Film|Celebrities

A Timeline Of Ben Affleck And Kevin Smith's Complicated Friendship

Donn Saylor
Updated April 17, 2024 186.0K views 14 items

Take one look through film history and you'll find ample director/actor combinations who've made movie magic together. From Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann to Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, to the Coen Brothers and John Goodman, there's no shortage of movie-making teams who have produced memorable motion pictures. However, these relationships can become strained on occasion, as is the case with Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith.

From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, Smith made a number of movies starring Affleck, and the two seemed to be good pals. Unfortunately, a major celebrity friend breakup appears to have transpired since then. It's reached the point that Smith and Affleck no longer talk to each other.

So, what happened to the once inseparable duo's friendship? Fans may never learn the entire story because Affleck has kept mum, but Smith's let some revealing details emerge.

  • 1995-2006: Smith And Affleck Collaborate On Several Movies

    1995-2006: Smith And Affleck Collaborate On Several Movies

    From 1995 to 2006, Smith and Affleck made six films together: Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Bob, Jersey Girl, and Clerks II. Smith directed all these movies and Affleck starred in roles of varying size.

    Chasing Amy is the most commercially successful of these collaborations, but all the flicks have attained a devoted cult following. Clearly, there was camaraderie between the director and actor that developed into a friendship.

  • 1997: Smith Helps Launch Affleck's Career

    1997: Smith Helps Launch Affleck's Career

    Affleck started out as a child actor with smaller roles in movies, TV shows, and after-school specials. He was gradually transitioning into adult roles when Smith hired him in 1994 to play a role in Mallrats. The two struck up a friendship on set. As Affleck later told Backstage:

    Kevin claims I said to him, "We should hang out, I'm a good guy!" But I think that's complete bullsh*t. I think I said, "Give me a call if you come to LA." And the next movie he wrote [Chasing Amy], he said he wanted me to do it. It was a $250,000 budget and this great script, and I was thrilled... We had such a good time. I lived on his couch, it was a tiny crew, we rehearsed it like a play.

    Chasing Amy put Affleck on the map. Several critics praised his performance, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times saying he "combines suave good looks with cool comic timing."

  • 2003: Smith And Affleck Appear On An Episode Of 'Dinner For Five'

    2003: Smith And Affleck Appear On An Episode Of 'Dinner For Five'

    In 2003, Smith and Affleck appeared with Jennifer Garner on Dinner for Five, an IFC show in which actor/director Jon Favreau hosts on-camera dinner parties with other celebs. In the episode, Affleck - who was dating Jennifer Lopez at the time - and Garner seem to engage in some light flirtation.

    At one point, Smith starts making fun of Affleck, but Garner jumps in to defend him. Back then, it all appeared perfectly innocent, but it may have set the tone for what followed.

  • 2006: Smith And Jennifer Garner Reportedly Clash During The Filming Of 'Catch And Release' 

    2006: Smith And Jennifer Garner Reportedly Clash During The Filming Of 'Catch And Release' 

    Smith claims his friendship with Affleck started going south after the actor started dating Jennifer Garner. Smith and Garner starred together in the 2006 film Catch and Release, and the two apparently clashed. Smith explained what happened on set during a 2009 conversation at Carnegie Hall:

    Jennifer does not share the same sense of humor as me - she did not like my jokes. I was picking on Ben Affleck and making fun of him because I've known him for a really long time - I was talking smack - and Jennifer goes, "You know, if you keep saying stuff about him, I'm going to kick your a**." And she could - I've seen Alias. She has a real girly sense of humor and didn't understand that I was kidding...

    I remember talking to Ben and being like, "I know your lady is not finding me amusing."

  • 2014: Smith Appears To Blame Garner For His Fallout With Affleck

    2014: Smith Appears To Blame Garner For His Fallout With Affleck

    After Affleck made a cameo in 2006's Clerks II, he and Smith stopped working together. Around the same time, Smith and Jennifer Garner (Affleck's then-wife) worked on Catch and Release together, so if Garner was put off by Smith's sense of on-set humor, the falling out makes sense.

    In 2014 during a Comic-Con Q&A, someone asked Smith about his friendship with Affleck, and the filmmaker reiterated that Garner didn't like him:

    [Ben and I are] not f*cking tight. I have not been [close with him] in decades... That's old Ben... He's got a wife that [doesn't] care for me at all. And plus, honestly, he probably don't care for me at all anymore [either]. He's a triple-A-list movie star and sh*t like that.

  • 2016: Smith Defends Affleck's Casting As The New Batman

    2016: Smith Defends Affleck's Casting As The New Batman

    Smith may no longer be tight with Affleck, but he rushed to his old friend's defense when people started criticizing Affleck for landing the role of Batman. In a 2016 interview with Variety, Smith said Affleck is "the best-looking Batman we've ever seen, and he's moving the way the character moves in the comics."

    "He's born to play that role," Smith added. "Everything I've seen so far is phenomenal."

  • 2017: Smith Implies Affleck Was Uncomfortable Kissing Another Man In 'Chasing Amy'

    2017: Smith Implies Affleck Was Uncomfortable Kissing Another Man In 'Chasing Amy'

    In 2017, Smith made a statement that the media jumped on and widely circulated. During the filming of Chasing Amy 10 years prior, Affleck had to kiss Jason Lee in one of the movie's most pivotal scenes. According to Smith, Affleck at the time said, "A man kissing another man is the greatest acting challenge an actor can ever face."

