Originally appeared on E! Online
Ben Affleck is a man of many emotions.
The actor โ who is the inspiration for the internet's viral "Sad Affleck" memes โ is addressing another public perception about himself: That he also seems to appear angry in paparazzi pictures.
"I'm also a little bit shy," the Oscar winner confessed to Kevin Hart during the season four premiere of Peacock's "Hart to Heart." "I also don't like a lot of attention. That's why people see me and they're like, 'Why's this dude always mad?' Because somebody has their camera and sticks it in my face and I'm like, 'Okay, here we go.'"
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Plus, he wants to protect his family โ which includes his kids Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12, with ex Jennifer Garner and wife Jennifer Lopez's 16-year-old twins Max and Emme โ from the invasive photographers.
"Also, because I'm with my kids and they're taking my picture," Affleck added during the June 20 episode. "Actually, what I'd like to do is much more definitive than just look at you like this. I don't mind, you can take my picture at a club or a premiere, with my wife, I don't give a f---. Knock yourself out. I don't notice you. But with my children that's a different thing."
However, the 51-year-old did admit that his family does call him out from time to time over his not-so-sunny facial expressions โ even when he's in the best of moods.
"By the way, I also might be somebody who I do find myself I'll be sitting at home," Affleck noted, "and they're like, 'What's wrong?' โNothing. Nothing's wrong.'"
The anecdote prompted Hart to suggest the "Argo" star has "resting b---- face," to which Affleck hilariously replied, "B----?! I have resting hard face."
In the end, Affleck declared, "People are projecting something onto me that I don't feel about myself at all."
The Oscar winner's latest comments about shying away from the public eye come amid ongoing speculation that he and Lopez are headed for a breakup after two years of marriage, though neither star has publicly addressed divorce rumors.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family)