Jennifer Garner has to "shake off" her tough movie roles for the sake of her children.

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner

The 45-year-old actress has Violet 11, Seraphina, eight, and Samuel, five, with her estranged husband Ben Affleck, and has said that whenever she takes on a character who is "going through something" - such as her role as a single mother in new movie 'The Tribes of Palos Verdes' - she always has to remember not to bring that drama home with her, because she needs to "raise [her] kids".

Speaking to 'Entertainment Tonight', she said: "Anytime that you're playing someone who is going through something, you have to just figure it out, and you actually - believe it or not - don't use your own life as much as you might think. It really is its own bear to get through.

"You just get into that place. That's your job, and then you shake it off, because you have to go home and raise your kids. It's just like any other time I do a scene with an emotional place."

It isn't the first time Jennifer has made sure to put her brood first, as after news of her filing for divorce from Ben broke in April this year, the pair were said to be "100 percent committed" to co-parenting their children.

A source said: "Everything today couldn't have been done more amicably. The divorce filing was only a matter of time. Ben and Jen are both still 100 percent committed to co-parenting their children and making sure their family situation works for them all. You can't have anything better than that."

And a second source insisted they were "die-hard committed" to raising their brood.

They said: "They have maintained such a strong and beautiful united front to stay lovely and classy towards each other for their kids. They spend so much time working on their relationship - whether it's a friendship or anything - for their kids ...

"Their friendship is there. They are so die-hard committed to co-parenting. Whatever form this relationship is, they'll always have love for each other, and the love they have for their kids is so strong, they won't let anything bring that down."