Ben Affleck speaks of his drive and the rage of Batman

When you’ve gotten to the position that Ben Affleck is in, choosing a role as widely coveted as Batman is a careful career choice. You can risk not being cast for future roles if the film turns out bad, or if the public eye has a hard time seeing you as anything else. On the flip side, choosing a role such as this can also give an adrenaline shot to your career. Given the success of his directed films (ARGO, THE TOWN), you could argue that Affleck didn’t need it, but it was certainly in mind when he chose to don the cowl.

In regards to being able to develop smaller independent pictures because of playing Batman:

I hope it’s true. You’re always thinking about the momentum you’re trying to build in your career. There are dual thought processes – on the one hand, you’re going, ‘What’s interesting to me?’ On the other hand, you’re thinking, ‘How do I give myself the opportunity to do those things?’ And that calculus, I think, consciously or subconsciously, is part of any career though process.

Whether or not he’s worried about the reactions from Batman fans regarding his casting:

That terror when I’m about to start something can be motivating. It helps me kick my ass into gear, because I think, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna ruin the movie, I’m gonna not know what to do.’ That’s definitely a good, driving factor for me. My theory is that once you lose that, you’re kind of going downhill.

I don’t worry too much about what other people say about me versus my own ideas and standards, what I’d like to do. Particularly given that when I set out, in 2002 or so, to be a director, if I had listened to all the things people said about whether or not I’d be successful and what kind of movies I’d make, I never would have done it. It was a really good lesson in self-determination and trusting my instincts.

If the aging Batman we’ll see is still full of rage:

I think it’s a necessity, historically, in the tradition of these films. For me, anger is so deeply buried and contained that when it does kind of come out, it comes out in stronger bursts. I tend to be respectful, polite, get along, put up with, put up with, put up with . . . then, when it finally emerges, it’s not something I have a ton of control over. I’m not gonna go into a Wolverine berserker rage, but I do have a, I do . . . that is an interesting thing that you point out. That’s my personality.

As strange a casting decision as this initially seemed, my gut said that Affleck was confident in what he could bring to the table and that he will do a great job. The man is much more careful in the roles he’ll play nowadays, so given his confidence, I very much look forward to what he can bring to this role that only a few actors have played with success.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE will bring the rage on March 25, 2016.