The ‘Gone Girl’ star reaffirmed the importance of hard-earned cash after son eyed $6,000 sneakers.
Academy-award winning actor Ben Affleck is quick to remind his children the value of the dollar despite his multi-million dollar success.
During the
premiere of “The Accountant 2” at the SXSW film festival over the weekend, the 52-year-old doubled down on previous comments he made about teaching his son Samuel, 13, important financial lessons.
The two
attended a sneaker convention on March 3, when Samuel stopped to eye a $6,000 dollar pair of Dior Air Jordan 1 sneakers, to which the actor responded with “that’s a lot of lawns you gotta mow there.”
“You just like those because they’re expensive,” he added.
While on the red carpet, Affleck explained the need to humble their impulses, and learn that money is not given, it’s earned.
“That’s what happens when you tell a [expletive] they have to mow a lawn. All of the sudden, they don’t want those shoes,” he
told Access Hollywood when asked about the interaction.
“I’m like, ‘Man, you do not need thousand-dollar shoes!’ He’s like, ‘We have the money.’ I’m like, ‘I have the money, you’re broke!’”
Affleck shares Samuel, Violet Anne, 19, and Seraphina Rose, 16, with ex-wife and fellow actor, Jennifer Garner.
The two were married from 2005 to 2018 and have continued to successfully co-parent their three children, sharing the same hard-working mindset.
During the holiday season, the former couple got
together with their children to give back during the Midnight Mission charity event on Thanksgiving Day to feed the homeless community.
The “Batman” star—who suffered from addiction in the past— told
People magazine in 2020 that he felt compelled to bring exposure to a cause he believes in and has a strong connection to.
“It’s easy to sort of throw up your hands and say there’s nothing you can do,” he said at the time.
“But the truth is there are people who want to make their lives better, who are struggling, who need help and who you can benefit by even doing a little bit, giving a little bit of money or a little bit of time. It’s just a really powerful thing to do to be able to connect with people.”
Aside from charity work, Affleck is no stranger to making ends meet and recalls being a struggling actor at the beginning of his career.
On an
episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast” back in 2023, the “Gone Girl” actor discussed how he shared a bank account with his high school buddy and actor, Matt Damon, as teenagers in an effort to achieve their dreams.
“We were going to help each other and be there for each other,” he said at the time. “It was like, ‘You’re not going to be alone. I’m not going to be alone. Let’s go out there and do this together.’”
With over 80 film and television
credits combined, Affleck holds a versatile resume behind the scenes as being a well-established film producer, writer, and director.
Affleck made his major debut into feature films in 1993 in “Dazed and Confused,” and has since appeared in a number of blockbuster hits including “Armageddon” (1998), “Pearl Harbor” (2001), and “The Town” (2010).
He has received 75
award wins among 144 total nominations, including two Oscar-nods for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for “Good Will Hunting” (1997) and Best Motion Picture of the Year for “Argo” (2012).
Most recently, Affleck reprised the role of Christian Wolff, an autistic tax professional, in “The Accountant 2,” where he teams up with his estranged brother and applies his brilliant mind to track down mysterious assassins.
The
film is set to hit theaters April 25.
