Hold on to your coffee cups, because Hollywood had a truly unexpected family reunion recently! You see, movie star Ben Affleck teamed up with reality personality Jen Affleck for a new Dunkin Donuts commercial. But here’s the burning question on everyone’s minds: Did Ben, the big-screen legend, even know Jen, the face of ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,’ before they started filming?
According to reports from the entertainment publication Us Weekly, Jen, who is 26, spilled the beans before the ad officially dropped on Monday, September 15. “I don’t know if he’s seen the show. But his daughter has,” she revealed. It turns out Ben’s daughter was on set and is a huge fan of Jen’s show. Jen shared what the daughter told her: “She said, ‘It’s okay, we can be family. As long as she’s related to Jen, we’re good.'” What a twist!
Even if Ben, 53, wasn’t familiar with her work, Jen gives full credit to the hit Hulu series. She believes it’s what put her on Dunkin’s radar and made this fun collaboration possible. “I’m sure his team told him about the show, and he said, ‘Who the heck is she? I don’t know who she is.’ But hey, that led me to do an ad with him, so I’m happy,” Jen added.
This wasn’t just a quick cameo for Jen. It was a proper acting gig! “It was a full shoot. It had a whole script. It was my first acting job, truly,” she confessed. “I didn’t know my first performance would be alongside an Oscar-winning actor.” Pretty cool for a debut, right?
The commercial itself, promoting Dunkin’s $6 value offer, features Jen picking up an order that seems meant for the famous actor. In the ad, she playfully quips, “Were they expecting my cousin Ben? No. When Dunkin’ has a value-packed offer, they call me. Jen Affleck: the value Affleck.” She adds with a wink, “Double the personality, half the price. I’m a bargain.”
Jen didn’t hold back the jokes at Ben’s expense in the commercial either. She continued, “Why overpay for something nobody wants? It’s out of style. I’m younger and prettier. Can you believe Ben is only 53? And not like a young 53. It’s like a very mature 53.” The camera then cuts to Ben, waiting in his car at the drive-thru. “How rude,” he shoots back at Jen. “[I have] a totally average 53. Right in the average of 53.” Later, in a mock confessional segment, Jen jokingly called their encounter “bad.” She then doubled down on the humor: “But not as bad as those gray hairs.”
This whole collaboration is a clever nod to how Jen and her husband, Zac Affleck, once mused about their possible connection to Ben on ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.’ Jen first brought up the idea in season 1, though Zac has tried to distance himself from the claim since then.
You can watch the hilarious ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcjEyswdDos&feature=youtu.be&themeRefresh=1
“Now we are very close,” Jen joked to Us, still playing into the “Affleck family” idea. “I had the chance to do a Dunkin Donuts commercial, and we all know that’s his thing. It was hilarious. It was like we were family.” Jen even joked that Ben is now on the guest list for her family’s Thanksgiving dinner! She confirmed that Zac, who is 29, also got to meet the Oscar winner. “We were definitely dazzled. We were all in awe,” she shared about the encounter. “He was so kind. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t expect how kind he was.” Looks like this unexpected “family” reunion was a sweet deal for everyone involved.