George on Ben's Campaign for Sexiest Man Alive
George Clooney and Ben Affleck have both directed big budget Hollywood movies and during a recent roundtable discussion, they revealed their thoughts on directing themselves as actors.
At The Envelope Screening Series hosted by the Los Angeles Times, Affleck points out that contrary to popular belief, there are only a handful of examples of directors acting in their own films.
VIDEO: Ben Affleck Calls the Success of Argo a 'Dream'
Affleck's latest combo film is the box office hit Argo, but in 2010 he took the acting-directing plunge on the crime thriller The Town. "I don't have any great wisdom about that," he said when asked by a moderator how he approached the dual role. "You know, for me it's about shooting enough footage that I have to work with in the cutting room."
The question is also posed whether Affleck consulted Clooney -- who had directed Good Night, and Good Luck in 2005 -- for advice. "Ben and I... when we first started talking, mostly he was campaigning at the time for Sexiest Man Alive," Clooney joked. "And he wanted some tips -- I worked with him," he continued, adding also that he also "worked with Matt (Damon), who also got it (Sexiest Man Alive)."
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George did have some serious remarks on acting in the same movies he directs. "I will say this about directing yourself, there is this weird thing that happens -- which is, you try desperately not to do more takes on yourself than you do on other actors. Because you just feel like such a schmuck if you do it," he said. "So you have to have this understanding with the actors that you're going to break that rule."
Watch the video to also hear George give his thoughts on Affleck's performance as actor-director in Argo.