    In a 1997 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Affleck did admit the kiss made him uncomfortable. "I'm not homophobic... I guess I am, more than I thought, in that, you know, it was just difficult for me, and I didn't think it would be," he said. While Affleck's feelings were never top secret (the ET interview has been available online for some time), rehashing old tensions and making a former friend look bad surely didn't help Smith get back into Affleck's good graces.

  • February 2018: Smith Takes A Dig At Affleck In His Stand-Up Show

    February 2018: Smith Takes A Dig At Affleck In His Stand-Up Show

    In early 2018, Smith commented yet again on his friendship with Affleck during a stand-up comedy set. "It doesn't take talent at all to work in the movie business," he said. "Do you think it takes f*cking talent to stand on a movie set and be like, 'I'm Batman'? Ben Affleck does it, so I know it [doesn't] take f*cking talent."

    "Before you leave this world, figure out who you are at your core, man," Smith told the audience at the end of his set.

  • May 2018: Affleck Doesn't Reach Out Following Smith's Heart Attack

    May 2018: Affleck Doesn't Reach Out Following Smith's Heart Attack

    Shortly after he filmed a stand-up comedy special, Smith had a massive heart attack in February 2018. In an interview with the Daily Beast, he revealed Affleck had not contacted him despite many of his former colleagues reaching out. Smith waxed philosophical on their friendship:

    I didn't hear from Ben. Which is fine. Maybe he didn't even hear about it. I think he probably plays a more prominent role in my mythology than I play in his mythology anymore. He was in some of my biggest movies, so in my world he's still a figure. In his world, I haven't factored in in god knows how f*cking long. And he's gone on to do tremendous, big f*cking things. He's become a massive movie star and a director in his own right. So I don't think I pop up on his radar nearly as much he pops up on my radar.

  • May 2018: Smith Starts Refraining From Discussing Affleck In Interviews

    May 2018: Smith Starts Refraining From Discussing Affleck In Interviews

    Despite all the public statements and personal details he has already divulged, Smith seemingly has made a concerted effort to keep the fallout at least a little bit private.

    In a Daily Beast interview, he said he is trying to limit how much he talks about Affleck: "[It's] because I know it always brings him grief or heartache in some way." Perhaps this is the first step to reconciliation.

  • November 2018: Smith Blames Himself For The Fallout Between The Two

     

    In November 2018, Smith took responsibility for his and Affleck's falling out. A fan on Twitter asked why the two aren't friends, and Smith replied, "If I had to guess? It's because one of us has a big mouth and told too many candid stories that sometimes weren't his to tell, and the other one is Ben."

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  • March 2019: Affleck Says He Is Willing To Appear In 'Jay And Silent Bob Reboot'

    March 2019: Affleck Says He Is Willing To Appear In 'Jay And Silent Bob Reboot'

    Although as of March 2019, Affleck and Smith were still on the outs, Affleck admitted he would be up for appearing in Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

    He said, "I haven’t been asked to make an appearance, but you never know, there’s still time. I think if it was up to me, I would rather do Holden than Shannon, but I would defer to Kevin."

  • July 2019: Affleck Appears In 'Jay And Silent Bob Reboot' Trailer

    July 2019: Affleck Appears In 'Jay And Silent Bob Reboot' Trailer

    When the first official trailer for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot debuted at San Diego Comic Con 2019, fans were surprised to see Affleck reprise his role as Holden McNeil. In an Instagram post, Smith attributed Affleck's appearance to his March 2019 interview with Kevin McCarthy, in which Affleck admitted he would happily join the cast if asked. Apparently, producer Jordan Monsanto pressured Smith into reaching out to his old friend and offering him the part.

    Smith reportedly told Affleck, "To paraphrase the sad old King Osric in CONAN THE BARBARIAN? 'There comes a time when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a director’s love for the people he used to make pretend with.'" To which Affleck responded, "Of course you still liken yourself to a king. Would be a pleasure to see you again, Old Man." 

    Affleck's role as McNeil did not exist until the two friends repaired their bond. Smith assured fans, however, that "[Affleck's] scene is one of the best bits of cinema [he's] ever been involved with: it’s absolutely magical and life-affirming and all the things [he] really cares about now, post-heart attack."

  • October 2019: Smith Says He 'Just Melted' In Affleck's Arms

    During an October 2019 interview with People, Kevin Smith discussed his tearful reunion with Ben Affleck on the set of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. After years of not speaking to one another, Smith said he often wondered if his estranged friend still valued their relationship. It's something he no longer wonders about. 

    "When [Affleck] showed up in New Orleans... I was overwhelmed," the director said. "I just instantly, when I walked into his trailer and saw him, just melted in his arms, started crying. And that’s the kind of guy that can really hold you, man. He’s like Batman-big and stuff."

    In the film, Affleck reprises his Chasing Amy role of Holden McNeil. Smith said including the character in the film allowed him "to elevate the movie," and went on to say Affleck's scene is "probably the best scene in the movie."

    Affleck accompanied Smith and Jason Mewes to their hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatere on October 14. As the trio posed for photographs, Smith kissed Affleck on the cheek.

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