Aurora Starchild
Ben Affleck just pulled some serious hidden talent out of his sleeves and the world is absolutely WOWED. Speaking in flawless and fluent Spanish about his new movie Air, Affleck explained to Cadena SER what viewers should expect when they watch the movie. It’s about Michael Jordan, he said, but no one in the world could ever portray him. He’s not there. Respect.
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Watch Ben Affleck Turn Into Hunky ‘Benito’ While Speaking Fluent Spanish
“The thing that’s important to understand is that this isn’t about Michael Jordan’s history,” said Affleck. Right off the bat, he sounds like he’s a native hispanohablante. Michael Jordan doesn’t appear in the movie. It’s that big, that important, that magnificent. There isn’t an actor in the world that’s going to make the audience believe, ‘Look, that’s Michael Jordan!”
“Right off the bat, they’re going to think ‘That’s total sh*t, this movie is sh*t, I don’t believe it,’” Affleck continued. “It would destroy it completely. Therefore, I hoped… I had to give Michael Jordan my respect. And there weren’t any payouts, we didn’t give him rights, we didn’t get anything from him. It’s important for me to respect that. We weren’t going to do the movie if he told me, ‘I don’t like it. I don’t like what you’re doing.’”
Affleck Spoke Directly With Michael Jordan to Get His Input on the Film Air
“Further, I had the opportunity to talk with him about how I’m talking about things [in the movie]. And I asked him what the most important topics within this story were to him,” Affleck continued. “And he told me one, two, or three things. He asked me to include the ‘character’…Cómo se dice…”
After all this rolling of his “R’s” and immaculate discussion, Ben Affleck did something cute and looked up into his brain for a second as he tried to recall the word he was looking for.
“The character for Howard White,” Ben Affleck continued, inserting the Spanish word “personaje.” Chris Tucker, who we have with us now. Also, for George Raveling. And third and most importantly, he told me, ‘I need you to have Viola Davis play my mom.’ And I said, ‘yes, yes.’ It was like asking if they’re going to play basketball and saying yeah but they have to have Michael Jordan.”
This Is a New Side of Ben Affleck and the Internet Loves It
It wasn’t just that Ben Affleck was speaking perfect Spanish, but also the passion with which he was speaking, that blew people away. The clip immediately went viral as fans expressed shock at this hidden skill. We’ve all known Ben Affleck for years as an English-speaking actor but not someone who can just suddenly speak like a native Spanish speaker.
The comments section was flooded with praises. Some were from people who suddenly became fans.
“That’s Benny from the Bronx!”
“I’m Mexican and he speaks better Spanish then me.”
“Is this a glitch in the matrix or has been Ben always been Latino.”
“Why is he so much more attractive when speaking Spanish? He even looks happier.”
“Ok, I’ve changed my mind, I like him now!!”
“Ben thank you for your respect to the Latin community by speaking in Spanish! You are awesome!”
“When he speaks Spanish, he also immersed himself in the culture. You can see it in the jokes, choose of words mannerisms.”
Affleck Learned How to Speak Spanish While Living in Mexico for a Year as a Teenager
It was indeed being immersed that got Ben Affleck into speaking Spanish so well. As a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2020, he explained that he was thirteen when he had to travel to Mexico to film a TV series. Despite his abilities, he rephrased Clarkson’s mention of “fluent” to “passive.”
“I would say [I speak Spanish] passively,” he explained, adding that being fully immersed is the best way to learn.
“I did this little kids TV series when I was young. And when I was thirteen, the season that year was in Mexico,” he said. “So, I was in Mexico for a year and that’s how I picked it up.”
Clarkson and Affleck agreed that it’s easier to learn new skills when you’re young and your brain is rapidly developing.
“The older brain doesn’t hold on to information as easily,” the Good Will Hunting actor said.
Affleck’s Eldest Child Inspired Him to Keep Improving His Spanish
Affleck added that his older daughter, who was fourteen at the time, has always been interested in Spanish and was taking advanced classes in the subject.
“She’s right at the point where I think she might be passing me,” he said. “And that’s when I was like, ‘Nope, this is not happening. I don’t mind that I can’t do your math homework and you’re 14 years old. But you are not going to be better at Spanish than me.’”
The realization that his child was about to surpass him in Spanish lit a bit of a fire in the actor. It actually pushed him to want to improve his own skills. He was speaking about his daughter Violet, whom he shares with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner. While he’s currently married to Puerto Rican superstar Jennifer Lopez, his Spanish was developed on his own.
“And so, I’ve decided now I’ve gotta take classes, I gotta do something to keep up,” Affleck joked. “Because I can’t have my 14-year-old — She’s like, ‘That sounds ridiculous, you’re not using the imperfect tense!’ I’m just like, ‘I know two tenses! Three! Now, before, the future. That’s all you need.”
Despite Ben Affleck’s Fluency, He Still Struggles With New Dialects
Affleck let Clarkson in on the frustration of traveling around the world and being confronted with new dialects.
“The problem with Spanish is that you learn a bunch of words, like I learn all these words in Mexico. Some good, some, ya know—” Affleck trailed off. “And then you go somewhere else, like you go to Spain or you go to South America and they’re like, ‘No, that’s not Spanish.’ And I’m like, ‘What are you talking about it’s not Spanish?’ And they go like, ‘I’ve never heard that word before in my life.’ And it’s just like, ‘They say it in Mexico!’ [And they’re like] ‘Mexico they don’t speak Spanish’ and they’re like, ‘You have a Mexican accent.’”
