Ben Affleck felt like a "bad father" when he discussed sports with his sex-year-old son.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck

The Oscar-winning star is immensely proud of his Boston roots and was excited to take his son to a Red Sox game baseball game - but was devastated to learn that Samuel prefers teams based in Los Angeles.

He shared: "I was telling my son, particularly, like, you know, 'We're really excited because we're from Boston and this is a big deal and the Red Sox,' and I'm giving him the whole history. And he listens to me and then he stops and he goes, 'Dad, you're from Boston. I'm from L.A.'

"I had, like, a full existential crisis. I failed. I'm a bad father. This is a disaster. I don't know what to do."

Ben, 46 - who also has kids Violet, 13, and Seraphina, 10, with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner - remains passionate about his favourite sports teams, in spite of their lack of success.

He said on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!': "There's a certain sort of tragic pain that carries with you as a person from Boston that you expect to imbue to your children that they're going to carry on.

"Sort of like we suffer through the cold and the misery and we lose big sporting events."

Ben and Jennifer finalised their divorce last year, but have subsequently remained close in order to co-parent their kids.

An insider previously explained: "They want to keep the communication healthy so that they can make decisions together in the best interest of their children. It's been wonderful for Jen that Ben has been so present and involved.

"She wants to do this right and everyone is so incredibly proud of her for rising above the past and putting the kids first."