Ben Affleck’s new movie “The Way Back” finds the actor playing a role he knows only too well - an alcoholic who goes through family strife and divorce before finding renewed hope in life.

After baring his soul about his own struggles with alcohol, his three trips to rehab and the much publicized collapse of his marriage to actress Jennifer Garner, Affleck also finds himself in the unexpected role of a spokesman for addiction.

“I was a little bit surprised that the degree to which my being a recovering alcoholic, and I’m playing one in this movie, affected people,” Affleck, 47, said.

“I’m pleased. There’s nothing heroic about it (but) maybe it is helpful for people to see that its not the end,” he said.

“The Way Back”, opening in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, is winning Affleck some of his best reviews after a series of widely-panned performances as Batman that followed his movie “Argo” winning the best picture Oscar in 2013.

In the film, Affleck plays a former basketball player, who has fallen on hard times and is an alcoholic but is given a chance at redemption when he’s asked to coach a team at his old high school.

Rolling Stone magazine said Affleck “brings his acting A-game” to the role while pop culture website Vulture said it “suggests the most interesting stretch of Affleck’s career as an actor is still to come.”