Ben Affleck & Lily Rabe Answer the Web's Most Searched Questions

Hi, I'm Lily Rabe.

And I'm Ben Affleck.

[Both] And this is the WIRED Autocomplete Interview.

[upbeat music]

Aflac Insurance. What?

Oh like- This is my cross to bear.

[upbeat music]

[Lily] There we go.

How

is Ben Affleck?

Do people Google that?

They do. Ben Affleck is fine.

Ben Affleck is happy he's doing

the WIRED Autocomplete Interview,

[Lily chuckles] How do you expect him to be?

How many Oscars Ben Affleck?

That's not, you don't, this is,

modesty prohibits me to-

What are they for? It's pretty good.

Best Kiss in Armageddon,

and, [both laugh]

Best On-Screen Car Chase,

Argo and Good Will Hunting.

How many languages does Ben Affleck-

Oh. Sorry. think he speaks?

It's okay, I did it. The one job I had,

oh, and now I've ripped off the s,

but you can figure it out. How many languages

does Ben Affleck peak?

[Lily laughs] He peaks at very few.

In fact, none are at their peak,

but he peaks one and a half, three quarters,

depending on the day.

I speak a little Spanish.

What's that? Oh, a little Spanish.

Yes.

How did Ben Affleck wind up- Why am I

so terrible at this? in this place in his life?

And how did Ben Affleck and Matt Damon meet?

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

met at the park playing basketball.

Ben Affleck was 8, Matt Damon was 10, which made him older,

and he was at the time taller.

I know that's hard to imagine because he's so small,

but at the time, yeah.

And we met, and then we played Little League together,

and we lived two blocks apart, and we were friends,

and then we went to school together, and there you go.

The end of it. The rest is history.

Very exciting.

What is Lily Rabe's problem?

[Lily laughs]

Instagram? Oh gosh.

[laughs] Well, it's- [laughs] L-rabe-mama@-

It's just my name, it's just my name.

Lily Rabe? Yeah.

I just type that in? [Lily laughs]

And I can follow you?

That easy. Yeah.

What is Lily Rabe?

That, I mean-

That what is- need I say more?

Tell me. [laughs]

What is Lily Rabe doing now?

Oh, doing now,

like what's she up to? I assume that's what it is.

Oh, I'm doing this, I'm doing this. [laughs]

Jesus, what happened to Lily Rabe?

Was she? [both laugh]

Right. Oh, that's terrible.

No, it's not that. Well, now I feel horrible.

I don't think that's what they meant.

No, I'm sure it's not.

Okay. [Lily laughs]

What is Lily Rabe's favorite movie?

Oh gosh.

Good Will Hunting.

Oh, you're full of bullshit. [Lily laughs]

You hate that movie.

What was Lily Rabe in Merchant?

Oh, in Merchant.

I like that they're just, Merchant,

casual Shakespeare. You know what?

Who needs him? We know. When we're in the theater,

it's like it's Merchant,

do I even need to say it?

No. [laughs]

It's like, Yeah.

in Venice, you were- Yeah. Well, I was Portia.

Of course.

We started Shakespeare in the Park and then we moved

to Broadway. Is Lily Rabe

a revered actor in the theater?

Yes. Look at that.

Is she a spectacular-

That's what Ben's like. film actress? Yes.

Does Ben Affleck live in Boston?

I know the answer to this.

Not at this time.

No, I do not live in,

my mother lives there but, some friends,

but I live in Los Angeles, California.

Does Ben Affleck own-

Aflac Insurance. What?

Oh like- This is my cross to bear.

Imagine this.

I really don't want to. [laughing]

Imagine that-

It took me a second,

and now, okay so. Yeah. An insurance company,

imagine you have a very unusual, kind of,

slightly unappealing sounding name.

Now imagine that somehow,

there's a huge insurance company that also has that name.

Now imagine that insurance company

has a bottomless budget to buy television commercials.

