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Ben Affleck has revealed that his ex-wife Jennifer Garner was once considered for a major role in his upcoming Netflix thriller Animals, but ultimately decided against appearing opposite him on screen.
Affleck, who directed and stars in the film, initially imagined Garner playing Abigail Kimball, the wife of his character, Mark Kimball. The story follows the Los Angeles mayoral candidate after his son is kidnapped, sending his seemingly perfect marriage into turmoil as the couple races to raise a ransom and uncover who they can trust.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Affleck said Garner seemed like an obvious choice for the role, especially because working together could have allowed them to spend more time with their three children, Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14.
"I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role," Affleck said. He added that there was an "added benefit" because they could coordinate their schedules around their children.
The original plan was for Matt Damon to play Mark, but production was delayed and Damon eventually became unavailable because of his work on The Odyssey. Affleck then stepped into the role himself, changing the situation considerably.
That was when Garner raised a concern about the two of them playing a married couple.
"I talked to Jen, and she was like, 'We don't wanna do that. You just get baggage,'" Affleck recalled.
The role eventually went to Kerry Washington, who stars opposite Affleck as Abigail. Washington said she was drawn to the complicated relationship between the characters, particularly how the crisis exposes cracks in their marriage.
For Affleck, the film also gave him an opportunity to explore questions surrounding relationships and marriage.
"How do you maintain a relationship? That's obviously something that was on my mind," he said, adding, "What does a marriage really require of us? How well can we know one another?"
Although Garner declined the role, Affleck made it clear that he has no reservations about working with her again. The former couple, who were married for 10 years before separating in 2015, previously appeared together in Daredevil.
"I would love to work with her, frankly," Affleck said. "She's fabulous, and we're really good friends, and I'm profoundly grateful to her, and we have a great thing."
He explained that while he would still like to collaborate with Garner, he understands why putting their history on screen could affect how audiences experience the story.
Animals is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on October 9.
