gonna fucking --

You know, I've had like
three medals for --

-Who's your roommate?
-[ Laughs ]

"Kev, you gonna eat your --
Kev, you gonna eat your --

You gonna finish yours?"

"Yeah, Ben, I'm gonna eat
'cause I'm still hungry."

I'm right over there.

-I mean, the best lesson I
learned was, I remember 2004, 3.

I had like three, four movies
come out that just died.

People lost money.
You know, I got gang tied.

And it was like, you know,

I got really fucking cold to
where I was like, "Oh, shit."

And that's what --
I mean, it wasn't that --

It seemed like a long time,
you know, 1997 to there.

But that was six years or so.

And all of a sudden,
I'm like, "I can't --

This person not calling me.,
I can't reach this person."

And I learned very early,
relative to now --

This was 20 years ago.

I have had the benefit
of 20 years of knowing,

this is not about --
these are not relationships

which are my friends.

This is a transaction.
This is people --

I represent something

that's meaningful to
this person's goals or ambition.

I don't need to have
that many friends.

I don't need to have to
attribute to friends with this.

And I'm not going to
subscribe to it.

Someone goes,
"Well, for the relationship.'

I don't believe that we have
that relationship.

-It's not real.
-Yeah.

-I'll say it for you.
It's not fucking real.

And there's a moment that
you go through in your career

where you think it's all real,
'cause it's so hot.

Everybody that said they
loved me got to love me.

-I'm the best.
-I'm the best.

I'm the fucking
hottest thing ever.

I don't really know
these 10 guys.

I don't know who they are,
but they're gonna come

to the house today to hang out

because they're
my friends today.

But when shit hits the fan,
that number gets slim,

that circle --
that circle fades.

-It's so important,
man, that I --

then I don't go down the road
believing these --

I can make friends.
It takes a long time.

You know, you can't have
that many really good friends.

I have a lot of people
that I love

and care about who
I do believe are genuine,

and then I have, like,
really close friends.

And it doesn't mean
you have to be cynical.

It just means that,
you know, it's authentic.

It's real.
It's the same way it was before.

And I remember
somebody telling me --

Like, I went home,
and I was -- to Boston.

I was all kind of talking about
I was bitter and going,

"I can't believe this dude,"
ba ba ba.

"I want to do this.
Now I can't," yada yada.

"And why were they
telling me this?"

And the guy was like, "Listen.

Last week, they shot a guy
for $500 at a liquor store.

You don't think a guy's gonna
laugh at your bullshit

for more than that?"

I was like, "Ooh.

Yeah."

-Your breakdown is spot-on.

Ben, I don't want to
interrupt you, but I have to,

only because we
got to take a commercial break.

Guys, we'll be right back with
more "Hart to Heart" after this.

**

I told him he's got
50 minutes to an hour max,

and the clock starts right now.
-Thank you.

[ Indistinct talking ]

As long as you blame it on him,
then I don't have to --

-Oh, not on my watch.
-It's always my fault.

-Not on my watch.

-Can we get someone
to shoot this?

**

**

-Ben.
-Harry. Nice to meet you, sir.

-Best friend.
-Is that right?

-Writer for me during stand-up.

-Really?
-But, like, this is my --

If you see me, you'll see him.

You'll never see me without him.
-Well, I'm a big fan.

-Oh. Much appreciated.

-Get your coffee, then
we'll take some pictures.

Hey, everybody, welcome back.
This is "Hart to Heart."

We're talking to Ben Affleck.

What an amazing
conversation it is.

So, Ben, early on,
your dad, screenplays, you,

started writing
but this and that.

You didn't get to the point

where you're at the highest
of the high of your career.

After being at the highest
of the high, Ben Affleck,

a leading man, you then say,
"Well, I'm gonna start

playing around more with
the concept of directing,"

having the same level of
success behind the camera

that matches the energy
that's in front of the camera.

Do you now have a favorite?

Do you now say, "I would
much rather be here than there"?

-Not much rather.

I've enjoyed acting more
in my life

for the last five or six years,
play a kind of part --

because I've just played parts
that I thought were interesting.

I've stopped worrying about,
what's people gonna think?

Are they gonna think this me,
or is it gonna make me

more famous or star
or help my career?

