Ben Affleck thought his first-person shooter skills would make him a natural at Fortnite. He was wrong — and the kids who keep eliminating him have no mercy.
The actor opened up about his Fortnite struggles on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, in episode 205, released October 7. The gaming talk came up during a segment about playing online games against kids, and Affleck did not hold back about how humbling the experience has been for a self-described lifelong gamer.
"My son was obsessed with Fortnite, playing Fortnite all the time. I always play games. I play first person shooter games, so I think I'm good, and then 12-year-olds just f*ck you up," Affleck said. He described dropping into matches with confidence, only to get eliminated almost immediately — and then getting taunted by the kids who took him out. When they mocked him in voice chat after yet another quick elimination, he shouted back: "I don't suck! I'm a grown man!"
The trash talk goes both ways, apparently. Affleck admitted he ends up getting into arguments with the young players, a far cry from the composed movie star image.
His complaints were not limited to the competition. Affleck also took aim at Fortnite's cosmetic economy after his son asked for specific skins for Christmas. When he learned the skins cost hundreds of dollars, his reaction was blunt: "They ain't even real? Just to wear in the game? That's bullsh**."
But the skins left a mark on him in an unexpected way. Affleck revealed that Fortnite's wild character designs actually inspired the costumes for his new Netflix thriller Animals, which released October 9. Discussing a character who wears a fuzzy bunny mask, he explained: "I thought these costumes are so kind of random and unusual, that's what I based the costumes on." His son had kept calling Fortnite skins "tough," and Affleck joked he never understood what was tough about a bunny mask — until it ended up in his movie. He added: "I thought he'd be getting them off games."
Affleck is a genuine gamer, particularly fond of first-person shooters, and a known VALORANT fan who reportedly mains KAY/O and has attended VALORANT events with his son. He even joined the Sentinels esports team for a watch party last year, and his Gone Girl character was famously shown playing Battlefield 3. But Fortnite's build-heavy, fast-paced lobbies have proven to be his kryptonite — no matter how many shooters he has under his belt, the 12-year-olds keep winning.
Source: New Heights
