Ben Affleck’s latest movie Animals puts him in an unusual political role. He plays Mark Kimball, a mayoral candidate whose campaign is thrown into chaos when his son is kidnapped. While promoting the Netflix thriller, Affleck was asked whether playing a politician had sparked any interest in entering politics himself.
Does Ben Affleck have any interest in politics after Animals?
Ben Affleck does not appear interested in pursuing a political career after making Animals. During an interview with ComicBook, Affleck was asked whether playing a mayoral candidate had increased his interest in politics.
Affleck explained that he had previously been involved with politics. He said, “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.”
“So, 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.” He described going around, shaking hands, and meeting people as an experience that left him feeling drained.
“It just even just the one day of campaigning that we did, like that was the most exhausting day ever to go around, shake everybody’s hands… like you’re so exposed to people, and there’s this like I hate to use the, you know, the word energy because it can mean anything, but there is this like drain on you.”
However, Affleck noted that those sacrifices do not always result in the promised higher goal. “And also 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… So, no, I’m not that interested in.”
The upcoming movie features a large ensemble cast alongside Affleck and Kerry Washington. Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Ray Fisher, Matt Gerald, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Adriana Paz, and Christopher Woodley also star in the movie.