I'm just like,
"I like this part.

I'm going to do it.
I think it's interesting.

I have something to offer,"
and not do ones

that I just don't feel anything
for, than I've ever had.

That being said, I feel that
at my heart, what am I really,

if I had to say one thing,
it would be a filmmaker,

would be a director,
because that's really

what I most deeply love,

because it engages
not just the parts of me

that are expressive,
which is joyful

and I really love.

First of all,
I'm also a little bit shy.

I also don't like a lot
of attention.

This is why people see me
and they're like,

"This dude always mad."

Because somebody has their
camera and stick it in my face

and I'm like,
"Okay, here we go,"

They think you're mad
just because I don't --

Like, this is not
what I feel like doing.

I don't want to be bothered.
-Yeah.

And also 'cause I'm with my kids
and you're taking my picture.

Actually what I'd like to do
is do something

much more definitive than just,
like, look at you like this.

And I may be angry
that you're around my child.

I don't mind you take
my picture when I'm at a club

or premier, whatever,
my wife.

I don't give a fuck.
Go ahead.

Knock yourself out.
I don't notice you.

But with my children,
that's a different thing.

-The perception of anger
comes from a photo.

What I'm doing at that time
and where I'm at,

I'm actually trying to enjoy
my person or my people.

-Somebody's imposing on that.

And by the way, I also may be
somebody who, like --

I do find myself --
I'm like -- be sitting at home.

"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

I'm like, "Nothing."
I'm listening to this thing.

I start thinking,
is something wrong?

-You have resting bitch face.

-Bitch fa--
-Do you know what that is?

Do you know what that is?
-I have resting hard face.

-No, do you know what that is?
-Yes.

-Resting bitch face, it's like
when they say people just sit,

and you always assume that they
attitude or that they're wrong,

and those people are
actually just cool.

-Yeah, it is the thing
where you see somebody --

And I have also --
It's been part of my --

I've, like, noticed this.

Like, people are projecting
something onto me

that I don't feel about myself
at all.

And one is,
I do think it gives off,

whether it's a certain look or,
you know, I don't know,

role or something
or look like somebody

or, "Shit came easy
to this dude."

People are like -- for a long
time, they'd be like,

"This guy's a frat guy."

I've never been in a fraternity
one day in my life.

Never once been
inside a fraternity.

Nothing against it.
How can I be against it?

I've never been there.

But I don't know why
you motherfuckers

are all saying
I'm a frat guy either.

I'm like, "I didn't even
go to college."

-I'm getting bothered because
you're saying I'm a frat guy.

And I don't even know
what the fuck that means.

I've never been in a frat.

-It's taught me that
this is the whole --

The projection that people get
is not necessarily one.

If you want to,
and I know people that do this

and are very good at it,
and I envy them.

And it's probably --
I've gone back and forth.

Is this a mistake?
Is this a weakness?

Is this -- or laziness?

You know, I knew -- It was like,
"No, I got to be real.

"I can't change who I am.

All this shit that was
a little bit of bullshit, too.

It was like people from
back home would be like,

"Stay who I want you to be."

Well, hold on.
You know what I mean?

Like, I got to figure
out who I want to be.

And -- But I feel like,
you know, there are people

who are very good at, like, who
are like, "Look, it's an act."

The whole fucking thing's
an act now, right?

Instagram's an act.
Social media is an act.

What image you want
to put out there,

what do you want to show people

to make them interested
in the act that you're doing?

Because nobody is posting
their lowest moment.

Some people are crying on there,
but, you know,

nobody is advertising, like,
"I'm an asshole.

Look how horrendous I am."

You have a outside version
of your life

that's curated that you're
advertising on social media

and whatever platform
you're using.

-It's a highlight reel.

It's a consistent
highlight reel.

-It's like a trailer.

The trailer's always better
than movies,

'cause you leave out
the bad shit.

They got some hits.

-Now, before I go into, like,

the next question,
because I have to ask it,

I want to take a break.

Let's take a quick break
and pay some bills, guys,

and when we come back,

we'll have more "Hart
to Heart" with Ben Affleck.

**

Oh, it's good, Kev.

**

-Alright, here we go.
One.

Good. Good.

Good. Perfect.
Good.

