Ben Affleck has often spoken about what drove him away from playing Batman on screen and in a recent interview, he said that his close friend Matt Damon also played a role in his decision.
Affleck played the 'DC' superhero in 2016's 'Batman v/s Superman: Dawn of Justice' and then in the ill-fated 'Justice League' film. He also appeared in a cameo in 'Suicide Squad' and in Zack Snyder's 'Justice League' - a four-hour director's cut of the film.
After flirting with directing a solo Batman movie and then stepping away from the role for several years, he will once again don the cape and cowl in the upcoming 'The Flash' film.
In an interview for 'Entertainment Weekly', conducted by Damon, he told his friend about what happened.
"I had a really nadir experience around 'Justice League' for a lot of different reasons. Not blaming anybody, there is a lot of things that happened. But really what it was is that I was not happy. I did not like being there. I did not think it was interesting. And then some really messy things, awful things happened. But that is when I was like, I'm not going to do that anymore," he said.
He continued, "In fact, I talked to you about it and you were a principal influence on that decision. I want to do the things that would bring me joy. Then we went and did 'Last Duel' and I had fun every day on this movie. I was not the star and I was not likable. I was a villain. I was not all the things I thought I was supposed to be when I started out and yet it was a wonderful experience. And it was all just stuff that came along that I was not chasing."
'Justice League' was marred by a troubled production. After Snyder's cut of the film failed to excite the studio - 'Warner Bros' - 'Avengers' director Joss Whedon was brought in to help out. Whedon took over entirely after Snyder dropped out to deal with a personal tragedy. Whedon has been accused of unprofessional behaviour on the set of the film by actor Ray Fisher, who has found support in co-star Jason Momoa. Both Affleck and 'Wonder Woman' star Gal Gadot have spoken briefly about the unpleasant experience.
The actor is currently attracting awards buzz for his performance in 'The Tender Bar', a drama directed by George Clooney. Affleck and Damon broke out after winning Oscars for writing 'Good Will Hunting' together.