The place you want to be is not just a straight road for you to tread, it’s a branching path that takes you up and down, left and right until you’re ready to reach your destination. This especially holds true in the Hollywood industry, where stars like Ben Affleck among many others take on projects with the hope of reaching their desired destinations in their career.
And as stated before, there might be some paths that might lead you into a position that might not be what you hoped for, or even be disappointing. Affleck had to go through a similar situation once after bombing hard at the box office with Daredevil, until his co-star and best friend came to his rescue and proposed him as the lead role to the director of an upcoming film, something that the star was never given credit for.
Did Ben Affleck Hold A Grudge Against Matt Damon For Being The Second Choice In Paycheck?
Known for being one of the finest stars the film industry has seen, Ben Affleck‘s accolades have substantiated these claims and then some. But when it comes to his illustrious career, not all the projects he has been in were successful, one of the most famous among them being his 2003 Marvel film Daredevil. That film was such a big blemish on his resume that he saw no path out of it until his friend Matt Damon offered him a script for a movie that initially he was scouted for. But it seems like Affleck didn’t like being the second choice.
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In a past interview with the Batman Vs. Superman star talked about his experience working with director John Woo in their 2003 Sci-Fi/action film Paycheck, and how he got the role. Originally, he revealed that Damon was offered to play the lead, but seeing as he was doing films in the Bourne franchise, and the lead in this film also suffered from amnesia, he declined. But then, he also convinced Woo to consider Affleck for the role, which led the filmmaker to him. And despite the Ford Vs. Ferrari star practically handing him the role, Affleck didn’t appreciate him, He said:
“Matt was pleased and honored, of course, to talk to John Woo, but he read the script and said to him, ‘You know, I can’t just be amnesia movie guy, you know what I mean, or that’s all I’ll do.’ But he called me right after his meeting with John and said, ‘You gotta get on this script, man, this is really, really good.’ As luck would have it for me, John flew back from the meeting in New York on the plane to LA and they were showing ‘Changing Lanes’ on the plane. When he got here I got the part. It was great. It was serendipitous for me. I like to think though that it was ‘Changing Lanes’ that did it and not Matt, therefore I’m not giving him a cut.”
Although he was grateful for Damon to recommend him as the lead, which eventually got him the role and saved the Oscar winner from his earlier box-office humiliation, in his classic fashion, Affleck took a friendly jab at him as well through this comment.
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What Was Paycheck About?
What will happen if you’re working on a top-secret scientific project in a multi-billion dollar tech company for billions in cash, but the only condition is that part of your short-term memory will be erased after the incremental progress of your project? Paycheck tells the story of Michael Jennings, an engineer who’s promised almost $4.4 Billion when the project is successfully completed. But when it’s finally time to be paid, the company tells him that he had decided to forfeit that amount in the past. Seeing he has no recollection of his memories, he seeks to find the truth about it.
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Paycheck, streaming on Paramount+.
Source: ComingSoon
