Multilingual king. Ben Affleck speaking Spanish has made the rounds again and people are definitely surprised. The Air director proved his skills in a new interview with La Cadena SER, a Spanish radio network.
In the interview, he explained the significance of the movie about the making of the iconic Michael Jordan Nike brand shoe. All in perfect Spanish. The network posted a short clip of the actor with his response and it went viral very fast. If you don’t believe us, see the clip here. If you want a translation, here’s what he said: “The story of the movie so big, so important, so magnificent that there’s not an actor in the world who could be cast to play him whom the audience would believe.”
“They would immediately think, ‘This is all bulls–t. This movie is bulls–t. I don’t believe any of this,’” he went on. “And they would destroy it completely.”
So what’s going through everyone’s mind is: How does Ben Affleck know Spanish fluently? Read down below to find out how he ended up bilingual.
How does Ben Affleck know Spanish?
@la_ser 🏀 #BenAffleck nos confiesa la única petición de #MichaelJordan para #AIR #película #cineentiktok #nike #marcas #basket #foryou #entrevista #curiosidades #airJordan ♬ sonido original – Cadena SER
How does Ben Affleck know Spanish? When the Argo director was 13, he and his family moved to Mexico for a year where he was shooting a television series, and he picked up the language very quickly.
In an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, he talked about how he was “passively” fluent in Spanish. “I did this little kids TV series when I was young and I was 13, and this season was in Mexico. I was in Mexico for a year.” The “Miss Independent” singer said that it’s easier to learn languages when you’re younger. “The older brain doesn’t hold on to information easily.”
He also talked about his daughter and her interest in Spanish. “I’ll often help her and now she’s gotten in the grade where she’s in the harder Spanish classes. She’s getting better and she’s like right at the point where I think she might be passing me. And that was when I was like, nope this is not happening. I don’t mind that I can’t do your math homework, but you can’t be better at Spanish than me.” The actor joked that he got tutors to keep up and how his daughter made fun of his tense use.
The Air director also complained about the differences between different Spanish-speaking countries. “The problem with Spanish is that you learn about a bunch of words from Mexico. Then you go somewhere else like Spain or South America and they’re like ‘No that’s not Spanish.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean it’s not Spanish?’ ‘I have never heard that word in my life.’ He also noted that people say that he has a Mexican accent.
In fact, Ben frequently speaks to press and the paps in Spanish. In a video titled, “Ben Affleck talking in Spanish for two minutes straight with paparazzi,” you can see Ben talking very casually in Spanish about his Fourth of July plans, and how he’s always learning the language but it’s sometimes difficult for him. “This language drives me crazy every time.” He has also done a full-blown interview in the Spanish language where he talks about his movie and his immersion in the language.
Every time a clip of Ben speaking Spanish goes viral, the internet freaks out. “My mind cannot retain the info that Ben Affleck speaks amazing Spanish,” user @carliemcguire wrote on Twitter. “I’m surprised every time.”
On the original video, people joked about his fluency. “Why is he so much more attractive when speaking Spanish? He even looks happier,” one person wrote. “If he wouldve called him “Miguel Jordan” I wouldve lost it” another person said. One commenter joked around with the Bad Bunny and Kylie Jenner dating rumors by saying, “I guess we swapped Ben’s. Bad Bunny is now a Ben & Ben Affleck is now a Benito 😂”
Other people respected Ben for his language knowledge, “Ben thank you for your respect to the Latin community by speaking in Spanish! You are awesome!” One person said, “He speaks better Spanish than his wife” referring to Jennifer Lopez, who does in fact, speak Spanish too.
It’s obvious that Ben loves the movie that he made with his buddy Matt Damon. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck revealed what it felt like when he portrayed the Nike mogul Phil Knight. “He talks about Buddhism, Eastern philosophy. He also talks about being a ruthless capitalist. So right there, I think this is a guy of many contradictions, which is fun to play. There’s a tension between having once been the entrepreneur, the guy selling shoes out of your car, and now running a big company, being responsible for everyone’s jobs. That’s a real change. And how do you reconcile that? The way he vacillates [about spending to sign Michael Jordan] but in the end goes for it. When we tested the movie in Vegas, people cheered. I was happy because I thought, “Good, they get it.” But I did not expect the audience to stand up and cheer for Phil Knight. I think it speaks to the fact that in this culture, we venerate capitalists. It’s our version of the divine right of kings.”
He also talked about how Michael Jordan isn’t really in the film as the viewer never sees him. “When you are that person, when you become so much more than a hero or an athlete or even an icon, you start to become an idea to people. You touch them and just start to represent hope and excellence and greatness. You are one of a kind. And there is no way I was ever going to ask an audience to believe that anybody other than Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan. Which was also out of my own naked self interest, frankly, because I knew it would destroy the movie.”
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