Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are making the best of a tough time.
Nearly nine months after the pair announced they were splitting after 10 years of marriage, the actors are both in the spotlight again, as Ben is promoting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Jennifer is promoting Miracles From Heaven. Talking about their relationship in the media has been tricky, and on Wednesday, Ellen DeGeneres commended them for putting Violet Affleck, 10, Seraphina Affleck, 7, and Samuel Affleck, 4, above all else. "I know it's been kind of a challenging year, obviously. And I what I love—and I think what everybody loves—is that you and Jen are putting the kids first, and that we see you with the kids all the time," she told Ben. "I think that's the most important thing and the most important message to send everybody."
"Absolutely, you know?" said Ben, 43. "We're good friends and we're doing our best and our kids are fabulous and we're working our best for them and that's...What are you gonna do?"
Ellen said, "That's the most important thing."
Ben wasn't just on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss his personal life, though. While talking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, he recalled how director Zack Snyder first brought him in to explain how they would reinvent the iconic superhero. "I wouldn't have wanted to try to copy what Chris Nolan and Christian Bale did," he said, referring to their Dark Knight trilogy. "They're so amazing and those guys are geniuses. The idea was to try to do something different." Ben also had another reason for wanting to do the movie: It would be the first one he did in years that wasn't rated R. "I haven't done anything that my kids could see for a long time," the actor said, mentioning Argo and Gone Girl, "so I thought that would be kind of cool."
"My son thinks it's cool. My son thinks it's really cool. He came to the set. He was a little bit suspicious, too. He was like, 'Is that the real Superman?' 'Yes, he is. That's more or less about as real as it gets. That's the real Superman.' When I'd leave, he'd be like, 'Dad, are you going to the Batcave?' I can't [let him down]. I'm like, 'Yes, I am.' Eventually he's going to be in therapy, like, 'You lied to me! There's no Batcave! He's doing Ellen,'" he said. "He thinks I'm in the Batcave now."