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Ben Affleck reflected on his father and mother dying two months apart earlier this year.
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The Argo star and director said that he has since started “thinking about my own childhood” in “different” ways.
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Affleck said that he has “learned to even more deeply appreciate my mom,” after her death.
Ben Affleck is reflecting on the recent deaths of his parents.
The Argo star and director discussed his memories of his father, Timothy, who died in April, and his mother, Chris, who died in June, on a new episode of Kerry Washington’s podcast Street You Grew Up On.
“My parents just died. Both of them. In April, and in June,” he said. “It’s sort of a big thing, and it’s caused me to start thinking about my own childhood in ways that has been a little bit different.”
The Batman v. Superman star said that following his mother’s death from cardiopulmonary arrest, he has learned to see her life in a different light. “I’ve certainly learned to even more deeply appreciate my mom,” Affleck said. “And really value and see what she did and what the sacrifice and commitment that she made and how complete it was.”
Affleck explained that he began reading letters that his mother wrote to his grandparents from her early adulthood. “This sounds like a crazy thing to say, but it was really weird for me to read these letters, first of all as this young woman, full of life and ambition and dreams and not sure, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll be a social worker, maybe I’ll be a teacher, there’s these protests,'” he shared. “But of course, the thing that struck me was: This has nothing to do with me. This woman had her own whole life for 30 years that had zero to do with me.”
The Gone Girl actor explained that he was moved by his mother prioritizing him and his family, despite her own personal interests and goals. “It was so interesting to me because all I knew was a person who just made me and my brother the absolute most important center of her life,” he said. “And it really struck me that she was gorgeous and smart and thoughtful and passionate, and I just thought, ‘This woman’s amazing. She can do anything.’ And there she was, my whole life.”
He continued, “She was a teacher, she worked really hard. She taught elementary school in public school. She taught 5th and 6th grade. She’d finish at 2:30, but she never came home until about 5:30 or 6. She worked really hard. And then she came home and did everything, you know? And there I was, probably a pain in the ass, outside, didn’t wanna come in, complaining, whatever it was, hard to wrangle, me and my brother.”
Affleck said that his parents’ failed marriage made him “sad” on his mother’s behalf. “She should have happiness and love,” he said. “[At] the time that we’re talking about, my dad was kind of in bad shape and sort of getting worse, he didn’t get a job, he drank too much, all that kind of stuff, angry, resentful.”
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The Oscar winner said that there was “a lot of friction” between his parents, which meant that he was relieved as a tween when they told him they were seeking a divorce. “They said whatever it was, ‘We’re getting divorced,'” Affleck recalled. “And I remember, I was 11 years old, I remember thinking, ‘I should try to look sad.’ That’s what I thought. I was like, ‘Can I try to cry? Should I be sad?’ But I was so happy.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
