Things have been going very well for Ben Affleck in his career these days, but there was one point where he feared that it might have been all over. Recently, the acclaimed actor and filmmaker appeared on The Howard Stern Show and discussed his career journey. He touched on finding early success with Matt Damon with their collaborative efforts on Good Will Hunting, and he was feeling great when this came along with other successes like Armageddon and Pearl Harbor.

It wasn't all grand, however. Trouble with Affleck's career began brewing when he starred in the panned superhero flick Daredevil, though he could still hang his hat on the financial success of that movie. Unfortunately, Affleck's luck got worse from there, as he consistently starred in infamous duds like Gigli, Surviving Christmas, and Jersey Girl.

Howard Stern asked Affleck if he was concerned that Matt Damon's career would skyrocket while he would just crash and burn with his own. Affleck says he's always been rooting for Damon, but the question did have him thinking back to the lowest moment of his career. As Affleck detailed to Stern, he felt like he had become a joke after starring in three box office bombs in a row, which wasn't a fun spot at all for him to find himself in. Per Toofab, here's what he had to say.

"I never was scared of that. I had one moment where it scared me. It wasn't because Matt would be successful. I always wanted Matt to be successful, I figure if I'm broke he's one of the only guys who would lend me money anyway. But I did face a moment in my life, three movies in a row that bombed, I became the most f---ing uncool guy... somebody that's cool to pick on."

Affleck then explains that he was once attached to star in an unspecified movie during this time, and because his career had taken such a turn, the studio wound up shutting it down at a cost to them rather than finishing the project. This was the worst the actor had ever felt at any point during his career, as Affleck says he was stunned that the studio would "pay money to not make a movie with me." He referred to the experience as "worse than being fired" from any project. Making matters worse, people whom he thought were his friends were starting to distance themselves from him with his star in Hollywood falling.

"Everything was going great and I don't know what I did but somehow I ended up in the worst of both worlds -- where I can't sell movie tickets, but I can sell tabloid f---ing magazines... For a time I got disillusioned, it f---ing hurt, angry, disappointed and I felt like a fool. I was like, I thought those people liked me. They didn't like me. Then I thought, I know who my friends are. Because there were people who were good to me, helped me, gave me a crack. I had a few relationships that were good and had some friends who were like, 'This sucks, I'm sorry man.'"

Fortunately, Affleck's career bounced back when he stepped behind the camera to helm Gone Baby Gone, and found further acclaim by directing other features like The Town and Argo. He's been back at it with his acting career as well, which includes a popular portrayal of Batman in the DCEU, a role he'll reprise once again in next year's The Flash. For now, fans can catch Affleck's latest performance in The Tender Bar, hitting theaters on Dec. 17, 2021.