Ben Affleck revealed why he always looks so miserable in paparazzi pictures
Ben Affleck has opened up about the reason why he always looks so miserable in paparazzi pictures.
Last year, the 53-year-old Hollywood A-lister appeared on Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast, where he divulged what he isn't a fan of when it comes to the showbiz industry.
"I don't really like to do big social events or go out much," Affleck explained. "I'm kind of shy, I don't really like to be on camera."
He made sure to note the differences between appearing on camera to perform in a movie compared to when he's papped trying to go about his 'regular life.'
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Von wondered why Affleck looked 'bummed' in so many paparazzi snaps, explaining that certain individuals purposefully 'follow' celebrities and 'antagonise' them in order to get an unflattering shot.
"It's true," Affleck said. "When someone's taking a picture of me, I'm bummed because I'm usually with my kids, I'm trying to go somewhere."
He added that 'every time' when he's in these private moments, 'four guys' jump out with a camera.
"And I'm like, 'Hey man, can you give me some time? I'm trying to be with my kids. Do you mind?' Do you know what I mean?
"And then they go away, and you go inside, and you're having a good time, but it's this selective experience of taking a picture of somebody every time they're feeling irritated - they're going to look irritated.
"It's like, 'I'll come, p*ss you off and then take your picture' and then put it out like, 'Look how p*ssed off he is!"
The father-of-three expressed empathy for Britney Spears, who suffered extremely shocking treatment from the tabloid press.
"Having had my own experiences myself, I knew these people [were] following her around in a time where she may or may not have been having difficulty," Affleck continued. "I don't know, because I don't know her, but I do know that the cycle of having people harangue and yell at you and hassle you and follow you - it kind of seemed like that itself was kind of whipping up the whole thing into a tizzy.
"They're kind of poking a stick at it and going 'look, look, look at it.'"
He added that Spears' ordeal revealed to him for 'the first time' the 'unintentional but collective cruelty' of the paparazzi industry.
Affleck also noted that he doesn't want fans seeing him living out his private life, as it may disrupt the believability of certain roles he's in at the time.
"As an actor, it's no good for you because I don't really want people, if they watch a movie, to be like, 'that's not him. Because I saw him yesterday at lunch and I know he's who he really is.' It gets in the way of you being able to create the illusion," he explained.
While acknowledging that such fame comes with a cost, Affleck resolved that he would be 'much happier' if he were 'left alone'.
Topics: Ben Affleck, Celebrity, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle