Ben Affleck tells Michele Manelis about the words that changed his life - and what he wants from life after divorce and battling alcoholism
You play a basketball coach in The Way Back – did
you have a mentor/coach
when you were growing up?
I had a drama teacher in high school who was very much a mentor figure, a father figure, somewhere between a peer and a parent. When I was close to graduating high school, he took me aside and said, "I think you have a shot at acting. It's hard and it's a lot of struggle but I want to encourage you to continue." And that conversation probably had the single biggest impact on my career. During the ensuing years when I was kicking around and auditioning and trying to get a job and often feeling frustrated and rejected, thinking that it was never going to work, I remembered those words and they meant a huge amount to me.
Have you ever been a sports coach?
Well, I coached my [8-year-old] son's little league team last year and that was about the right level for me.
In making this movie about an alcoholic who lost his wife and family over his addiction, did it make you reflect on the kind of man you want to be now?
It's an evolving process. As you get older and think a lot about what sort of person you want to be, I think ultimately, the most important biography that's written about any of us is the one that we leave behind in the hearts and minds of our children. So, being a father is the most important thing to me. And trying to make as few parenting mistakes as possible. It's inevitable but that's the most important thing to me.
What are your priorities these days?
Being sober is very important to me, being honest is important to me, being humble is important to me. Treating other people with respect is really important to me. And it's also important that I understand and accept life on life's terms; that things are going to change and to be accepting of that and to be able to deal with the changing seasons of life.