The 40-year-old "Argo" star landed his first role in US educational science series 'The Voyage of the Mimi' when he was 12, around the same time his father Timothy was trying to make it big.
Affleck says he was so determined to avoid walking in his father's footsteps, he worked harder than ever to beat the family curse, reported Daily Star online.
"I lived with this tremendous fear of failure because my father was a playwright and a director, and I think he did a couple of things as a child as an actor as well, and... He failed, basically," Affleck said.
"Not just being an alcoholic and stuff. He didn't do what he said he was going to do. He worked with guys who later became famous, like James Woods and Dustin Hoffman, and he wasn't successful.
"And that wasn't going to be me. That definitely drove me. and I have it to thank for not giving up," he added.