Sienna Miller reveals "hysterical" reasons she and Ben Affleck had no chemistry in Live by Night

Sienna Miller and Ben Affleck in Live by Night
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Sienna Miller has opened up about her "hysterical" lack of chemistry with co-star Ben Affleck in their 2016 film Live by Night.

While appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show recently, the American Sniper actor recalled what it was like working with the Batman star on the crime drama, and tried to come up with reasons as to why the duo appeared so ill-matched as a couple onscreen.

"Ben Affleck was like my brother [on set]," Miller told the eponymous host. "I've never laughed so much in my life. I mean that sounds like a ridiculous thing to say and like a name-dropping thing to say, but I actually mean it."

Based on Dennis Lehane's 2012 novel of the same name, Live by Night follows a bunch of Boston-bred bootleggers who try to set up shop in Florida during the Prohibition era, and find themselves in competition with the Ku Klux Klan. Affleck, who also wrote and directed the flick, played war veteran-turned-gangster Johnny Coughlin, while Miller portrayed Johnny's partner Emma Gould.

Elle Fanning, Chris Messina, Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson, and Guardians of the Galaxy's Zoe Saldaña rounded out the cast.

"We had zero chemistry whatsoever," Miller laughed during the new interview. "We were supposed to be in love. We could not be less attracted to each other, which was hysterical. 

"He has an enormous head, I have a small one, so they'd have to like put me slightly ahead of him... and he directed the movie and I could barely look at him for laughing the whole time."

Miller will next be seen opposite Naomi Scott, Rupert Friend, and Michelle Dockery in upcoming drama series Anatomy of a Scandal, which releases on Netflix on April 15. In it, she plays Sophie Whitehouse, a woman whose life is turned upside down when her politician husband is accused of a shocking crime. 

Across the show's six episodes, Sophie must determine whether James' protestations of innocence are genuine, or if he's been pretending to be someone he's not this whole time. While we wait to see her verdict, check out our list of best Netflix shows to watch right now.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

Read more
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon at the Golden Globes
Netflix drop first look at thrilling new action movie from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, which is described as "Heat meets Training Day"
Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid in 'Companion'
Director of new twisty romance horror Companion explains why it wouldn't have worked without The Boys and Yellowjackets stars: "I can't imagine anyone else"
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin on their bittersweet new movie A Real Pain and resisting advice from "a big Hollywood director" to "make a billion dollars" with a happy ending
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State may be the Russo brothers' most challenging VFX project yet, but stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say it's one of the easiest films they’ve ever done
We Live in Time
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh want to do another movie together and already have an idea, but it's not Marvel
We Live in Time
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield say their new romantic drama changed them as actors: "I've never had an experience like that before"
Latest in Crime Movies
Cyborg and Batman together
Justice League stars Ray Fisher and Ben Affleck are teaming up for new thriller Animals
Thomas Shelby on a horse
Although Netflix is making the Peaky Blinders movie, fans need not to worry as it will be released in theaters too
Robert De Niro in The Alto Knights trailer
Robert De Niro is at war with Robert De Niro in trailer for new gangster thriller
The Italian Job
The 32 greatest heist movies
The Wolf of Wall Street
The 32 greatest Leonardo DiCaprio movies
The Matrix
32 movies that spawned iconic internet memes
Latest in News
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"
Original Xbox console
Former Microsoft exec says the first Xbox was killed early in favor of 360 because it was "losing money left right and center," but luckily "we could afford to hemorrhage cash"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2