Ben Affleck** may be a critically-acclaimed actor and director, but that's not the way his three children see him.

At the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York City Jan. 8., the leading man chatted with Us Weekly about how raising daughters Violet, 7, Seraphina, 4, and son Samuel, 10 months, has -- and always will be -- his top priority.

"They're most important in my life," the 40-year-old Argo filmmaker said. "Family is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't mean you can't do other stuff in your life. In fact, having a family makes whatever other thing you have that much richer. If it was just me, I'd be home alone and think, 'Well, something good happened at work,' but it's much nicer to share it with people you love."

Affleck added, "I think anytime you become a richer person you have more substance. I hope that happened to me with having a family, but you never know!"

Jennifer Garner's husband of nearly eight years also talked to Us about how much it means to have Argo nominated for five Golden Globe Awards. (The statues will be handed out Sunday, Jan. 13.)

"When I was making it, everyone was telling me it had all the makings of a failure: it was a period movie, in the Middle East, it was a drama, I was the youngest guy in it," Affleck said of the film, which has also been a box office success. "So I had very low expectations and I was thrilled when we didn't totally bomb!"

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Ben Affleck: Fatherhood Has Made Me a "Richer Person"