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Ben Affleck isn’t Keen on his Kids Becoming Child Actors

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Ben Affleck’s experience in the movie industry has made him wary about his kids becoming child actors.

With Ben and Alias star Jennifer Garner as their parents, Violet, 11, eight-year-old Seraphina and five-year-old Samuel are more than used to Hollywood. But when it comes to the careers his brood will choose to embark on, Ben isn’t sure he wants them to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

“I think it’s a hard thing. I love being an actor. I got into it as a child and I wouldn’t change that, but I also wouldn’t want to take my kids and push them out there before they were 18,” he told Entertainment Tonight as he accepted an award for The Accountant at the inaugural AutFest International Film Festival on Sunday (23Apr17). “If they are 18 and they want to make those choices and do that kind of thing, that’s fine. But being a child actor, I just know too much of the downside of what that can be like.

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“I had some great rewards and I probably wouldn’t have made it as an adult had I not built up that body of work as a kid, so it’s a strange thing.”

Ben kicked off his acting career when he was just seven years old, starring in 1981 film Dark Side of the Street. He then starred in PBS children’s TV series The Voyage of the Mimi and follow-up The Second Voyage of the Mimi in 1984 and 1988 respectively.

Since then, Ben has received critical acclaim for many of his movie roles, both as an actor and a director, including in Oscar-winning films Good Will Hunting and Argo.

“My kids would be good in the school play. If they can handle that, they’re in good shape,” he continued.

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner
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The appearance at the festival was Ben’s first since he and estranged wife Jennifer filed for divorce. The pair split in June, 2015, after 10 years of marriage but only filed the paperwork earlier this month (Apr17).

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