Justice League star Ben Affleck has taken on plenty of impressive blockbuster roles throughout his decades spent onscreen, but the actor has also turned down a lot of notable parts in that time. Coming to prominence way back in the mid-90s thanks to a string of impressive collaborations with indie movie legend Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck went from independent cinema standout to mainstream star thanks to 1997’s Good Will Hunting and soon starred in impressive blockbuster hits like 1998’s Armageddon.
Since then, the actor has starred in everything from Pearl Harbour, to Smokin’ Aces, to Gone Girl, to Batman V Superman. Affleck's roles range from massive summer tentpole movies to small indie hits, and the actor has spent the last decade transitioning into directing too. Over the decades, Ben Affleck has weathered almost as much high profile flops as he’s had huge successes in his uneven time onscreen.
However, like most Hollywood stars who manage to maintain a high profile for decades, Affleck has turned down many notable parts over the years. The actor has usually had good reason to turn down the roles, although on occasion Affleck has admitted to regretting missing out on some parts. In some cases, his career standing worked against him, in others Affleck simply saw that another was better suited to the role, but in every case seen here, Ben Affleck missed out on notable roles that could have been career-defining in another life.
Brokeback Mountain
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar, the tortured protagonist of Ang Lee’s tender romantic drama Brokeback Mountain. But surprising as it may seem, Ben Affleck was actually considered for this role, and what’s more surprising is the actor would have been taking the part alongside his Good Will Hunting costar, Matt Damon. The writing partners were set to reunite with Gerry director Gus Van Sant to star in the adaptation of Annie Proulx’s moving gay love story at one point in Brokeback Mountain's pre-production, but the crew’s take on the material fell through and the film eventually ended up starring Ledger and Donnie Darko’s breakout star Jake Gyllenhaal. While Damon and Affleck have historically good onscreen chemistry, Ledger and Gyllenhaal’s performances in Brokeback Mountain were amongst the most praised of their careers, and it’s difficult to picture the devastating drama working as well without them.
Gone Baby Gone
Affleck almost took on the starring role in his 2007 directorial debut, a sparse and brutally bleak Dennis Lehane adaptation Gone Baby Gone. Ultimately the role went to his brother, Manchester by the Sea star Casey Affleck instead, as Ben opted not to try and pull double duty until he knew he was able to handle the pressure of directing. There’s no knowing how well he would have handled the role of PI Patrick Kenzie, which is perfectly suited to the younger Affleck’s nervy intensity. However Ben Affleck’s direction won praise upon Gone Baby Gone’s release, so he likely made the right decision in opting not to stretch his talents too thin. Since then, Affleck opted to star in his next two directorial efforts, 2010’s The Town and 2012’s critically adored Argo.
Live Free Or Die Hard
One of the odder roles listed here, Affleck almost played beleaguered New York cop/ indestructible action hero John McClane’s son in the belated 2007 sequel Live Free or Die Hard. At the time Affleck could have done with the role, but it would have been a little strange to see Willis with a screen son only 13 years his junior. The part was instead rewritten as McClane’s daughter and went to Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Although the role would have come at what was a low point in Affleck’s screen career and could have boosted his profile post-Hollywoodland’s flop, the actor most likely benefited from avoiding any involvement with the rapidly worsening Die Hard series. Suicide Squad star Jai Courtney did go on to play the role of McClane’s son in the fifth film of the franchise, 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard. The woeful reviews received by that movie the same year Affleck won a directing Oscar prove that the actor made the right decision to leave the role aside.
Cinderella Man
Although now mostly forgotten, Ron Howard’s boxing biopic Cinderella Man was one of Russell Crowe’s better post-Gladiator attempts at Oscar glory. The movie’s critical reception couldn’t hold a candle to Scorsese’s unparalleled Raging Bull, the gold standard for boing dramas. However, as far as solid fighting movies go, Cinderella Man enjoyed about as good a reception as Michael Mann’s Ali. Like that Will Smith vehicle and Howard's recent flop Hillbilly Elegy, the movie’s entire potential rode on the central star's committed performance, and it’s hard to picture another actor pulling off the part as well as Crowe. The creators thought so too since although Affleck was considered for the role of Jim Braddock, he was eventually passed over in favor of the older, more experienced actor.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Every once in a while an actor misses out on a role, only to be glad of it later on - like Adam Sandler turning down the action-comedy Knight and Day years before it would become a rare Mummy-sized flop for Tom Cruise. While Live Free or Die Hard may have fared poorly with critics. the movie was at least a box office success, so it’s reasonable to suggest that Affleck might have wanted it on his CV at a time when those financial wins were few and far between for the actor. But 2008’s rom-com Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was a flop for pre-True Detective Matthew McConnaughey, so the main role therein was a part Affleck could be happy he was passed over for.
When this romantic comedy remix of A Christmas Carol was first pitched in the early noughties, it was with Affleck in the lead role and Clerks helmer Kevin Smith directing the movie. The pair had a great pedigree, having collaborated on Chasing Amy in the 90s, but the project fell apart when Affleck’s Gigli was released and received some of the worst reviews in cinema history. However, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past ended up being a critical dud for McConnaughey five years later, around the same time Affleck was reinventing himself as a critically adored actor and director, so this one certainly worked out favorably for the Batman V Superman actor.
Glory Road
Less memorable than many movies on the subject of sports segregation, 2006's Glory Road is a serviceable slice of inspiring real-life sports drama that centers on Don Haskins the first UTEP coach with an all-black starting line-up. Glory Road did well at the box office but was dismissed as tired and formulaic by critics, despite Sweet Home Alabama star Josh Lucas doing his best to make the role of Haskins memorable. It's impossible to know whether Affleck would have fared better with the material, but a scheduling conflict meant the actor couldn't commit to the part. This being 2006, said scheduling conflict was likely with the ambitious flop Hollywoodland, which fared almost as badly as Glory Road. That said, Ben Affleck's performance was praised in the otherwise underperforming dud, so the Justice League actor made the right career call.