Jennifer Garner talks mom role in 'Men, Women and Children'

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Jennifer Garner says she could relate to her Men, Women and Children character as a mother.

The 42-year-old actress portrays Patricia Beltmeyer, an overprotective mom who obsessively monitors her daughter's Internet activity. While the character's behavior may seem extreme to some, Garner told ABC Nightline the film made her "very aware" the Internet can be a "scary" place.

"I think that my character is a mom who loves her daughter like crazy," she offered. "And how often as a mom have you had those moments where you think you're just going to go that extra mile and you're going to work that much harder and you're going to protect your kid and at the end of the day you realize, 'Oh, I actually made it harder for them.'"

Garner and husband Ben Affleck are parents to 8-year-old daughter Violet, 5-year-old daughter Seraphina and 2-year-old son Samuel. Men, Women and Children examines the impact of the Internet on the characters' lives, and the actress said the subject matter put the dangers of the Internet on her "radar" for the future.

"I looked it all up. I know. It's scary," she said. "I just think of my 8-year-old and my 5-year-old daughters and I just think, I can't bear for that to be their reality because it wasn't mine ... My world was really innocent and sweet and I had a real childhood that lasted for a long, long time."

Men, Women and Children is directed by Jason Reitman (Juno), and co-stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Judy Greer, Adam Sandler, Ansel Elgort and J.K. Simmons. The movie premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in September, and opens in theaters Oct. 17.