Ben Affleck says he first cast Jennifer Garner as his wife in Animals
Ben Affleck first cast his ex-wife Jennifer Garner to play his wife in Animals, then shut the film down two weeks before shooting was due to start.
Affleck laid out the turnaround in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Deadline, ahead of the film's 9 October premiere on Netflix. He is the co-writer, director and star of the picture, which Netflix lists as a political thriller about a kidnapping.
In the film, Affleck plays Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball. His son is kidnapped, leaving him and his wife Abigail with only hours to find the ransom money. The script is credited to Affleck, Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray.
The Garner version came first. Affleck said he thought Garner would be amazing as Abigail. There was a practical reason too. With a week-and-week custody arrangement for their children, casting Garner would have let the former couple align schedules and see their children more during the shoot.
Two weeks out, he pulled the plug. Affleck said he became concerned about clashing with Highest 2 Lowest, A24's Spike Lee kidnapping thriller. He decided the two projects were too close in subject matter to proceed.
When Animals was revived, the cast had changed. Matt Damon, who had been set to play Mark Kimball, was unavailable because he was working with Christopher Nolan on Odyssey. Affleck stepped into the lead role himself.
That change ended Garner's involvement. Affleck said Garner told him she did not want to do the film with him in the lead, because audiences would bring baggage to seeing a former married couple play a married couple. Affleck ultimately cast Kerry Washington as Abigail after getting to know her during the 2023 Hollywood labour stoppages, according to Entertainment Weekly.
What makes this stand out is how much changed without the premise changing. The story stayed a race to pay a ransom. The couple at its centre went from Affleck directing Garner and Damon, to Affleck directing himself opposite Washington. The film arrives on Netflix on 9 October, per Netflix Tudum.
