t turns out recasting his ex-wife wasn’t Ben Affleck‘s idea. It was Jennifer Garner‘s.
Ben says Jen was originally set to star in his new movie Animals, and when he ended up taking the lead role himself, the plan would have had the former couple playing husband and wife on screen. But according he says she was the one who shut that down.
Ben says he approached his ex-wife about the change, and her response was blunt: “We don’t wanna do that. You just get baggage.” The Oscar winner admits she had a point. While the two remain close friends and co-parents, Ben says he didn’t want audiences bringing their real-life history into the movie and having it distract from the story. So he re-cast Kerry Washington in the role
But he insists he originally wanted Jen in the film, saying she would have been “amazing.” He even liked that working together would have made scheduling around their three children easier.
Animals hits theaters on October 9th. (Entertainment Weekly)