Ben Affleck Gets Emotional Telling Story of How Adam Driver Saved 8-Year-Old Son’s Birthday

Ben Affleck and ex-wife Jennifer Garner share three kids, daughters Violet, 14, and Seraphina, 11, and son Samuel, who turned 8 years old in February. According to Affleck, Samuel’s birthday party was made extra-special by a kind gesture from Adam Driver, who saved the day when a gift didn’t arrive.

Affleck appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night where he shared the story, explaining that while he made it home in time for Samuel’s birthday party, the presents he had ordered for his son did not.

“I’m a divorced dad, I get half the time with my son, and it was his birthday! So I said to [the producers], ‘I’ll do whatever the schedule needs, but on the 27th, I gotta be in L.A.’” Affleck told Kimmel. “So they set it up where I was shooting right up to the 27th, and then I kinda had to scramble… and I was going to land right in time for his birthday.”

“We had presents set up and everything was getting shipped and sent, and I was gonna pick it up and go to his surprise party,” he continued, adding that Samuel understands what his parents do as actors, but “also knows that Star Wars is real.”

Affleck was recently in France with Driver, filming the upcoming movie The Last Duel with Matt Damon and Jodie Comer, and told his son, “I’m actually in this movie with Kylo Ren,” referring to Driver’s Star Wars character.

“So, I told him that I’m actually in this movie with Kylo Ren and his mind, like, opened in two,” Affleck shared. “He was like, ‘But, Dad?! But, how?! How do you know Kylo Ren?! Are you going to space?! Will he have his lightsaber?! Good Kylo Ren?!’ And I was like, ‘Yes, the good Kylo Ren, not the bad Kylo Ren.’”

The actor shared that he asked Driver to record a birthday video for Samuel, which he did, and Affleck made it to Los Angeles, only to learn from a member of his team that the presents hadn’t arrived.

“So it meant I had to show up to my son’s party with no gift for him. And there was this sort of sinking, awful feeling. And then he goes, ‘But, there is something…well, Adam heard you say it was your son’s birthday and he called your assistant,’” Affleck recalled. “He got your address and sent some presents and signed a card and a picture of Kylo Ren. And I took those presents and went and…saw my son. Watched him open all his other presents and I said, ‘Sam, my presents didn’t get here on time…but I did get a present from somebody who really wanted to make sure you had a gift.’ And he was like, ‘Who?’ And I was like, ‘Kylo Ren.’”

“He opened the presents and I played him the video, and it was an incredibly moving and powerful moment. Adam made me a hero to my kid, and I will never, ever, ever forget that,” Affleck said emphatically, adding that the moment was “a really good lesson in doing those small gestures of kindness.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Jean Baptiste-Lacroix