Ben Affleck was in good company at last night's Justice League premiere.
The actor, who reprises his role as Batman in the film, joined co-stars Henry Cavill, Ray Fisher, Gal Gadot, Amber Heard, Diane Lane, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Joe Morton, Connie Nielsen and J.K. Simmons on the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where E! News' Will Marfuggi caught up with him before its Nov. 17 release. "I'm doing great. I love this movie. I had so much fun with all these actors and I'm just excited for the fans to get a chance to finally see it," the actor raved. "That means a lot. There's so much enthusiasm. People are geared up."
This is Ben's second time playing the Caped Crusader, following last year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Ironically, the actor's 5-year-old son Samuel Affleck is more impressed by another DC Comics character. "My son does love The Flash. He feels he's very fast, and he likes to demonstrate that. It's a little bit of a mix between Flash and...what was the little kid in The Incredibles' name? He was also very fast," he said. "So, in his mind, that's who he wants to be."
As for Ben's daughters, 8-year-old Seraphina Affleck and 11-year-old Violet Affleck, the actor confessed, "They really look up to Gal and think she's so cool and awesome, like we all do. I guess some of her 'cool' must be rubbing off on me a little bit as a dad—I know someone cool!"
With a laugh, Ben explained, "I gotta trade on what I got!"
It's not as if Ben plays a lame character—but at this point, whatever dad does feels less cool. Still, the actor most admires Batman's "leadership" skills. "It's his responsibility to get this whole group together and get them to work together. Initially, some of them are hostile. Some of them are reluctant. That's a quality I really admire. I think it's a powerful thing to get a group to work together, and being a good leader is a little bit like directing people, you know what I mean? You have to pay attention to people, know what they want, know how they're going to produce best," Ben added. "It's an interesting challenge, and it was fun playing it in the movie."
Ben can't wait for his family to see the movie. "I usually wait a couple weeks, if it's a kid-appropriate movie, and go in a theater, which is what we'll do with this one," he said. Not wanting to cause a scene, "I'll go after the movie starts a little bit so people aren't distracted."
Next week, Ben will celebrate Thanksgiving with his brother, Casey Affleck, his best friend, Matt Damon, and his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. "My mom's coming out, and I think my brother will come over. We'll go down the street and see Matt's family. Thanksgiving's a nice holiday," he said. Just don't expect to see Ben spending all morning preparing a feast. As he (somewhat) jokingly told E! News, "I just assume when we go to Matt's, he's already cooked something!"