Ben Affleck reveals almost casting Jennifer Garner as wife in 'Animals'

Ben Affleck is opening up about the casting reshuffle behind his new Netflix crime thriller Animals, revealing he originally planned for ex-wife Jennifer Garner to play the female lead, and even considered starring opposite her himself before ultimately deciding against it. 

"I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role," Affleck told Entertainment Weekly. 

"It also has the added benefit of, like, both of us will see our kids more because we do a week and a week and back and forth. I thought, well, we can coordinate our schedules around it." 

He added that he saw the role as a chance for Garner to showcase something new. 

"She can bring something interesting that she hasn't [done], that I kind of know she can do, that I don't think she had a chance to do in one movie."

Animals, which Affleck co-wrote, directs and stars in, was originally set to star his longtime friend Matt Damon in the lead role of Mark Kimball, with Garner cast as Mark's wife, Abigail. 

But scheduling conflicts pulled Damon away to work with Christopher Nolan, prompting Affleck to needle his friend playfully. 

"Matt was unfortunately doing another lesser film, obviously, with Odyssey. He chose a smaller director and a smaller film and a smaller role for his career, and I think he's gonna suffer for it. He'll regret this choice." 

With Damon out, Affleck stepped into the lead role himself, but that created a new wrinkle, since it would have meant playing opposite Garner as an on-screen couple. 

Both agreed against it. 

"I talked to Jen, and she was like, 'We don't wanna do that. You just get baggage,'" Affleck recalled. Garner was ultimately recast, with Kerry Washington taking over the role of Abigail.

Affleck made clear the door remains open for a future collaboration with his ex-wife, saying, "I would love to work with her, frankly. She's fabulous, and we're really good friends." 

Affleck and Garner were married from 2005 to 2018 and share three children, they've maintained a close, amicable co-parenting relationship in the years since. 

Animals, also starring Gillian Anderson, premieres October 9 on Netflix.