Today, Ben Affleck is an Oscar-winning filmmaker, actor, and writer known for his roles in everything from The Town, Argo, and Good Will Hunting to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Air, and his collaborations with Kevin Smith. In 2001, Affleck starred as Rafe McCawley in Michael Bay's 2001 World War II movie Pearl Harbor, which ended up being one of his most iconic roles. At one point, while preparing for the epic historical drama, Affleck was ready to call it quits! It's time for a look back at why Affleck was prepared to leave the war epic.

Ben Affleck and the 'Pearl Harbor' Cast Were Put Through a Boot Camp

In a March 2020 interview with GQ, Affleck looked back at some of his iconic film roles, including Pearl Harbor. Affleck took flight lessons to train for the role of Rafe McAwley, a United States Army Air Corps pilot in the feature. For Affleck, that aspect of the film "was really interesting fun." The process even helped Affleck conquer his fear of flying. However, Affleck also revealed that he and his fellow castmates took part in a pre-ranger training course to prepare for their roles in the epic war drama. The boot camp was conducted at the US Army base, Fort Lightning. Affleck and the other actors took the same training course that enlisted soldiers take before they enter Ranger school to prepare them for the rigors of actual Army Ranger training.

Affleck described the training as "horrible" and an "incredibly agonizing, painful, miserable experience." The actor was so miserable performing the boot camp training that he was ready to quit the entire process. It seems Affleck's trainers took the course very seriously, referring to the actors by their character names, yelling at them much like they would any other Army Ranger recruit. But Affleck kept going because if the news got out that he had quit the training course, he feared public embarrassment. The Oscar winner continued, "I would've definitely quit like the first day if I wouldn't have just been too embarrassed to have it get out that I quit the training." Ultimately, Affleck endured the "physically exhausting" experience on the war movie.

Ben Affleck's 'Pearl Harbor' Training Is the "Hardest Thing" He's Ever Done in His Career

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Affleck considers his training boot camp for Pearl Harbor 'the hardest thing" he's ever done in his illustrious career. Although Affleck found the experience very challenging, Once he completed the training, he admitted it was incredibly satisfying, noting that the drill sergeants finally started treating him like he was a normal human being, and he was able to sleep in a nice bed. Affleck told GQ, "I just appreciated everything so much more." That said, Affleck added, "It's hard to think about that movie without like thinkin' about how like slammed we got for it." Two decades and many movies later, the training boot camp for Pearl Harbor sticks in Affleck's mind as a core memory.

Michael Bay's 'Pearl Harbor' Is an Interesting Footnote in Ben Affleck's Career

Pearl Harbor stands out as an interesting footnote in Affleck's career. It grossed over $449 million at the worldwide box office from a budget of roughly $140 million. Pearl Harbor was likely made to cash in on the success of recent WWII movies, such as the global smash Oscar-winning war drama Saving Private Ryan. However, the film likely did not experience the success that the studio and director Michael Bay hoped for.

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It was also nominated for several Razzies, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor for Affleck, and Worst Screen Couple for Affleck and co-stars Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett. With that in mind, it's not too surprising that Affleck focuses more on learning how to fly for the film and his boot camp training, which he found incredibly grueling but satisfying upon completion. After some ups and downs, Affleck experienced a nice career resurgence, reinventing himself as a director with the acclaimed 2007 movie Gone Baby Gone, which was his directorial debut.

Pearl Harbor is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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Pearl Harbor

PG-13

Action

Drama

Romance

War

A tale of war and romance mixed in with history. The story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941.

Release Date May 25, 2001

Director Michael Bay

Cast Ben Affleck , Josh Hartnett , Kate Beckinsale , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Tom Sizemore , Jon Voight , Colm Feore , Alec Baldwin

Runtime 183 minutes

Writers Randall Wallace