Ben Affleck Admits He's 'One Errant Remark Away From Being Canceled' and Dumped From Hollywood: 'The Phone Could Stop Ringing'

Ben Affleck is not taking his Hollywood career for granted.

Despite working in the film industry for decades, the Air actor, 52, has been highly cautious that it could all be gone if he publicly slips up and says something out of line.

"We're all subject to this sort of insecurity in this business. Whether we're actors or directors or writers, the phone could stop ringing for us," Affleck explained in a recent interview alongside his friend Matt Damon, with whom he began his Artists Equity production company.

"This is the only thing I can count on, this upfront money. I don't know when this might go away," he pointed out about the stability of his joint venture with the Jason Bourne actor, 54. "I'm one errant remark away from being canceled, or I'm one movie bomb away from never working again, and I've got a family and so forth."

With their business, the Good Will Hunting stars aim to create fair pay schemes where actors can invest in the projects they're working on, allowing them to get money even if the show or movie isn't successful. "I've been in movies like Gigli. That's a famous example," Affleck pointed out about the 2003 flop he starred in with his estranged wife, Jennifer Lopez.

"I got a big cash payday for that. Well, it doesn't feel right in retrospect because they [the studio] lost money," he noted. "It wasn't the biggest money-losing movie in history even though it was the most famous bomb in history, perhaps. Nonetheless, that doesn't sit right with me. But it also doesn't sit right with people when they go, 'Wait a minute, we all sacrificed to be committed to this.' And then the old story about the $10 million movie that's made $200 million and nobody's seen a nickel."

While Affleck and the "Get Right" singer, 55, may have started their love story on the set of the failed film, the two did not get their happily ever after. Lopez officially filed to end their two-year marriage in August after the ex-power couple rekindled their early 2000s romance in 2021. The former costars were previously engaged from 2002 until they called it off in 2004.

"They’re focused on their families, work commitments and just moving forward," an insider claimed of their lives after the split.

However, there may still be some hard feelings on Lopez's end. “She was very respectful and totally loyal to Ben even after he walked out on her, but now all bets are off. She’s desperate to forget about Ben and get over the anguish he’s put her through and the best way she can do that is by having some no strings attached fun with hot young guys," a source claimed.

Deadline conducted the interview with Affleck and Damon.