After his Oscar-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Ben Affleck was in high demand and bagged a role in the big-budget action film Armageddon. However, starring in an action movie has its own consequences, and Affleck also had to endure them during the filming of the movie. While Affleck’s performance and the intriguing premise of the film made it a successful one, the film almost took his life, but fortunately, he was saved by a big mishap.
If this wasn’t enough, Affleck also had some creative differences with the filmmaker. However, all these issues came to an end when the film saw a massive success. Later it resulted in more collaborations between Affleck and Armageddon’s director Michael Bay.
Ben Affleck risked his life for a film
Ben Affleck is undeniably an incredible actor and has proven his versatility over time. Among his various blockbuster films is the 1998 sci-fi action Armageddon. While the film was well received by the audience, little do they know about the toil put behind the film to make it a success.
During the filming of a scene from the film, Affleck almost lost his life. According to The Things, Affleck’s life was in danger as his costume malfunctioned. Since the actor played the role of an Astronaut in the film, he wore a space suit to act the character. But little did he know that this was going to risk his life. The director of the film, Michael Bay explained the toll they had to bear while filming Armageddon. He said,
“Each spacesuit needed five people. Craziest crap in the world. Let me explain that. First day, Ben Affleck, way down, we wrecked, we’re shooting in the Badlands in the Dakotas. I got a microphone or whatever to the actors. They’re walking out of a plane crash, and wind machines, 100 mile an hour winds.
And all of a sudden, I see Ben Affleck trying to hit his face shield. They had real NASA locks on their helmets. I’m like, ‘Cut, cut, cut. What’s going on? Ben, what’s going on?’ So we have to run literally like a football field toward. And he was trying to find a rock to bust his mask, because he couldn’t breathe because the air thing was shut.”
Fortunately, Affleck got out of the situation safely, and the scene was also filmed successfully. But this wasn’t the end of the issues while filming the movie, as later Affleck had some creative differences with the film’s director.
Ben Affleck struggled to comprehend the directorial vision of Michael Bay
Ben Affleck is not just a talented actor, but he is also a great filmmaker and screenwriter.
When he took up the project of Armageddon, he was quite puzzled by the narrative of the film. In a DVD commentary for the film, which was posted on X (formerly Twitter) (via Cinemablend) the actor recalled asking Michael Bay some questions related to the film, he was shut down immediately by Bay. Affleck said,
“I asked Michael why it was easier to train oil drillers to become astronauts than it was to train astronauts to become oil drillers, and he told me to shut the fuck up. So that was the end of that talk. [Does Michael Bay voice] ‘You know, Ben, just shut up, OK? You know, this is a real plan.’ I was like, ‘You mean it’s a real plan at NASA to train oil drillers?’ And he was like, ‘Just shut your mouth!'”
While Affleck couldn’t make sense out of a few scenes of the film, Fans didn’t raise any objection with the film, Rather, it was a big hit, both critically and commercially.
Source: Cinemablend, The Things
