A-Lister Reveals Why He Bailed on Casting Ex at Last Minute

Arturo Holmes/WireImage Ben Affleck has revealed why he pulled his ex-wife from a leading role in his new movie, only to end up starring opposite her.

The Hollywood A-lister was set to direct “Animals,” a Netflix thriller about a troubled marriage, with Matt Damon playing the lead.

For Mark’s therapist wife, Affleck turned to Jennifer Garner, his former real-life wife and the mother of his children.

“I thought, God, Jen Garner would be amazing for this role,” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly .

He also saw a practical upside to working together, noting they could coordinate the shoot around their shared custody arrangement.

“She can bring something interesting that she hasn’t [done], that I kind of know she can do,” he said.

Then, just two weeks before filming was due to start, Affleck scrapped the entire movie.

The trigger was another kidnapping thriller.

Affleck learned that Spike Lee and Denzel Washington were making “Highest 2 Lowest,” which also centered on a kidnapped son.

His reaction, he said, was: “Oh, s---.” Affleck worried “Animals” could look like a “competing version” of the other film, a fear that only deepened once he discovered Lee’s movie was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low.” “That freaked me out,” Affleck said.

After talking it over with Damon and his producing partners, he pulled the plug.

“We’re not doing it,” he said.

However, just a couple of months later, Affleck was still thinking about the project and decided to bring it back.

Damon, however, was no longer available.