In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor reacted to the backlash he received when it was announced that he would take on the role of the Dark Knight in Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Affleck walked EW through his decision to take on the part. “Before I took the role, Warner Bros. gave me a bunch of past reactions to casting and said, ‘Are you sure you want to get into this? This is part and parcel of these movies now. There’s a lot of active fans with a lot of opinions.’ To me, having been through a certain amount of that, it doesn’t really… Everyone’s entitled to their opinion,” he explained.
“I wouldn’t have taken the part if I didn’t trust my instincts in terms of the filmmaking. I think Chris Terrio wrote a terrific script. Zack’s a great visual director. And there’s an interesting take. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think I could do it. I have the benefit of a lot of that understanding. But also, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That’s a big part of this international sport.”
In the midst of defending his Batman part, the 41-year-old decided to throw E.L. James’ wildly popular erotic book-turned-movie into the mix. “The Fifty Shades of Grey kid (James Dornan?) or whatever it is,” he said. “That’s sort of become a thing.”
He added of playing the beloved superhero, “The American myths are these superheroes. People care about ‘em a lot. And it’s incumbent on you to do a good job and make it as excellent as you possibly can. At the end of the day, the movie’s all that matters.”
So, how is he feeling currently while shooting Batman v. Superman? “It’s a process that I’ll probably have better perspective on when I’m done. I can tell you that every time I do a role, it’s the responsibility of an actor to get their physical self as close to the role as possible. And Batman’s obviously got a set of expectations that are tough.”
As for how he prepared for this role versus his much talked-about Gone Girl part, he joked, “I spent a lot of time working out. And it’s a far cry from Gone Girl where my character is described as ‘puffy and hungover.’ I want you to know I worked equally hard at both!” (Entertainment Weekly)