And now imagine that their creative choice

is to hire a duck to shriek your last name,

and as loud and obnoxious a way as humanly possible

for the duration of the television commercial.

And then imagine what it's like

when you're on an airplane

and the hammered lady behind you-

No. This is a nightmare. recognizes you,

and thinks she's gonna do her best Gilbert Gottfried

for six hours on your way to New York.

Thank you Aflac.

I don't own it, [Lily laughs]

but I deserve it.

[Ben chuckles] I would like a discount.

Does Ben Affleck know martial arts? Do you?

I mean, I don't know if you count,

I remember Matt Damon, when he was like 11,

he told me he had a black belt in street fighting.

[Ben and Lily laugh]

But, I did take a little Kung Fu as a youngster,

for a couple of years.

And then- But the answer is no.

and the answer's no.

Yes, of course the answer's no.

Does Ben Affleck play poker? Play poker?

Yes, Ben Affleck likes to play poker,

and that's some home games, and some charity games.

The Eastern Congo Initiative

has a charity poker benefit once a year.

easterncongo.org can be found on the internet,

where you can participate in making a life better

for the people of Eastern Congo.

I don't think there's any reason why

that extra money you have on you,

that you were gonna like, spend on roadblocks or,

couldn't be used to help someone else who needs it.

easterncongo.org.

I'm glad we had this opportunity.

Lily Rabe, Amelia Earhart.

Why Lily Rabe, Amelia Earhart? [Lily laughs]

Why? Why Amelia Earhart?

Well, I played Amelia Earhart

on this season of American-

But why? Housewives.

Ask Ryan Murphy. [Ben laughs]

Because she's a genius.

That's why. [Lily laughs]

Why Lily Rabe, Taylor Swift?

Oh gosh. I don't know.

I've never played Taylor,

I love Taylor Swift. You should play her-

What is that? What is that?

I'm thrilled by it, but-

It's just like

when people think of spectacular talented women

who enchant the nation with their gifts.

Lily Rabe, Taylor Swift. Great.

Well, I'm thrilled.

Why Lily Rabe?

I didn't warn us, again, Ryan Murphy.

Yeah, I did that on American Horror Story.

How are you?

Was it good?

[Lily laughs]

This is great.

Why Lily Rabe height?

I know. Well, see, here's the thing.

I am 5'8, maybe 5'8 1/2,

but it's great working with tall actors

because there aren't a lot of you.

I got that going for me.

And it's really quite Ben Affleck.

[Lily and Ben laugh]

I often get that from actress

who are absolutely lovely, normal stature,

who see me and go, Thank God.

I'm like, This person must be a fan.

Thank God you're this tall.

I'm like, Okay, I guess I am.

Well, you read mine,

now I'm gonna read yours on this one.

All right. Okay.

Oh, I tried.

I preferred it. Sorry I upstaged you.

I preferred it. I've apologized.

I like to,

I like to give my lines- You upstage your movies

so much that I thought how would you.

Why is, right?

The best batman.

It's a mystery.

Relative to George Clooney,

I think it's self-evident,

but I'm not willing to say more than that.

[Lily laughs]

Why did Ben Affleck not wear Yankees hat?

Like at a Yankees game?

This is a story-

This is a thing, that has been exaggerated

over the years in part, I don't know about.

because of David Fincher's penchant for telling lies

in interviews, no.

I was doing Gone Girl,

there was part of the story

where I was supposed to be in disguise

in LaGuardia Airport, I think it was.

And Dave was like, Yeah, you know,

you like buy a baseball hat at the thing,

and then Yankees hat.

And I said, I can't, I'm not gonna wear that.

I'm not gonna put that on of my head,

because, you know, I'll catch fire.

And, and he was like, No, you should.

I was like, No, I actually I'm serious.

I actually do have some principles.

And, we had a brief conversation about it,

as you do with your director sometimes,

when two people have different creative choices,

and we found a compromise.

