Ben Affleck, Watch Your Tone With Chris Messina
Whose side are you on?
It’s hot, the news is bad, and can you even imagine trying to plan a wedding right now? All of these are factors that may have been weighing on Ben Affleck when he experienced what Radar is calling a “meltdown” on June 28.
In the photos obtained by the tabloid site, Affleck, clutching his now-signature Diet Coke and cigarette, can be seen berating a smaller man outside on a lot filled with trailers. Radar is hot to make Affleck’s meltdown seem wedding-related, like the actor slash director is spiraling out of control trying to balance his forthcoming nuptials to on-again fiancée-now-wife Jennifer Affleck née Lopez, being a thoughtful parent to his children, being a thoughtful ex-husband to Jennifer Garner, staying sober, and directing and acting in his new movie. It’s no surprise, then, that these tensions may have come with him to the office, which is to say “movie set,” where he is working on a new film about the Nike founder’s pursuit of Michael Jordan (guys will just make movies about whatever).
Now, I’m inclined to take Affleck’s side on a lot of things. He’s been through a lot, like getting a giant tattoo and being on Raya and alcoholism. But upon closer look at the photos of Affleck’s apparent argument, it becomes clear to me that the other man in the photo is not just “some guy,” as I first thought — a paparazzi or useless crew member — but beloved character actor and hot guy Chris Messina.
Messina — who you may know by face but not by name — has a near-three-decade career in Hollywood. He played the hot prickly guy in Sharp Objects, the hot prickly guy in The Mindy Project, Ewan McGregor’s hot boyfriend in Birds of Prey, and Julie of Julie & Julia’s hot boyfriend in the aforementioned movie Julie & Julia. Messina has worked with Affleck before on the latter’s little-seen Live by Night. The two must have gotten along well enough to commit to another film together, but an alleged dust-up like this doesn’t bode well for their future.
Some might posit: Maybe they were just rehearsing a fight scene en plein air out of an abundance of Covid-19-related caution. This could be possible — who am I to know the inner workings of [scrolling up] the founder of Nike pursuing Michael Jordan?
In the case of Affleck v. Messina, I am forced to take the side of Messina, whose tabloid-free lifestyle and eagerness to appear in any kind of movie or any kind of television endears him to me. Listen, he works hard, does whatever, and looks hot while doing so. Ben Affleck, if you can hear me from almost a month ago, it is in your best interest to make up with Chris Messina immediately.
