Matt Damon interviewed his longtime friend and Good Will Hunting costar Ben Affleck for Entertainment Weekly‘s February 2022 cover story. In the interview, Affleck spoke at length about his career, including what it was like to work with George Clooney on his new film The Tender Bar.
When asked about his role in Gigli, the film that Affleck starred in with Jennifer Lopez, Affleck had a lot to say. “For being a movie that's such a famous bomb and a disaster, very few people actually saw the movie,” he said.
“It doesn't work, by the way. It's a sort of horse's head in a cow's body.” He continued, recalling talking to Marty Brest, the director of the film, after it opened. “I remember talking to Marty the Friday it came out and I was like it's just spectacular, it's a tsunami, it couldn't be worse. This is as bad as it gets.”
Despite all this, Affleck called Gigli “a gift,” saying, “If the reaction to Gigli hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't have ultimately decided, 'I don't really have any other avenue but to direct movies,' which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life.” He added, “And I did get to meet Jennifer Lopez, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life.”