Ben Affleck says he didn't figure out how to play Batman until he was in 2023's 'The Flash' for 5 minutes — even though he started playing the hero 7 years ago

• Ben Affleck says he finally figured out how to play Batman — in "The Flash."
• "For the five minutes I'm there, it's really great," he told The Hollywood Reporter.
• He also called making "Justice League" "the worst experience I've ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences."

Ben Affleck believes his most recent portrayal of Batman in the upcoming "The Flash" is his best yet. Too bad it's only for a few minutes.

"I did finally figure out how to play that character," Affleck said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote another of his upcoming movies, "Air."

"I nailed it in 'The Flash,'" the Oscar winner continued. "For the five minutes I'm there, it's really great."

"The Flash" will mark Affleck's fifth time playing the DC hero since his debut in the cape for 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

In the movie, Affleck and Michael Keaton both appear as Batman as The Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) uses his powers to travel back in time, leading to alternate futures.

"A lot of it's just tone," Affleck said of playing the character. "You've got to figure out, what's your version of the person? Who is the guy that fits what you can do? I tried to fit myself into a Batman."

Affleck had a love/hate relationship with the character and the DC franchise.

Though he said he liked "a lot of the stuff" done in "Batman v Superman," he said, "You could teach a seminar on all the reasons why this is how not to do it," when reflecting on the making of 2017's "Justice League."

Affleck said that the experience of making "Justice League" led to him backing out of directing a Batman movie.

"That was the worst experience I've ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences," he said of "Justice League."

"I started to drink too much," he continued. "I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, 'This isn't the life I want. My kids aren't here. I'm miserable.' You want to go to work and find something interesting to hang onto, rather than just wearing a rubber suit."

The irony of it all is Affleck says 2021's "Zack Snyder's Justice League," the re-edited version of "Justice League" Snyder made for HBO Max, is now the actor's highest-rated movie on IMDb.

"I've never had one that went from nadir to pinnacle," he said. "Retroactively, it's a hit. All of a sudden I was getting congratulated for the bomb I'm in."