Ben Affleck Reflects on His Wildly Independent Childhood, Says It Wouldn’t Fly Today

Ben Affleck is getting real about how much the world has changed since he was a kid—and honestly, his stories sound like the plot of a coming-of-age movie nobody would greenlight these days. On a recent stop at "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Affleck, now 52, recalled the total freedom he had growing up, which included solo subway rides to the movies as early as age five. Yes, five. And yes, he lived to tell the tale.

He described himself as the classic "latch-key kid"—key on a string, walking to school alone, catching "Star Wars" in theaters twenty times (because why not?), and taking the subway without a grown-up in sight. When pressed, he admitted he started these independent adventures as young as five, six, or seven. Nowadays, he joked, letting your kid roam West LA like that would get you a call from child protective services, and probably a spot in parental jail.

Affleck, who shares three kids—Violet (19), Seraphina (16), and Samuel (13)—with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, reflected on whether his parents were negligent or just products of a different era. When his dad was around, he remembers him simply not wanting to walk Ben to school. Priorities, right?

He hit the late-night circuit to promote his new movie, "The Accountant 2," a follow-up to the 2016 hit. This time around, Affleck’s character, an autistic accountant, gets a shot at romance and even attempts line dancing. Affleck revealed on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that he needed multiple instructors for his dance moves, despite the director’s daily check-ins—and his own insistence that he’s not that uncoordinated. Kelly Clarkson couldn’t resist teasing him about the need for extra lessons, earning a quick comeback from Affleck himself.

While his kids joined him at the film’s premiere, Affleck confessed they are totally ruthless critics. According to him, they’ll watch his movies right next to him and openly declare, "This is terrible. Why did you do this?" Talk about tough love.

Affleck also made headlines recently after a viral moment at a sneaker convention, when his son Samuel asked for $6,000 sneakers. Affleck’s response? "That's a lot of lawns you gotta mow there." He later explained on "Today with Jenna & Friends" that he wants his kids to understand the value of hard work. Both his older children have typical teenage jobs, and as much as he loves them, Affleck believes it’s important they learn you have to work for what you want—even if that means 1,000 hours at minimum wage to snag those dream shoes. Suddenly, dad’s old subway rides sound like the easy option.

That work ethic extends to family game time, too. Affleck refuses to let his kids win at sports, inspired by his own childhood playing with Matt Damon (and Damon’s dad). When his son finally beat him at basketball (with a little luck and a hot streak of three-pointers), Affleck admitted the loss stung—maybe even more than it thrilled his son. Looks like even Hollywood dads have to face the changing of the guard.