Ben Affleck talks spirit of Detroit in 'Batman v. Superman' with FOX 2's Lee Thomas

(WJBK) - Ben Affleck spent a lot of time in Detroit and he says you can feel our city in the new film "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

"The spirit of that city and that place is definitely present in this movie I think," said Affleck, who will be playing Batman in the movie. "We were definitely inspired."

While in town, Affleck was spotted keeping his cape-crusader physique ready for the camera, working out at 19 Fitness in Royal Oak.

“I loved it. It was a great city, great spirit, great people,” he said of the Detroit area.

He even took his kids on the Ford Rouge factory tour.

"I took a tour of some of the car factories to see how cars got built, and that they were still, in-fact, building some cars in this country, and I got so inspired," Affleck said.

The 43-year-old bulked up for the character, and clips from the film shows that it looks like those Michigan work-outs paid off.

"The thing about putting on muscle is you can't really get on more than a pound or two of muscle a month. To build and grow that much is very hard," Affleck said. "You have to stuff your face all the time with certain kinds of foods, so you get sick of them and you don't want to eat any more, and you have to do a lot of lifting. I just knew that the audiences expect a certain kind of physique for their characters who play these parts. If I showed up halfway, that wouldn't fly with the audience."

Even though much has been said about him taking the role of The Dark Knight or his recent non-permanent tattoo, or even his personal life, Affleck always seems to stay positive.

"Having that positive attitude, you kind of create your own reality as you go through life more than you think. ... I do think that if you think positive and focus on positive things and focus on positive outcomes and try to treat people well, generally speaking, you have a better quality of life," Affleck said.