Americans know that baseball fan’s loyalty to their teams runs deep.
So much so that a famous actor shut down production on a blockbuster movie for days as he refused to wear the opposing teams merchandise.
Hollywood actor and Boston Red Sox super fan Ben Affleck, reportedly stopped filming for ‘Gone Girl’ for days after being asked to wear a cap from his rival team, the New York Yankees.
Affleck played the lead role of Nicholas Dunne in the thriller movie, alongside co-star Rosamund Pike who played his character’s supposedly deceased wife, the ‘gone girl’ Amy Dunne.
The 2014 movie cost $61 million to make and made nearly $400 million at the box office.
Boston Red Sox super fan Ben Affleck , reportedly stopped filming for ‘Gone Girl’ for days after being asked to wear a cap from his rival team, the New York Yankees
While filming the hit movie, based off the book by Gillian Flynn, Director David Fincher asked Affleck to wear a New York Yankees cap for a scene set in New York airport.
The hat itself was an important plot point as his character was trying to avoid being recognised, so it acted as a disguise.
According to the New York Times, Affleck said Fincher wanted him to wear the hat because he believed it worked best for the movie.
However, the actor was ‘having none of it’ and allegedly told the director ‘David, I love you, I would do anything for you but I will not wear a Yankees hat.
‘I just can’t. I can’t wear it because it’s going to become a thing, David. I will never hear the end of it. I can’t do it.’
It was widely reported that the dispute actually shut down production of the movie for four whole days before reaching a compromise.
After what Affleck described as ‘a lot of shuttle diplomacy, so much back-and-forth’ it was decided that Affleck was to wear a New York Mets hat instead, which is the one we see in the movie.
The actor also told the New York Times that it was the only thing the pair clashed over during production and they actually became good friends
After what Affleck described as ‘a lot of shuttle diplomacy, so much back-and-forth’ it was decided that Affleck was to wear a New York Mets hat instead, which is the one we see in the movie
Baseball fans praised Affleck for his decision, writing on X (formerly known as Twitter) ‘a true fan,’ ‘legend’ and ‘good for him’.
Another hardcore supporter said ‘God bless him. If my grandson was drafted by the Yankees I would still not wear that hat’.
Others added ‘My man standing strong. I would never wear one either’ and ‘Gotta appreciate the commitment to the Red Sox’.
One fan even said ‘I like him more now. A guy in lids handed me a Raiders hat to just see what my size was and I refused. Any other team. I’m never putting that team on me.’
Someone else chimed in with ‘The Mets suck… but that’s the most respectable thing he’s ever done’.