[ Flashbulb pops ]

**

**

-Welcome back.
This is "Hart to Heart."

And we're sitting here
with Ben Affleck.

So, Ben, I can't sit up here
and talk to you

and not bring up the year

that you got People's
Sexiest Man Alive.

I don't even know
if you noticed or not,

I was the runner-up.

-Is that right?
-Well, yeah.

It was a tough time for me.
I just want to make you aware.

-Actually, I knew that,
and they were like, "Listen,

we're gonna give it to Hart
if you don't take it."

I was like, "Fuck it.
I'll take it."

-Yeah, well,
it was a shit show for me

because they called me and I've
really prepared for life after.

Life after Sexiest Man Alive.

In all seriousness,
this is something

that "People" magazine
has done year after year.

And I love that --

I know the men
that they've picked.

And I know
that these are the least --

You could care less
about something like this.

But when it happens, there's
another level of attention.

Ben Affleck
after the Sexiest Man Alive,

was he different?

Was he -- Were your shoulders
a little different

in the household?

Was it, "Don't fucking
talk to me like that.

I'm the Sexiest Man Alive."

Where did you go mentally
after the Sexiest Man Alive?

-I think -- I mean, I think
there -- especially then,

I was younger.

I think there has to be
some sense of, like,

"I'm the Sexiest Man Alive."

You go like, "Well, let me
be modest about it."

But inside, you're like,
"Am I the Sexiest --"

But I also knew it was like --
it was very much defining, like,

"Oh, it is all bullshit."

'Cause I know I'm not
the sexiest man alive.

-I knew it was bullshit when
they gave it to The Rock.

When they gave it to Dwayne,
"It's fucking rigged."

-They gave it to Matt
when he was 48.

I was like, "Let's call it."
-It's fucking rigged.

-You guys should wrap
this shit up

if you're just gonna
be giving it away.

-It's fucking rigged.
-I mean, come on.

-They gave it to Dwayne
with his little

penis-shaped fucking head.

I knew it was rigged then.

But you're a winner of it,

and I love that goes into
your awards of all.

I love that although,
talking about the good,

the bad,
the ugly in the business,

I love that you sit here, man,
as a polished, poised individual

full of fucking, like,
experience.

-Thank you.
-You are the definition of real

in our business.

You are the definition of, like,

real success
on all fucking cylinders,

and that success can be mirrored

or matched with problems
at times in your life.

But those problems did nothing

but set up the next level
of success, man.

And you already wrote
your story.

And the crazy thing is that you
don't have a fucking ending yet.

And that ending
you are going to determine.

And when you decide
to step down,

you decide to say
that, "This is it,

and I have done all
that I want in this thing,"

you are in control
of that, period,

because you are
in the point of your life

where you're navigating
comfortably, to your point.

You don't worry about this,
you don't worry about that

because you know
how you're operating.

That's the best place.
It's the best place.

-That's because I know
what's meaningful to me.

It doesn't have be
meaningful to everybody else.

Really, for me, actually,
the meaning of my life

is going to be these kids,
whether they write a literal

or a metaphorical book
or my children write --

That's really my story.
Who do they --

In their hearts, that's --

The meaning of my life
you will see manifest

and imbued in them,
and that's just the truth,

because, you know, your
children see you for everything

that you are, and you have
this deep relationship with

how they're going to turn out

and be what kind of people
they are.

And, like, I really am
mindful of that every day.

And I think, like,
every day I'm alive,

I want to make sure I'm doing
the right thing by them,

making their lives better.

And it doesn't mean sometimes
I don't come home

and they're like, you know,

I see that you've gone through
some bullshit,

and I just -- it breaks my heart
where I'm like,

this shit would never happen if,
you know, I wasn't in this life.

And it's hard.

I really, really fucking
second-guess it a lot.

But I also know I like
this life for them

better than the one that I had.

And that's the balance.

And I talk with Jennifer
about that a lot as we look at,

what's the difference
between our kids' lives?

I have five kids now, right?
I have two stepkids, three kids.

What's the difference
between their lives

and our lives growing up?

Forget about the whole,
like, gen--

like, how our parents just
let us fucking roam and shit.

Like, "Be back
in two days," you know,

but the whole experience
is different.

And then they're
growing up like --

I didn't know any rich people.

