Star Wars Villain Kylo Ren Saved Ben Affleck's Son's Birthday

In the Star Wars sequel trilogy, spanning Episodes VII-IX, Kylo Ren is a conflicted figure who has given himself over to the Dark Side. In real life, however, it sounds like Adam Driver is a straight-up nice guy, according to this anecdote from Ben Affleck.

In a recent appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show to promote the new basketball drama The Way Back, Affleck talks about Driver, who is his co-star in the upcoming Ridley Scott-directed film, The Last Duel. The film, which was co-written by Affleck and fellow co-star Matt Damon, is a historical drama about two men who are ordered to fight to the death.

At around the 7:35 mark in the video below, he begins talking about his son's recent birthday, and his rush home to see him for his eighth birthday. However, the presents he'd arranged for his son did not make the trip over, and Affleck was worried that he'd show up for his son's surprise birthday party empty-handed.

However, he'd told Adam Driver on set that his son was a huge fan of his character, and in addition to filming a video message, Driver had--unbeknownst to Affleck--also arranged a pile of Kylo Ren themed presents for the child, including a signed photo.

"He opened the presents, I played him the video of Kylo Ren," a visibly emotional Affleck recalls. "And it was an incredibly moving, powerful moment. Adam made me a hero to my kid, and I will never, ever, ever forget that."

Yes, this is a story about a millionaire pleasing the son of another millionaire--but it's also about an eight year old's birthday being saved.

Ben Affleck, who is infamous for the Sad Affleck meme, quit playing Batman in the DC films out of fear that he would drink himself to death if he continued to play the character. He was replaced by Robert Pattinson. The new film's director, Matt Reeves, has released more photos of the suit and Batmobile.

The Last Duel is due to release on December 25, 2020.