Ben Affleck opens up about making right parenting choices

Actor Ben Affleck says he does his best to make the right parenting choices for his children without getting too caught up in the deeply emotional aspects. 

The 44-year-old actor has three children with estranged wife Jennifer Garner Violet, 10, Seraphina, 7, and Samuel, 4.

“When you have kids, what’s that expression, ‘Your heart is outside your body,’ all of the sudden you feel so vulnerable and this fear of a child being vulnerable is very very powerful,” he said.

In his latest thriller, The Accountant, Affleck plays the role of Chris, a math genius with a mysterious set of special skills who also happens to be on the autism spectrum.

Chris grows up with a very strict, very physical father who encourages his sons to fight their way out of conflict, but does so out of love for his “different” son. Affleck said the fictional parenting style gave him pause, reported Us magazine.

“I can see why it made for a really interesting character in the father. Here’s a guy out of love and compassion and fear for his son, actually ends up kind of brutalizing him and abusing him and it’s a really interesting look at what’s the appropriate way to channel the intense emotions we have as parents, it’s not easy,” he said.