Ben Affleck has opened up about challenging his own ‘internalized homophobia’ after taking on one of his earliest film roles.
The 52-year-old has been in the spotlight for decades, thanks to stints in Gone Girl, Good Will Hunting, The Town, Batman v Superman and many, many more.
During an interview with GQ to promote the Accountant 2, he reflected on his impressive back catalog and was questioned on how he feels Chasing Amy has aged over the years.
In the 1997 comedy drama, he starred as comic book artist Holden McNeil, who falls in love with lesbian writer Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams), something that annoys his best friend and business partner Banky (Jason Lee).
‘At the time, what I thought was interesting about it was that it alluded to a spectrum of sexual orientation. Because to me it was very suggestive around the homosexuality between the two friends,’ he replied, touching on the bond between Holden and Banky.
‘What does a love relationship between two men look like, too? You love this other man, we have friendships with men that we love very much.
‘It was a way of looking at well, how is this also similar to homosexual relationships? Or maybe there’s a continuum or spectrum, and I thought that was honest.
‘Frankly, I found myself having to challenge my own kind of internalized homophobia because I found it so difficult to kiss Jason.
‘And I thought, “This is really embarrassing. Like, this is clearly some internalized thing because why should that be a difficult thing to do, for me?’”
Dissecting Kevin James’ controversial movie, which earned more than $12million at the box office and has gone down as a cult classic, Ben confessed that he was ‘disappointed’ by his performance looking back.
He also shared that he would ‘love the chance’ to go back and do it again, but wouldn’t want to risk offending anyone.
‘I still think I did a s****y and unconvincing job at it, and I feel very disappointed by that,’ he added. ‘And I would love the chance to do better at that.
‘Although, of course now, I’m not sure the idea of playing a gay character would be welcome. I might be averse to that because I don’t want to offend anyone in this direction.
‘It was a movie that, at the time, felt like it was pushing some boundaries. And in retrospect, as often happens, the world has evolved.’
Kevin previously addressed the divisive reaction that Chasing Amy has been met with over the years, and vowed that he ‘of course’ understood why some in the LGBTQ+ community didn’t respond well to it.
Since the premiere, it has been branded ‘regressive’ by many for the portrayal of Alyssa’s sexuality, and her romance with Holden.
Appearing in the Chasing Chasing Amy documentary by Sav Rodgers last year, the director said of the criticism: ‘Believe me, I’ve had 22 years to get used to that. I got used to that on the f***ing first week it came out.
‘The biggest blowback, and God’s truth, that I heard, felt, and was told about was when they told me that Ellen and Anne Heche went to see Chasing Amy, and it was reported that they walked out in the first half hour.
‘There were some people … who were upset.’
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