Ben Affleck Jokes That Being Tolerated By His Teenage Kids is 'The Most You Can Hope For'

Kids Health

While Ben Affleck grew up surrounded by Dunkin’ Donuts in Boston, his Los Angeles-born-and-bred children aren’t as steeped in the donuts-and-coffee chain’s culture, and like most teens who don’t understand their parents, they simply smile and nod at him in what the actor hilariously deems “toleration.”

“I think they’re charmed by it,” he told PEOPLE of his kids’ perception of his passion for the brand. “I don’t know if it’s true, but, just as with so many other things, it’s what I tell myself.” Affleck jokingly added, “I think it’s tolerated, which is the most you can hope for as the parent of adolescents, I’ve found.”

Unpacking his lifelong love for Dunkin’ on the set of his Super Bowl commercial, The Air director explained, “I think they think of it as a slightly eccentric habit of their dad’s, that like, there’s this one coffee shop that I really stick with and go to, but they know that it’s associated with sort of where I grew up and Boston.”

“In Boston, it was such a big deal,” he continued. Diving into why he decided to star in the commercial (in which he pretends to be a Dunkin’ drive-thru employee and surprises customers — and his wife, Jennifer Lopez — with his identity at the window), Affleck said, “I think I became kind of associated with [the brand], and this sounded like a fun opportunity to kind of play with that association, and a chance to come back here to shoot it at home in Boston.”

“I think people already sort of think that I work for Dunkin’,” he added with a laugh. We can just imagine 17-year-old Seraphina, 14-year-old Violet, and 10-year-old Samuel, whom Affleck shares with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, blankly blinking at their dad. Movie stars — they really are just like the rest of us!

These celebrity kids are giving their parents a humbling reality check by having zero interest in their movies.

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