Ben Affleck is done worrying about what other people think

Ben Affleck will turn 50 this year. “The common thread I’ve found from the people I know who’ve turned 50 who are the happiest is that they’ve stopped worrying so much about what other people think,” he said. When you hit 30, you think, ‘Now I’ve figured it out,’ then you hit 40 and you’re like, ‘I had no idea.’ Now, when I think about being in my 20s, I wonder, ‘How was my brain distinguishable from a gorilla’s at that age?’” Feeling wrung out after his run as Batman in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and 2017’s “Justice League,” Affleck has focused in the last few years on less splashy and more character-driven roles, delivering some of his strongest acting work in years. I just didn’t know what they felt like at 24.” Ben Affleck, left, and Tye Sheridan star in “The Tender Bar.” Despite his staying power in Hollywood, Affleck still makes for a big target after so many years in the public eye — and his penchant for spilling his guts in interviews can get him trouble. It’s just there is something about me — definitely when I was younger in particular — where people felt like collectively they were allowed to say bad things about me: like, “We all kind of don’t like this person, right?” I think when I was young, people saw me as somebody who had too much or was successful too easily or looked like some kind of cavalier, insincere, callow frat guy.