Ben Affleck: I Had a ‘Dissociative Panic Attack’ After Smoking Marijuana at 15

Lessons learned. Ben Affleck revealed how an early experience he had with marijuana impacted his behavior on the Dazed and Confused set.

In a new book titled Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, Affleck reflected on his time making the 1993 flick in Austin, Texas. The Way Back actor, 48, shared that he didn’t partake in the same level of drug and alcohol use as his costars.

“I had a bad experience with marijuana at 15. I had a dissociative panic attack,” Affleck, who played Fred O’Bannion in the movie at age 19, explained. “So, I only smoked weed if everyone else was smoking, and I had to sort of ‘Bill Clinton’ it and fake it. I didn’t really like marijuana.”

The Oscar winner added, “I also wasn’t a very heavy drinker then. I became an alcoholic much, much later, and I’m in recovery now, so that was a whole different time. I was a little nervous, like, ‘Should we be drinking before we’re working tomorrow?’ Some people were actually drinking and getting stoned at work.”

As for the other shenanigans the cast got into, Affleck revealed that he adopted a Siberian Husky unbeknownst to the crew. He also shared that the cast would hit up the local shooting range — an activity he has since adopted a different perspective on.

“Texas had extremely lax…