Ben Affleck has revealed that he was suffering from food poisoning while filming a scene with Bruce Willis for a 1998 movie. The actor shared the rare anecdote in a recent interview for his new movie, The Rip.
Ben Affleck talks about getting food poisoning
In a recent interview with Fox 32 Chicago, Ben Affleck reminisced about working with Bruce Willis on the 1998 disaster flick Armageddon. The actor revealed that he was battling food poisoning while filming the movie’s memorable goodbye scene with the Die Hard star.
“When we shot that scene, I had food poisoning,” Affleck shared. “I wasn’t an experienced enough actor at that point to know that you can just pick up the phone and be like, ‘I’m too sick to work today.’ I’m like, ‘I better come in.’ So I went, and I was literally, it’s the only time it’s ever happened in my life, vomiting between takes,” he added.
The scene from Armageddon that Affleck is referencing is the emotional moment when his character A.J. Frost says his final goodbye to Willis’ Harry Stamper, the heroic oil driller. Stamper sacrificed himself and stayed behind the asteroid to destroy it manually before it collided with Earth.
Looking back on the experience, Affleck reckoned that his medical emergency, “probably made the scene better.” The remark earned a laugh from Matt Damon, who was sitting beside him during the interview. The duo is currently on a promotional tour for their new movie, The Rip.
During the conversation, Affleck also recalled reuniting with his Armageddon co-star Steve Buscemi recently. “I actually saw Steve Buscemi last night at the premiere for The Rip, and we were reminiscing about that movie and thinking about how that was the weirdest, kind of wonderful, strange, otherworldly movie experience,” shared Affleck.
Other notable stars Affleck shared the screen with in Armageddon include Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Owen Wilson, and more.
Meanwhile, Affleck’s latest movie, The Rip, reunites him on screen with his longtime friend and collaborator Matt Damon. Other cast members of the movie include Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, and more. The film premiered on Netflix on January 16, 2026.
