In “The Tender Bar”, directed by George Clooney, Ben Affleck plays the uncle and mentor of a child marked by the absence of his father. An opportunity for the actor to work once more with the filmmaker who produced “Argo” almost ten years ago.
The father of JR Moehringer (played by Daniel Ranieri and Tye Sheridan, in childhood and early adulthood) is absent. Despite the presence of a loving mother (Lily Rabe), the boy develops a special relationship with his uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck) who works in a bar called the Dickens. It is he who detects in the boy a gift for studies. It is also he who will push him to write and then to make it his profession.
“Cinema is, in essence, a collaborative medium where you are as good as the script, the director, the other actors. I was very lucky. I had loved working with George and Grant [Clooney et Heslov, producteur de «Argo»]. Every once in a while, something extraordinary happens, as has happened here, ”Ben Affleck explained at a press conference attended by the QMI Agency.
“Lily was a huge help when I got lost during a scene. I asked her for advice on my game and she was a great help. When I saw Chris [Christopher Lloyd qui tient le rôle du grand-père de J.R.] on the set … I saw “Back to the Future” when it came out, and that settles the question of which is the best film in the history of cinema. He’s also the first star I saw in real life as he walked the streets of Boston. ”
No doubt, Ben Affleck is perfect as Uncle Charlie, his playing regains the luster already seen in “Argo”. And, for him, all the credit goes to George Clooney.
“My performance benefited greatly from his experience, his wisdom, his talent, his generosity. He always made my scenes better, ”he insisted.
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Mentor of the young JR, Ben Affleck also had significant adults in his life and this inspired him for his character of Charlie.
“I have had a significant number of significant adults in my life. My father, for example, built himself, went to college. He was very interested in the language and the way of telling stories. It was he who transmitted this to me from an early age. He also taught me that you don’t have to be rich, or that you don’t have to go to a prestigious school to use the language well, to understand the power of words. My father believed in the power of words in a very democratic way. ”
“My sponsor has also been a very important person in my life. And I also had a drama teacher who was a defining influence in my life because he believed in my talent. I don’t know if he really believed in it, but he gave me so much self-confidence that I didn’t find it crazy and absurd to want to make it my job by going to Los Angeles to make films ”, Affleck mentioned.
“Mentors are not valued in society and yet they are essential.”
“The Tender Bar” has been available on Amazon Prime since January 7th.
