And the fact the story mirrored Ben's own real life
struggles, following his public battle with alcoholism, made the filming
process incredibly challenging.
Speaking to The Associated Press, he explained: "This movie was hard to make. Sometimes it was painful. And sometimes I was embarrassed. And sometimes I couldn’t believe my life had any similarity to this.
And the film's director
Gavin O’Connor confirmed that Ben pushed himself — to the point of a
breakdown.
He explained: "It was probably the second
take, Ben just had a breakdown.
"It was like the dam broke and
everything came out. I just remember the crew, everyone was frozen,
watching him bear his soul. It was obviously real."
He continued: "A lot of things that he probably had to say in
his own life, or maybe he had said, I don’t know.”
In
fact, Ben was so vulnerable that the director cut some of the footage
because "it would be too hard for an audience to watch, too
personal."
Ben first checked into rehab in
2001 and made a second trip to rehab in 2017.
One year later,
Ben checked in a live-in rehab facility after Jennifer staged an
intervention.
In October, Ben admitted to relapsing during his alcoholism recovery - just days after celebrating a year of sobriety.
But the Argo star proudly stated in the interview: "I have a better relationship with my kids today than I did three years ago. I have a better relationship with my ex-wife, I think, than I did three years ago.