Growing all the time. Ben Affleck has been vocal about his sobriety throughout his career, starting with his openness about his family history and rehab stays.
Before the Dazed and Confused actor rose to fame in the early ‘90s, his parents divorced when he was just 12 years old. At the time, Affleck didn’t know that his father was an alcoholic, but he told Barbara Walters in 2012 that he recalled his dad drinking “a lot.” He explained: “He, you know, drank all day, every day and to his credit, he got sober ultimately.”
After starring in Good Will Hunting with his longtime friend Matt Damon, Affleck chose to stop drinking in 1997. “I just wanted to stop. I started regretting some things I did when I was drunk,” he told a reporter at the time via Fox News. “It’s funny to be obnoxious or out of control, but then it’s like, ‘I think I hurt that person’s feelings, ‘I made a fool of myself’ or ‘I didn’t want to kiss that girl.’ I have almost no inhibitions, so it’s dangerous for me.”
It wasn’t until 2001 that the Pearl Harbor actor sought treatment for his alcoholism. He has since been to rehab multiple times, including a stay in 2017 and 2018. Us Weekly confirmed that his August 2018 stay came after his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares daughters Violet and Seraphina and son Samuel, staged an intervention with the help of a sober coach at his California home.
The Runner producer suffered another setback in October 2019, two months after celebrating one-year of sobriety. Affleck was photographed leaving a Halloween party intoxicated.
Four months later, Affleck spoke out about the incident and opened up about his family’s history of “alcoholism and mental illness” during a New York Times interview, saying, “The legacy of that is quite powerful and somethings hard to shake.”
The Deep Water actor explained that his father “didn’t really get sober” until he was 19, noting it wasn’t easy to diagnose himself as an alcoholic despite seeing it in his family.
“It took me a long time to fundamentally, deeply, without a hint of doubt, admit to myself that I am an alcoholic. The next drink will not be different,” he said in February 2020.
After his Halloween relapse, Affleck admitted that falling off the wagon “is embarrassing,” telling the outlet he wished it didn’t happen. “I really wish it wasn’t on the internet for my kids to see. Jen and I did our best to address it and be honest,” he added.
In January 2021, Affleck revealed during an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast that he feels “really good” despite having sober slips here and there.
Scroll down to revisit Affleck’s most honest quotes about sobriety.