It’s been a hot minute since Ben Affleck graced us with his talent on the big screen. The actor, producer, director and dad spent time away from the entertainment industry to manage his lifelong struggle with sobriety. Now with his latest film, "The Way Back", Affleck tackles addiction.
"This movie was quite a movie to me because it was really about overcoming challenge, it was always about hope, it always about not kind of languishing in misfortune. This character suffers something that is almost unimaginable, like real and profound grief. It's about how he puts his life together and it's about how these young men and his relationship with them helps fuel that," said Affleck.
Affleck plays a former basketball player whose struggle with addiction has led to the loss of his wife and family. As a part of his recovery, he becomes the coach of the high school basketball team at his alma mater.
"When you guys first heard that you were working with Ben Affleck, I mean first thoughts? That's pretty incredible,' asked Melissa Marrero.
"For me it was really exciting, I was like 'okay cool that's a studio film, I know that's going to get released.' So, coming in I was excited to work with Ben, but throughout working with Ben it was just an experience that I probably couldn't have ever imagined. Just a great learning experience," said Melvin Gregg, who plays Marcus.
"I think it's one thing to work with a movie star that is just a movie star but he's also such an amazing filmmaker and director. For me, I just felt like I was asking 25 questions a day about shot composition and so for me learning the basics of that was so cool to have on set," added Will Ropp, who plays Kenny.
Marrero asked Affleck what was it like playing a character that needed to be saved considering he played Batman, a superhero who was saving people.
"One of the things that I like about this is the recognition that it's okay to ask for help when you need it and I thought that was very appealing. He benefits enormously from his relationship with these guys, his relationship with his sister, his ex-wife, the assistant coach. He is somebody who learns to kind of lean on and rely on people and get support, and we all need support," said Affleck.
Click on the video and he how Melissa Marrero put Affleck and the team to the test with a game of NBA trivia.
"The Way Back" comes out March 6th.