I wore a New York Mets hat,

which I thought made the scene better.

And I think David thinks so too.

I felt that way. But he later on

said that I shut the movie down for four days,

which we know is an honest statement.

We know we spent those four days

shooting one eighth of a page, 500 takes.

Okay.

Why do I like Ben Affleck?

Oh, for so many reasons,

whoever is writing in that question.

I like Ben Affleck,

because I'm stuck with him.

I like Ben Affleck.

I'm not stuck with you and I-

Well, now I know you do. I genuinely like you.

Why isn't there more Ben Affleck?

In what sense? Where'd he go?

Exactly. You see that?

I don't know why.

Because the bad taste directors don't have vision, no.

I think there's plenty.

What is Lily Rabe in?

The Tender Bar.

Rattle off that. There you go.

Nothing more need be said.

[Interviewer] Do yo know how many IMDB credits you have?

I don't know.

I only know 'cause somebody told me

in a recent interview, just to press me.

Why?

It was a big number,

and I thought-

Well, that's so wonderful. you can only do that

by just being very old.

That's just not true.

[Lily and Ben laugh]

[Interviewer] It says 42.

42. Oh, that's an important baseball number.

Jackie Robinson. Yeah.

What is Lily Rabe Zodiac sign?

I'm a cancer with, I know this whole thing,

Scorpio rising, Libra moon. All right.

Do you know all three of yours?

I know that I'm a Leo.

I think there's a Scorpio moon in there,

I don't know what it means.

But I once read that,

if you would read off to like any random group of people,

the traits of a Zodiac sign,

that nine out of 12 people would raise their hand

and be like, That's me.

And that made me think like, [Lily laughs]

Are we really

just divided by 12 personality types at random

by the month we're born in?

Maybe. Maybe.

What season is Lily Rabe

in AHS?

Oh, in AHS?

[Lily laughs]

I've done all of them except for one of them.

What Lily Rabe character are you?

Well, what Lily Rabe character are you?

I am actually the character you play in The Tender Bar.

I am that tirelessly dedicated parent,

that beautiful, modern,

self-sacrificing parent so full of love for their children,

that they inappropriately foist on them

their own personal needs.

Go to Yale,

and put a sort of unhealthy amount of pressure on them.

That's you. Nobody is perfect.

In a nutshell. [Lily and Ben laugh]

What is Ben Affleck's new movie?

Oh. The Tender Bar,

starring Lily Rabe. [Lily laughs]

What is Ben Affleck's Dunkin' order?

I know this.

It's a tall, it's a big,

it's a big iced one. Yeah, yeah.

That's right. How do you know that.

And it's not- You see me,

oh, because we read messages and rehearse

while taking notes every day.

Yes, of course.

How do I know that? Oh, I know.

I just feel like why don't people know, of course,

because I drink it around you all the time,

If I were observant and, you know.

Yes, that was a bad question,

[Lily laughs] it's obvious right now.

Okay. Thank you.

What movies did Ben Affleck produce?

Several, now I'm thinking of The Town, Argo,

and I produced some of the green-light movies,

and I've produced,

I mean, listen, producing is one of those jobs that's like,

sometimes people actually do zero,

and sometimes people do a great job

like Grant Heslov, The Tender Bar.

And Grant and George produced Argo,

so there you go, it all full circle.

What car does Ben Affleck-

Drive?

[clears throat] If Ben Affleck's children are watching,

Ben Affleck only drives

a car with a very minuscule carbon footprint,

that is very safe, and is very responsible,

and socially conscious.

Which is what is that car?

I'm trying to figure it out too.

I actually really do need,

oh, you don't-

I have, I only drive those kind of cars.

No, I got it. Got it. Got it.

[Both] That's it.

Thank you for searching, and thank you for watching.

[upbeat music] We did it.

Muchu be our neighbor. [Lily giggles]

[upbeat music]