Ben Affleck may play a Los Angeles mayoral candidate in the upcoming Netflix movie Animals, but don’t expect the actor-turned-filmmaker to make a real-life run for office anytime soon.
Affleck plays Mark Kimball in the Netflix thriller, which he also co-wrote and directed. In the movie, Mark is campaigning to become Los Angeles mayor when his life takes a devastating turn after his son is abducted. He and his wife, Abigail, played by Kerry Washington, are forced to confront a series of dangerous choices as they try to get their child back.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker is one of the rare Hollywood celebrities who has been vocal about politics and shared their opinions publicly, but his own experiences have left him increasingly hesitant about getting involved in the political world. In an interview with Comicbook.com, the 54-year-old actor reflected on his past involvement in politics and how it changed his perspective.
“You know, I spent a few years where I got quite involved with politics. And then that really disillusioned me in a lot of ways. I had a sort of fixed notion of what that was and this what this actually did was impress upon me like how unrewarding I think it can often be, just the one day of campaigning that we did, like I like that was the most exhausted that day ever did, go around shaking everybody’s hands, glad hand, do that thing like you’re so exposed to people,” he said.
Affleck has been politically active in the past, including supporting presidential campaigns, but he now appears much more interested in examining politics through his filmmaking than becoming a politician himself. The actor recently stated that holding a political office is an “awful job” and said that he has become disappointed with the system.
That experience became useful when approaching Animals, which uses a mayoral campaign as the backdrop for a much more personal story about morality, compromise, and the lengths people may go to protect their families.
“Politics works for this story because it seems to me to be the most common example of a time when you’re asked potentially to sacrifice things that you really believe in, ostensibly for a higher goal, but where that doesn’t always end up being the case. So, no, I’m not that interested in politics,” Affleck explained.
His comments come a few days after his Animals co-star publicly announced that they would want the Argo star to run for office. During the film’s premiere on Thursday, October 1, in Los Angeles, Kerry Washington and Luis Gerardo Méndez told the press that they would love to see Affleck holding a pivotal position in the current political system. However, the actor didn’t want to escalate the matter and jokingly said, “Maybe they hate me.”
The political setting is ultimately only one part of Animals. The film puts Affleck’s character in a situation where his public responsibilities collide with deeply personal stakes, forcing him to make increasingly difficult decisions.
Animals is scheduled to release on Netflix and in selected theaters on October 9.
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