October 8, 2026 at 1:07pm EDT

Ben Affleck has not had a good experience with Instagram.

“I got banned from Instagram twice for impersonating myself,” he told Variety in an Oct. 7 interview. “I had six followers. It was my kids and some of their friends. It was just an excuse for me to look at [my kids’] social media accounts.”

The Gone Girl actor explained that he likes to live outside of the public eye and said he constantly reminisces about the days before social media.

“There used to be a time when everything you said or did wasn’t on the permanent record. As you get older, you become aware of what that means,” he said. “I experienced the whole world and had a whole life in private. I have a real sense of how valuable that is.”

“I think Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep and Viola Davis and Denzel Washington are brilliant actors. It doesn’t help me appreciate their movies to see what they had for lunch,” he continued. “I realize I sound like an old, out-of-touch person, but I believe that as an actor you have to maintain an illusion.”

Affleck shares his three kids, Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14, with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner. In the interview, he explained that he has a quiet life at home with with his kids and wouldn’t want it any other way.

“You know, I have nothing salacious or all that interesting in my life. I work hard, and then I go home and pick up the kids from school,” he said. “We have dinner if they agree to hang out with me.”

“They’re with me for a week, then with their mom for a week. They have a great thing with their mom, for whom I’m also really, really grateful,” he added. “I know things will come up that are hard, and I don’t want to jinx that, but this time in my life as a human being is really wonderful.”