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Jennifer Garner shares emotional story from set just 21 days after childbirth

Jennifer Garner breaks down recalling postpartum struggles on ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ set

Amal Fatmi

8 hours ago

Jennifer Garner shares emotional story from set just 21 days after childbirth

Jennifer Garner breaks down recalling postpartum struggles on ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ set

Jennifer Garner got candid as she opened up about returning to work shortly after giving birth to her third child.

In a conversation on Hits Radio’s My Life in Movies YouTube series, the 53-year-old actress shared the challenges she faced while filming the Oscar-nominated Dallas Buyers Club, which began shooting just 21 days after she welcomed her son, Samuel, with Ben Affleck in 2012.

"I was nursing, and we were shooting. It was the first day, and around bedtime for my baby, all of a sudden, my [body] exploded," Garner said.

She revealed that juggling filming and breastfeeding was challenging on set, as there were no breaks that allowed her to step away.

"I couldn’t on that film," the Alias star remarked.

The discomfort of not being able to feed her child properly eventually took an emotional toll.

"That third kid, leaving him was so hard, and I was a disaster. I started crying, and I couldn’t stop. I’m not supposed to be crying. And Matthew said, 'What is going on with you?'" she recalled, referring to her co-star Matthew McConaughey.

The Daredevil actress confided in McConaughey and explained the challenges she was facing on set, assuring him she did not want to disrupt production.

"He said, 'Guys, I need a minute.' And then he told me, 'Go and just do what you need to do.' So for the rest of that film, every time I needed to pump, he would call a break," Garner revealed, praising the Interstellar actor for his support.

The kind gesture meant a great deal to Garner, especially as McConaughey himself was undergoing a demanding physical transformation at the time, following a strict diet to lose weight for his role in Dallas Buyers Club.