Ben Affleck fans christen him ‘Benito’ after fluent Spanish interview

Bostonian actor learned to speak Spanish aged 13 while living in Mexico

Some fans are only just discovering that Ben Affleck speaks fluent Spanish.

The Bostonian actor gave an interview with La Cadena SER, Spain’s biggest radio network, on Monday (3 April) to promote his new movie, Air.

“La cosa importante a entender es que esta no es la historia de Michael Jordan, y también, Michael Jordan no se aparece en la película,” Affleck says in the interview, which, per Harpers Bazaar, translates to: “The important thing to understand is that this is not the story of Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan doesn’t appear in the film.”

Clips from the interview have since gone viral on social media with surprised fans labelling him “Benito”.

“Affleck angling to be called Benito with the recent vacancy,” podcast producer Antonia Cereijido tweeted alongside a video.

“The switch from Ben to Benito,” another joked.

“Benjamín Affleck,” a third tweeted.

Affleck is married to the multi-hyphenate star Jennifer Lopez who is of Puerto Rican descent and speaks fluent Spanish. However, he first learned to speak the language when he was 13 while filming a kids’ TV programme in Mexico.

Air, released in the UK on Friday (7 April), follows Nike’s revolutionary partnership with a young Michael Jordan. Affleck acts in and directs the film, which also stars his longtime friend Matt Damon as marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro.

Last month, Affleck explained his surprising decision to not show Jordan’s face in the film.

He also shared his regrets about taking “advice” that stopped him from working with his Good Will Hunting collaborator Damon more often.