I always thought
that rich people,

they're out there somewhere.
You know what I mean?

Like, with their shit.
-I didn't get to see it.

-And you feel like, okay,
now my kids,

that's like a burden.
I've also put on them,

'cause that don't
really mean shit.

Money didn't change my life
at all except for the point

at which I could pay my bills.

That was it.
That was a big deal.

That's no joke.

Can you keep the lights on?
Can you pay your bills?

Can you pay your rent?

Are you not having anxiety
all the fucking time?

After that, to me,
it's like, alright, cool.

You know, it's nice,
and I like nice shit,

but it's not a thing --
not worth chasing for.

You know what I mean?

And so I give this
to my children.

I think, like, you know,

I was talking about my kids,
I was like --

My daughter's always

throwing out titles
for her autobiography

'cause I said this to her,
of course.

You show them your weaknesses
and they're like,

"Oh, let me poke that
motherfucker for you."

She was like --
We went somewhere with Jen.

I can't remember, 'cause,
you know, she's so famous

and she creates this --
People love her,

and she really represents
something important to people.

You know, people are like,
"Hey, I like your movie.

Aah! JLo!"

It's like -- It's amazing.
You know what I mean?

I think it was when we rolled
through Times Square.

We had to get out of the car.
We were going to a play.

And I was like, "Fuck it, baby.
We're gonna be late."

We had all the kids.

We're like, "We got to walk
a block and a half."

She was like, "Alright."
She didn't even say shit.

I was like, "Come on.
We got to walk.

We got to go.
Let's get out the car."

You know, you get impatient.
Traffic's gonna be 10 minutes.

The show start in three minutes.
Take us two minutes to walk.

Get out with her, all
the kids through Times Square,

and the shit was like
fucking bananas.

You know, and it was like the --
not even the mayor.

-And in the middle of it,
you're going, "I fucked up."

-I was like, "Oh, my God.
-"I fucked up."

-And there's a lady in a full,
like, purple --

You can see it on the Internet,
somebody --

She's smoking weed.

She's wearing a purple
skintight suit.

She's big, heavy lady.
And she sees.

She starts running backwards,
filming, going, "JLo!"

It's like a herald
that then gets everyone else.

And then they're all tourists,
whatever, just woof!

Then I'm moving.

We got our five kids,
me and Jen,

and it's like -- feels
like hundreds of people.

And they're all screaming.

And my daughter
just turns to me and goes,

"JLo Was My Stepmother."

I was like, "Alright,
that's a good title."

Could be a lot worse than that.
-She's got another title.

By the way, in that moment,
you got to be oblivious to it

and act like it's all okay.

"Told you, baby,
we'll be on time."

-That's when I put
my bitch face on.

-Yes. And saying nothing else.

Ben, you were everything I
thought you would be plus more,

and I know everybody that will
watch this will think the same.

Hey, man, I know you.
I know you.

And I can say
that I'm honored to have had you

as a guest on this show.
-I feel the same way.

-And, you know, I just love

that people will get to see you
talk the way you talked today.

-I appreciate you giving me
a chance to do this.

-It's not something that
you've done or that you do, man,

but you're just --
there's just so much, man.

There's so many layers
to the fucking star of

and the guy and man
that you've become.

-I'm glad you're doing this.

It's not like --
You're not getting well on this.

You know what I mean?
You're doing this an act

of grace and sharing things.

It's kind of beautiful.

I wish I was courageous
and forward-leaning like that,

because I have a lot of respect
for it,

'cause I just -- the only reason
I'm here is 'cause of you.

You do make me feel safe,
and I like you.

And I feel, "Okay."

But, like, last time I did
a voluntary talk show

was 21 years ago.

Like, I'm very, you know,
"I don't want to go on,

and what am I gonna say wrong,
and it's a minefield.

Let me try to get my joke
get the fuck out of there.

Promote the movie."

And I just -- I'm like,
"Let me just go home," you know,

but this has been a joy
and a pleasure and a treat.

-You are in a safe place, man,

and this is gonna be one
for the record books.

Ladies and gentlemen,
this is "Hart to Heart."

That's Ben Affleck.
Say hello.

[ Cheers and applause ]
-Thank you.

[ Indistinct conversation ]

**

**

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