Ben Affleck Plays Down Rumors He's Considering Move Into Politics — 'That's a Very Depressing World'
Ben Affleck has ruled out ever turning his hand to politics.
Oct. 12 2026, Published 2:01 p.m. ET
Ben Affleck has once again ruled out entering politics, calling it "a very depressing world," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Hollywood actor, 54, is currently starring in a movie playing a candidate for L.A. Mayor, but he is completely put off by the prospect of running for office himself.
Distancing Himself From Political World
Affleck has no intention of ever moving into politics.
"I just think that’s enormously — I don't know, man, that seems terrible," he explained in a recent interview. "There’s a reason why political stories are often chosen as parables for moral compromise."
"You really get thrust up into the contrast between the ideal version of us and how we should be in our lives and the way it is."
He added that politics “has no appeal" to him, despite his ex-wife Jennifer Garner once championing his cause while they were together.
Endorsed by Former Wife
Jennifer Garner previously said she could see Affleck changing careers.
Speaking in 2013, she told The Guardian: "Right now (Ben) feels like he can do more good for people politically from outside the system. Would I be surprised if one day he did go into politics? No. But not now."
Affleck wouldn’t even clarify who he is backing for mayor in Los Angeles this November.
"I haven’t thought about being asked that," he said. "I don't know if, given this movie, my endorsement harms or helps anybody. I should stay agnostic, at least until the movie comes out."
'We're Not Doing a Very Good Job'
The actor says the current system is 'failing us.'
Last week, Affleck was once again grilled about policies while appearing on Good Morning America.
The actor said he believes the "collective bar for politics, because of the way the political world has sort of evolved, has gotten so low that there’s this kind of like, you know, people are just sort of looking for like just 'Somebody shoot me straight.'"
He added that there’s a sense in the country, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, that "we’re not doing a very good job" and that "we have a system that’s kind of failing us."
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Affleck plays a candidate for L.A. mayor in his new movie.
Affleck has been politically active in the past, campaigning for various candidates from former Vice President Al Gore to former President Barack Obama.
But he said he’s now "averse" to the idea because he’s seen so much "hypocrisy, corruption, and failure" in that realm.
He explained to USA Today, "The way it's constructed now is so geared around money, sound bites, cruelties and gotchas, and little snarky things that really have nothing to do with people's lives whatsoever. And increasingly, it's easier to get votes appealing to the worst in people than it is appealing to the best in them."
"If you're telling a story about kind of morality and compromise, there are lots of pressures that are constantly asking you to sacrifice your principles," he concluded.
