From his Good Will Hunting days to his infamous time as one-half of Bennifer to his quiet family life with wife Jennifer Garner, we've always had a soft spot for Ben Affleck.
"We don't have the kind of relationship where she relies on me for advice," he tells The Hollywood Reporter, "but we do have the kind of relationship where there'll be an e-mail saying, 'Oh, your movie looks great.' "
"I remember when she got American Idol," he continues. "I said: 'This was really smart. Good luck.' I touch base. I respect her. I like her. She's put up with some stuff that was unfair in her life, and I'm really pleased to see her successful."
Gracing the cover of The Hollywood Reporter this week, Ben sat down with the mag to discuss the good and the bad in Hollywood biz, and it turns out this world-famous face is just your average 40-year-old dad to his three children.
"There are so many decisions to be made, and it's more than you can get to each day," he says of trying to balance work and family life. "There is this underlying anxiety not just about getting the movie done but getting it done really well. It keeps my head spinning-even when I am giving the kids a bath. I can be giving them a bath or feeding them, and sometimes they say, ‘Dad, pay attention!'"
"Kids eat up that kind of hobby time," he admits. "I used to ride motorcycles. I used to play basketball. And now basically I'm at home with them, or I work."
Still, the negative side of celebrity never goes away. He has collected several guns since Garner faced an alleged stalker, who was ordered to a psychiatric hospital in 2010.
"It gave me a stronger sense of feeling protective about my family," Affleck tells The Hollywood Reporter. "There's a lot of crazy, weird people out there. It's an ugly world."
