Kate Beckinsale Thanked God Ben Affleck Was With Her on the Set of ‘Pearl Harbor’

<p id=”par-1_45″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/ben-affleck/”>Ben Affleck</a> collaborated with Kate Beckinsale on <em>Pearl Harbor</em>, which was one of the hardest movies Affleck <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ben-affleck-says-prep-for-pearl-harbor-movie-is-hardest-thing-hes-ever-done.html/”>ever had to prep for</a>. But he wasn’t the only actor on set who felt that way, as Beckinsale had a similar reaction to the movie’s taxing conditions.</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-ben-affleck-gave-kate-beckinsale-some-much-needed-perspective-on-her-pearl-harbor-experience”>Ben Affleck gave Kate Beckinsale some much needed perspective on her ‘Pearl Harbor’ experience</h2>

<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kate-Beckinsale-Ben-Affleck.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Kate Beckinsale wearing a black dress posing alongside Ben Affleck in a light blue shirt at the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.” class=”wp-image-3769863″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale | Kevin Winter/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>

<p id=”par-2_60″><em>Pearl Harbor </em>came to Beckinsale at a time when there were a few major changes happening in the actor’s life. She had her first child not too long before. Born and raised in England, Beckinsale also wasn’t very familiar with the historic event <em>Pearl Harbor </em>was based on. Neither was she all that aware of the movie’s director Michael Bay.</p>

<p id=”par-3_72″>“I was living in New York at the time and I had to put myself on tape for this movie. I’m very, very parochially English — I had not heard of Michael Bay, I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought I was making a period piece about Pearl Harbor. It was a massive shock, because it was very much not that,” Beckinsale said in an interview with <a href=”https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/kate-beckinsale-answers-all-our-questions-about-serendipity.html”>Vulture</a>.</p>

<p id=”par-4_121″>But Beckinsale wouldn’t know just how different <em>Pearl Harbor </em>was from the period pieces she’d do until she had to prepare for the film. Beckinsale just recovered from a pregnancy she felt had <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-says-not-neatly-pregnant-like-jabba-the-hutt.html/”>her looking like Jabba the Hutt</a> before doing Bay’s project. Still, she was able to get back in shape before <em>Pearl Harbor</em>, and was satisfied with her results. But her confidence took a blow when Bay told her she was cast in his blockbuster because <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-michael-bay-attractive-enough-pearl-harbor.html/”>she wasn’t too attractive</a>. Beckinsale took even further offense when Bay told her she still wasn’t quite thin enough for her <em>Pearl Harbor </em>character. As a result, the <em>Underworld </em>star had to endure an intense training regimen that took her past her limit.</p>

  “Who was the best-dressed person of 2024? It’s gotta be Zendaya” links

<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Kate Beckinsale Simultaneously Juggled ‘Pearl Harbor’ and Motherhood” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/NXKIuM7KriY?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>

<p id=”par-5_57″>“I remember going to the fitting and trying on a few swimsuits for a scene… I felt fairly triumphant,” she recalled in an old interview with <em>Self </em>(via <a href=”https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/a143008/beckinsale-too-big-for-pearl-harbour/”>Digital Spy</a>). “[The costume designer] literally went grey in the face and said, ‘Do you want me to tell you how long you’ve got before this scene is shot?’”</p>

<p id=”par-6_22″>“By the time I arrived back at my hotel, I’d been faxed an incredibly rigorous gym schedule and a diet,” she added.</p>

<p id=”par-7_37″>Fortunately, her co-star Affleck had to go through an exhaustive training routine of his own to prepare for the movie. Knowing Affleck might’ve been just as miserable as her on set helped comfort her in a way.</p>

<p id=”par-8_39″>“Thank God for Ben Affleck,” Beckinsale said. “He was so candid about the producers doing the exact same thing to him. Once I realised it was happening to the boys, too… I was able to put it in perspective.”</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kate-beckinsale-called-ben-affleck-a-complete-gentleman-on-toxic-film-set”>Kate Beckinsale called Ben Affleck a complete gentleman on toxic film set</h2>

<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-3″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Pearl Harbor (2001) Official Trailer #1 – Ben Affleck Movie HD” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/oGYcxjywx0o?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>

<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-says-1-male-director-changed-lines-complained-intelligent-woman-wouldnt-say.html/”>
Kate Beckinsale Says 1 Male Director Changed Her Lines After She Complained That an Intelligent Woman Wouldn’t Say Them </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-9_88″>Beckinsale has been very open about some of the horror stories she’s experienced in the film industry. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-shares-her-harvey-weinstein-story-after-his-conviction.html/”>After Harvey Weinstein was convicted</a>, for instance, she was one of many actors who revealed her own uncomfortable interactions with the producer. Affleck, however, was one actor who she couldn’t have had enough praise for. According to <a href=”https://variety.com/2024/film/news/kate-beckinsale-set-abuse-filming-miscarriage-felt-up-crew-1236262202/”>Variety</a>, Beckinsale took to social media to share other horrific incidences she had with disrespectful co-stars. She highlighted one situation where a co-star was particularly and unnecessarily rough with her during a fight scene.</p>

  ‘The Way Home’ Season 3 Is Coming to Hallmark Channel in January 2025

<p id=”par-10_67″>“There’s a certain kind of actor who gets a thrill out of legally being able to harm a woman during a fight sequence,” she said. “And I was harmed, to the point where there were MRIs proving it. I was gaslit and made to feel like I was the problem and blamed and left out of cast dinners as soon as I mentioned there was a problem.”</p>

<p id=”par-11_28″>Some online theorized that Affleck might’ve been the co-star she was talking about. But Beckinsale was quick to put the theory to bed before it gained any traction.</p>

<p id=”par-12_22″>“Ben Affleck protected me on an extremely toxic film set and could not have behaved more respectably,” Beckinsale said according to <a href=”https://uk.news.yahoo.com/kate-beckinsale-denies-ben-affleck-103248413.html#:~:text=Beckinsale%20swiftly%20shut%20down%20the,not%20have%20behaved%20more%20respectably.%22″>Yahoo</a>.</p>

<p id=”par-13_18″>Still, Beckinsale refused to name her aggressor, since he was just a symptom of a much larger issue.</p>

<p id=”par-14_52″>“I am not going to go into any more specific detail on who it was or wasn’t because frankly the most problematic part has actually not been the actors, it has been that reporting a problem or an abuse has resulted in a greater punishment than one could ever imagine,” she added.</p>

<p id=”par-15_1″></p>

<p id=”par-16_32″><br><em><strong>How to get help:</strong> In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.</em></p>

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *