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Updated 14 minutes ago, October 17, 2026

Ben Affleck says Bruce Willis warned him away from Shakespeare in Love without having read its script. The advice came while they were making Armageddon, before Affleck took on the role of actor Ned Alleyn in the 1998 romantic comedy.

“He was like, ‘Man, don’t go do that Shakespeare movie, man. You don’t wanna do that movie,’” Affleck, 54, recalled on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz.

Affleck took the part anyway. Shakespeare in Love won 7 Oscars in 1999, including Best Picture, with a cast that included Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth.

Affleck said Willis “was wrong about that one,” adding, “But he hadn’t read the script, in all fairness.”

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