Ben Affleck Reveals the ‘Only Time’ He Ever Saw Dad Timothy Cry

• Ben Affleck visited the Criterion Collection’s closet to select his favourite films
• Among them was David Lynch’s The Elephant Man, which the actor-filmmaker mentioned was “tied to a very personal memory”
• The film marked “the first and only time” Ben noticed his father, Timothy Affleck, cry

Ben Affleck is sharing a cherished reminiscence about his father Timothy.

In his go to to the Criterion Closet, Affleck, 52, perused and chosen a few of the firm’s cinematic choices he considers favorites. David Lynch’s 1980 film The Elephant Man, he recalled, “is the first and only time I ever saw my father cry.”

Lynch’s hit movie, which stars John Hurt as a deformed man and Anthony Hopkins as a physician treating him, is a “movie about what it means to be a human being,” Affleck continued. “And it’s heartbreaking and beautiful and… it’s tied to a very personal memory for me.”

Appearing to get emotional as he added the film to his bag, the Oscar winner concluded, “That’s probably a good note to end on.”

Timothy, who shares sons Ben and Casey with ex-wife Christine Anne “Chris” Boldt, separated from her and moved from their Massachusetts residence to California when Ben was 12. 

The Accountant 2 star informed PEOPLE in 2020 that his father, a former janitor, had marked 30 years of sobriety on the time.

He had “a tremendous amount of respect for what that takes and what that means,” Affleck said of his father. “Part of being an adult is learning that your parents are just people. They’re not perfect. They were just doing their best. As a child, we expect perfection out of our parents.”

Never miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free day by day publication to remain up-to-date on one of the best of what PEOPLE has to supply​​, from superstar information to driving human curiosity tales. 

Affleck referred to as Criterion’s famend closet, owned and stocked by the house video distributor, “my idea of heaven.” In addition to The Elephant Man, his alternatives of favorites to take residence included 1990’s Miller’s Crossing, 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs, 2000’s Traffic and two films he starred in: 1993’s Dazed and Confused and 1998’s Armageddon. 

He additionally hailed Jean Renoir’s 1939 basic The Rules of the Game for having his “favorite line from all of cinema” — “Everyone has their reasons” — which he quipped he “stole” for his 2007 film Gone Baby Gone.

Affleck additionally praised Denzel Washington’s work in Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic Malcolm X. “There is not a performance I can think of that’s better than this,” he said. “I remember where I was when I watched the movie, and I remember when I walked out, I thought, ‘I want to be a better man.’ ”

Affleck produces and stars with Jon Bernthal in director Gavin O’Connor and author Bill Dubuque’s The Accountant 2, in theaters now. Among his upcoming initiatives are Animals costarring Gillian Anderson and RIP alongside longtime collaborator Matt Damon.