Before he slipped into the Batcave as Bruce Wayne, Ben Affleck made his first foray into the world of comic book heroes in the 2003 film Daredevil. Back then, he was Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night, fighting to protect Hell’s Kitchen from the criminal underworld. Fast forward to today, and Affleck’s portrayal of Daredevil is still a topic of conversation—usually not in the glowing terms he might have hoped for.
Sure, one standout in the film was Michael Clarke Duncan’s portrayal of Kingpin. As the towering villain Wilson Fisk, the late actor brought an imposing, physical presence to the screen that few actors could have matched. Standing at 6’5” and built like a brick house, he embodied the Kingpin’s monstrous power, and his performance is one of the few things that have aged well over time.
But behind the scenes, Duncan’s hulk-like persona wasn’t just limited to his on-screen role.
Michael Clarke Duncan & Ben Affleck’s ‘Daredevil’ Antics That Are Still Going Strong
They say there’s no business like show business, but sometimes the real magic happens behind the scenes—when the cameras are off, the costumes are hung up, and the stars are just people, like us. Take, for example, the unforgettable moment between Ben Affleck and the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan on the set of Daredevil (2003).
A viral behind-the-scenes video revealed a playful moment between Duncan and Affleck. You can see Duncan laughing, calling out Affleck for staying out of the more physically demanding scenes.
It all started with Duncan noticing Affleck, looking pristine in his gym shoes and a clean T-shirt, seemingly untouched by the chaos of the day. “It’s funny cuz he got these gym shoes and T-shirt,” Duncan said with a smirk. He added:
He’s been giving his all. Like he’s been working hard all day. What? To the clock?
Affleck, ever the good sport, tried to defend himself, claiming that he was doing “serious business”. But Duncan wasn’t buying it. With a grin on his face, he shot back:
What did you do that I didn’t do? I have been in my outfit all day. Look at your outfit—all clean and fresh. Not a dirt, just look at it.
It was playful teasing, but there was a nugget of truth beneath it. While Duncan was sweating it out in his full costume—no easy feat for a guy who was built like a tank—Affleck had a somewhat easier ride, especially when it came to the more physically demanding scenes. And Duncan wasn’t shy about calling him out on it:
There’s nothing on you, man! Are you gonna do something today, I just wanna know?
As if Duncan’s teasing wasn’t enough, there was also the small matter of Affleck’s attempt at a stunt. The latter tries to perform a stunt where he’s supposed to crash through a glass panel. But, as fate would have it, he doesn’t quite stick to the landing.
Duncan wasted no time calling out Affleck for his failed stunt. The former sadly passed away in 2012, at the age of 54, due to respiratory failure (see NY Times).
The Critical Reception of Daredevil: A Mixed Bag
While the behind-the-scenes moments might have been fun, Daredevil’s reception at the box office and among critics wasn’t as lighthearted. The film, which was one of the early attempts to bring Marvel superheroes to the big screen before the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, received mixed reviews, earning a lackluster 43% on Rotten Tomatoes.
That being said, Daredevil did manage to make an impact at the box office, grossing $179.2 million worldwide against a production budget of $78 million (see Box Office Mojo). In 2004, the film was re-released as an R-rated director’s cut, which added about 30 minutes of footage back into the film. This version received a slightly more positive reception, with some critics praising the additional depth it gave to the story and characters.
However, the damage had already been done in terms of public perception, and Daredevil never quite achieved the lasting success of other superhero films that came after it.
One of the key spin-offs from Daredevil was Elektra (2005), a standalone film focused on Jennifer Garner’s character, Elektra Natchios. Unfortunately, Elektra didn’t live up to the promise of its predecessor. It was a critical and commercial failure.
Daredevil is streaming on Disney+.
