Affleck sought help from Weiner on role

Published June 9, 2011 4:00am EST | Updated October 27, 2023 10:39pm EST



Back when he was researching his role as a congressman in “State of Play,” actor Ben Affleck wanted to get some words of advice from a real politician. Who did he turn to? Rep. Anthony Weiner.

In a 2009 piece by The New York Times, Affleck touched on how the pair became friends, meeting for dinners and swapping advice. “I developed, I must confess, a grudging respect for him. He has good political instincts. He said Barack was going to win and he turned out to be right,” Weiner said of Affleck.