Ben Affleck Has A HUGE Crush On His Famous New Co-Star: REPORT

We don’t know if we believe this… but we love it!

Ben Affleck is officially single now. From what we’ve heard, he’s tentatively ready to mingle… if the right woman comes along. But one thing we already know he’s kiiinda bad at is falling for co-stars. It’s happened at least three times — Jennifer Lopez on Gigli, Jennifer Garner on Daredevil, and Ana De Armas on Deep Water. (If you’re thinking Gwyneth Paltrow, that doesn’t count — they met well before Shakespeare In Love and also weren’t playing love interests. Totally different.)

Well, according to a new report from Radar Online, we may have reason to worry he’s on his way to a fourth showmance. Because he has a HUGE, enduring crush on his co-star in the next movie he’s directing, a thriller called Animals. That co-star?

Gillian Anderson!

LOLz! We mean, what hetero guy in the ’90s didn’t have a crush on Agent Scully? She was a total girlboss, we get it! But Radar‘s insider tells them it’s very real right now, as he’s as “lovestruck” as he is “starstruck” after meeting her in person — and it might be mutual:

“Everyone can’t stop gushing about the sizzling chemistry between Gillian and Ben. He’s totally starstruck by her! Here’s the juicy bit, Gillian has long been wary of dating the famous types, but Ben’s smarts might just be her downfall. He’s been gushing about how sexy she is and how much he fancies her.”

They added about Gillian’s rather less complicated relationship status:

“Also, she is still flying solo but has kept things friendly with her ex, Peter Morgan, the genius behind The Crown. Spicy!”

Wow, so they’re both available? And the heat is on?? The Hollywood source assures it isn’t going to become a problem or anything:

“It will be interesting to see how this translates onto the screen once the cameras start rolling. But Ben is a true pro so he won’t let his pent-up emotions get in the way of delivering his usual polished performances and Gillian is known for being a stickler when it comes to her acting craft.”

But clearly folks are seeing real sparks flying between these two! Damn! And to think, his role was almost played by BFF Matt Damon! The source teases:

“He’s lovestruck and starstruck and says Matt’s loss is his big gain.”

They also hint this whole scheduling problem Matt has that made him drop out may have been total BS!

“Ben’s got quite the tale brewing about stepping in for Matt, claiming it’s all down to ‘scheduling.’ Sure, the film’s been pushed back, but the buzz is that they’re rolling cameras by late March!”

Um… did Matt drop out as a favor? Did Ben ask him to do it? Inneresting…

Obvi we’ll take all of this with a big ol’ grain of salt. We mean… What are the odds this is true anyway, right? The crush part is obviously real! LOLz! But the rest of it? Hmm. We mean, what would their celeb couple name even be? Billian?