The Heartwarming Reason Ben Affleck Skipped the 2022 SAG Awards

Despite being nominated, Ben Affleck was nowhere in sight at the 2022 SAG Awards—but there was a special reason for his absence. Find out why he opted to skip the ceremony.

By Jess Cohen Feb 28, 2022 4:39 PMTags
Watch: 2022 SAG Awards: 6 Reasons We Can't Wait to Watch!

For Ben Affleck, dad is the most important role.

The actor made that very clear over the weekend when he skipped the 2022 SAG Awards to celebrate his and Jennifer Garner's son Samuel Affleck's 10th birthday, according to multiple reports

While Ben, who is also dad to Violet Affleck, 16, and Seraphina Affleck, 13, wasn't present at the ceremony, he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in The Tender Bar.

Though the award ended up going to Coda star Troy Kotsur, Ben has received a lot of praise for his performance in the film, which centers on a 9-year-old boy—in search of a father figure—bonding with his bartender uncle and the pub's customers. The George Clooney-director movie, which is an adaptation of J. R. Moehringer's 2005 memoir, has even received a sweet shout-out from Ben's girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez.

"There is a great scene with Ben and the little boy in a bowling alley," Jennifer told her Instagram followers in January. "Ben plays his uncle and they are both amazing in the movie."

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See the Winners of the 2022 SAG Awards

The superstar singer also gushed, "If you haven't seen it, you should."

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

In fact, the "Let's Get Loud" artist was by Ben's side at the premiere of the film in December. And although he cleverly dodged a question about his leading lady, he did tell E! News why the project is extra special for him. 

"It's about the importance and power of parenting kids, and fatherhood and family, whatever that looks like," he said at the time. "It's not about perfect people doing things perfect, it's about a lot of people with a lot of struggles trying to go through things but who understand and want to provide that basic love and support to this young guy."

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