Ben Affleck opened up about a difficult time he had processing his emotions while filming Chasing Amy, which featured his character kissing a man.
“I ended up having to confront some of my own internalized homophobia [in Chasing Amy] because I found it so difficult to kiss Jason [Lee],” the actor, 52, said in a GQ interview on Thursday, April 17. “And I thought, ‘This is really embarrassing. Like, this is clearly some internalized thing because why should that be a difficult thing to do?’”
Affleck starred in the 1997 romance film alongside Lee, now 54, and Joey Lauren Adams. In the movie, directed by Kevin Smith, Affleck’s character falls in love with a woman (Adams) who is a lesbian, and his professional partner (Lee) does not approve. Affleck and Adams’ characters build a friendship that later turns romantic much to the chagrin of Lee.
“At the time, what I thought about it was that it kind of alluded to a spectrum of sexual orientation,” Affleck recalled of the film. “Because to me it was very suggestive around the homosexuality between the two friends.”
As Affleck dived deeper into his character, he questioned what “a love relationship between two men” would look like after only knowing platonic connections.
“You love this other man, we have friendships with men that we love very much,” he explained. “And it was a way of looking at well, how is this also similar to homosexual relationships? Or maybe there’s a sort of continuum or spectrum, and I thought that was honest.”
While looking back on the movie, Affleck admitted he wasn’t thrilled with his performance.
“And I still think I did a s***y and unconvincing job at it, and I’m disappointed by that,” he confessed. “And I would love the chance to do better at that. Although now I’m not sure the idea of playing a gay character would be welcome.”
Affleck added that he also would be “aversive” to take another queer role since he does not want “to offend anyone in this direction.” (Many films have been criticized for casting straight performers to play leading gay roles rather than casting actual LGBTQ+ actors.)
Despite his feelings about his performance, Affleck is still proud of the project.
“It was a movie that, at the time, sort of felt like it was pushing some boundaries,” he said. “And in retrospect, as often happens, the world has evolved.”
Chasing Amy was a success at the time. The indie film received positive reviews and earned $12 million at the box office. Chasing Amy won two awards at the 1998 Independent Spirit Awards, one for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Lee.
