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Updated 6 hours ago, October 2, 2026

Ben Affleck’s Animals co-stars Kerry Washington and Luis Gerardo Méndez have been encouraging him to seek elected office. At the film’s Los Angeles premiere, the 54-year-old actor and director made clear he has no interest in becoming a candidate. Asked about their campaign to recruit him, he joked: “Maybe they hate me.”

Affleck plays Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball in the Netflix thriller, which he also directed and co-wrote. Washington plays his wife, Abigail.

After their son is kidnapped, the couple must find the money for a ransom. The film arrives in selected cinemas and on Netflix on October 9.

Washington said Affleck has been explicit about refusing to run, even as the cast keeps encouraging him. Méndez, who plays Ramon, an undocumented Mexican immigrant caught up in the candidate’s life, said he’d vote for Affleck.

Affleck has supported Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. But his remarks at the premiere focused on his frustration with fundraising, personal attacks and the way candidates try to win support.

“It’s just about money, raising money, it’s just about playing a sort of adolescent game of who can make fun of the other person better or be more reductive and stupid about something rather than actually trying to talk about the issues,” he said.

He argued that leadership requires giving voters something to believe in: “You’ve got to inspire them. Otherwise they don’t want to vote for you.”

As for taking on the job himself, Affleck said: “Selfishly, I just see what a difficult grind of a job it is and I’d rather make movies about it.”

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