Violet Affleck held tight to her dad on her way to school in LA yesterday morning. Ben's always been a full-time dad, but lately he's pulling double duty as he promotes his new film, State of Play. He recently talked about his devotion to his family and how he keeps his friendship with Matt Damon intact. Here's more:

• On his friendship with Matt: "It's cool. We went on vacation last summer. It's nice. It always has been. He's got his family ballooning, and we're doing okay – it's nice . . . It's a different kind of satisfaction being around your friends, the friends you grew up with. They have kids, have barbecues and that kind of deal. That is really satisfying, too. It's one of the nice things about having friends for a long time. Supposedly we're doing this thing next year . . . Matt lives in Miami, so it's hard to get a chance to see him. If we work together it's an excuse to hang out."
• On his family: "I am very lucky. I feel blessed to look around and see that I've got a healthy family and a job. Especially nowadays, you really feel very good. I'm in a pretty good zone right now. I say that, and I'll go home to find everything exploded, [but] so far, so good."
• On his life: "I really am happy with what I'm doing now. In fact, I've never been at a place where I've felt better about going to work every day. I'm more engaged and very, very happy . . . I've really gotten comfortable with the things that are important to me."

Ben seems to be doing great with a house full of ladies and if there's one person who can relate to his situation, it's his longtime friend Matt.

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