Former Batman Ben Affleck has shared why he doesn’t want to run for office, even though he feels there’s a “collective disappointment” with the current state of U. S. politics.
Affleck is about to appear in Animals, a political thriller on Netflix where he plays a mayoral candidate in Los Angeles who gets tangled up with the criminal world.
In the early 2000s, Affleck showed some interest in possibly stepping into politics (without the crime angle), but despite encouragement from his co-stars to really consider it, he’s now made it clear that he’s not interested in public office-while also expressing his frustration with how things are going in the country.
Ben Affleck. Image credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images.
“We don’t ask the question of ‘what are your qualifications to hold public office?’ any longer,” Affleck started off when speaking to Variety. “It’s, ‘You wanna join the circus? Who’s the biggest carny?’
“Regardless of your political views, one thing many people agree on is their disappointment with how American politics has been heading,” said the former Batman. “Nobody thinks, ‘hey, we’re doing this right and everything’s great and I love this system.’ And that’s an issue.”
While he didn’t go into detail, Affleck mentioned he could list “lots of things” wrong with America and how they could be fixed. He’s been a supporter of the Democratic Party for years and has backed every Democratic presidential candidate since Al Gore in 2000.
Netflix’s The Rip Images
“The other thing is when you become a politician, it stops being about helping people and turns into just raising money,” Affleck continued. “It becomes more about playing childish games where you make fun of each other rather than actually discussing real issues.”
“I think what’s missing from politics is true leadership. You can’t just scare people or lecture them into voting for you; you’ve got to inspire them instead.”
So why not take that leap into politics? Affleck responded by saying he’s content staying as an actor-even if that sounds “selfish.”
“Selfishly, I just see what a tough job it would be and I’d prefer making movies about it,” he wrapped up.
Earlier this week, Ben Affleck tried to address concerns regarding Netflix’s filmmaking process after comments made by his long-time collaborator Matt Damon. He also acknowledged that Animals includes various AI elements after selling an AI company to Netflix for around $600 million earlier this year.
Image credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign. com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg. bsky. social p>
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