Ben Affleck recently sat down for an in-depth interview with veteran journalist Jorge Ramos to discuss his latest directorial project, the Netflix thriller Animals. From the outset of the conversation, it was clear that the film was never approached by Affleck as a detached, purely mechanical creative exercise. Instead, the project quickly evolved into something deeply personal, shaped by a turbulent political climate, real-world events, and a firm conviction about the immigrant identity of the United States.
During his appearance on Ramos’s digital show Así Veo Las Cosas, Affleck opened up about the core thematic pillars of Animals. He explained to Ramos that the United States is fundamentally a nation built by immigrants, noting that his own family and heritage share that background. According to the filmmaker, the narrative arc of Luis and Adriana—the two central Mexican characters at the heart of the movie—is essentially a reflection of the broader American story. This perspective was not adopted merely as a promotional angle or a marketing strategy; rather, it served as the driving force behind every major creative and logistical decision Affleck made while co-writing and directing the film. It also heavily influenced his willingness to confront the inherent risks of tackling such a politically charged subject in the current American socio-political landscape.
Affleck candidly acknowledged that fear and anxiety within immigrant communities have escalated significantly in recent years. This harsh reality manifested itself directly during the production of Animals in a manner that the director admitted he did not anticipate when the project first began. Because the film was shot on location in Los Angeles, production crews occasionally faced jarring interruptions. There were specific days when filming had to be completely suspended because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations were actively taking place in the immediate neighborhoods where the cast and crew were working.
Describing the surreal nature of these occurrences, Affleck told Ramos that watching the dramatic friction depicted in the script play out in real life right outside the camera’s lens was nothing short of extraordinary. The boundary between fiction and gritty reality effectively dissolved on the very same Los Angeles streets, leaving an indelible mark on the atmosphere of the production and forcing the entire team to confront the urgency of the subject matter firsthand.
He Knew Making This Film Was a Risk and He Made It Anyway
Affleck was remarkably direct about the professional and cultural risks involved in centering a high-profile film on the dignity and humanity of immigrant characters. In the current environment surrounding immigration policy and public discourse in the United States, producing such a work carries undeniable friction. However, Affleck stressed that he made the conscious, deliberate decision to take that risk simply because the topic demanded it.
He shared with Ramos that his primary creative objective was to portray immigrants not as flat supporting players or background elements in someone else’s narrative, but as fully realized individuals endowed with dignity who serve as the true protagonists of their own stories. In Affleck’s view, the intense social relevance of the current moment made it impossible to look away from the ethical responsibility that comes with having a prominent platform to tell such stories. To shy away from the topic out of fear of controversy would have been a disservice to the material.
The director also tackled head-on a prevailing prejudice that frequently influences decision-making within the traditional Hollywood studio system: the stubborn assumption that English-language audiences harbor a widespread resistance to subtitles. There has long been a conventional industry belief that non-Spanish-speaking viewers prefer stories told strictly in English and will rapidly disengage from productions that require them to read subtitles. Affleck actively pushed back against this commercial assumption by moving forward with the film regardless, asserting that the profound social relevance of the narrative and the imperative to represent the immigrant experience with absolute honesty and dignity far outweighed any cold, calculated commercial concerns regarding subtitle preferences.
ICE Was Operating on His Filming Locations and the Script Was Playing Out in Real Life
The conversation with Jorge Ramos unfolded against the broader backdrop of an ongoing, highly polarized national debate regarding U.S. immigration policy, border enforcement, and the widespread impact of ICE raids on everyday communities. Affleck’s film arrives at a time when the historical distance between cinematic fiction and the daily lived reality of millions has narrowed considerably.
Reflecting on the days when production had to be abruptly halted due to active ICE enforcement operations in Los Angeles, Affleck framed these disruptions not merely as inconvenient logistical hurdles, but as moments of profound clarity. Witnessing federal immigration enforcement activity firsthand while trying to capture immigrant stories on film sharpened his understanding of why Animals needed to exist in the first place.
This collision between script and street-level reality lent the production a distinct emotional depth that no amount of traditional pre-production research, script doctoring, or academic preparation could have manufactured. The gravity of these real-world events heavily influenced how seriously Affleck approached the responsibility of authentic representation. It was precisely this commitment to authenticity that led him to take the unusual step of asking his Mexican lead actors, Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez, to actively help write their own dialogue. Rather than forcing them to recite rigid lines drafted entirely by outside writers, Affleck handed them the pen to ensure their conversations on screen carried genuine cultural resonance and emotional truth.
He Said This Is a Country of Immigrants and His Family Proves It
Affleck’s deep personal connection to the theme of immigration is far from incidental; it serves as the foundational reason why he chose to commit his time and resources to this specific project at this specific juncture in history. He reiterated to Ramos that his background and his family are rooted in the immigrant experience, reinforcing his belief that the struggles and triumphs of the characters in Animals are fundamentally the story of the United States as a whole. In his view, America has always derived its core identity from the diverse populations who arrived from distant shores to build their lives, families, and futures within its borders.
This deeply personal framing is matched by a rigorous professional framework. Animals boasts a high-profile ensemble cast featuring acclaimed actors such as Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, and Ray Fisher alongside its talented Mexican leads, Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez. Furthermore, the film was produced in association with Artists Equity, the independent studio Affleck co-founded alongside longtime collaborator Matt Damon. Affleck took on this ambitious project fully aware that it would step directly into a national conversation that is already deeply charged, politically divisive, and intensely personal for millions of viewers. Animals is currently streaming worldwide on Netflix.
