Ben Affleck reveals the real reason ex-wife Jennifer Garner left his Netflix thriller

Ben Affleck has weighed in on the reason why Jennifer Garner has exited his upcoming Netflix thriller Animals. The two stars were married for 13 years before their divorce was finalised in 2018 and have been co-parenting their three children, as well as remaining "really good friends".

Garner was originally set to star in Animals, which is directed and co-written by Affleck. The film follows Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball and his wife dealing with the kidnapping of their son.

When Affleck's close friend and frequent collaborator Matt Damon exited the project over scheduling conflicts with The Odyssey, Affleck decided to take on the role of protagonist Mark.

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"A better actor had to play the part, naturally," Affleck joked with Entertainment Weekly, explaining that he and Garner then had a conversation about playing a married couple given their shared history.

"I talked to Jen, and she was like, 'We don't wanna do that. You just get baggage,'" Affleck continued.

The two actors previously shared the screen on 2001 movie Pearl Harbor, as well as 2003 superhero film Daredevil.

"I would love to work with her, frankly," Affleck said about Garner.

"She's fabulous, and we're really good friends, and I'm profoundly grateful to her, and we have a great thing. I still would wanna work with her in the future, but what you don't wanna do is take the audience's baggage and have it work against you, you know?"

Mark's wife Abigail is now played by Scandal star Kerry Washington, with Animals also starring Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun.

The cast is rounded out by Spectre's Adriana Paz, Murder Mystery's Luis Gerardo Méndez, Justice League's Ray Fisher, Puncture's Mark Kassen and Law & Order: SVU's Christopher Woodley.

Animals will be released on Netflix on 9 October.

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Reporter, Digital Spy

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy. 

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).