Ben Affleck Says He Was “So Uncool” Post-J.Lo Split

Ben Affleck knows he's been on a losing streak. The actor and sad meme appeared as a guest on Bill Simmons' HBO show Any Given Sunday this week, and spoke about the worst period in his career: the years following his split from Jennifer Lopez. "If you went by what people said… I wasn't cool and I wasn't talented. I was the lowest rung of cool and talented that you could possibly be in the public consciousness at that time," Affleck said, as Us Weekly reports. "I had broken up with Jennifer Lopez and I had, like, three or four movies in a row that had bombed." The year was 2003. We were all rooting for Bennifer, but flops like Daredevil, Paycheck, and Jersey Girl signaled Affleck's crumbling career. Gigli — which co-starred Lopez — left the actor one velour sweatsuit away from becoming an industry joke. "I was so uncool that I was literally a punch line," the star said. After his marriage to Jennifer Garner, the arc of Affleck's career gained a second wave with his critical and commercial successes like Gone Baby Gone and Argo. Though the actor seemed keener to discuss the finer points of Deflategate with Simmons than his latest roles.