Ben Affleck Protects Daughter Seraphina, 4, From 'Menacing' Paparazzi

As one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood, not to mention an Academy Award-winning director, Ben Affleck knows the price of fame. And he's usually happy to pay it -- except when it puts his kids in danger. On Friday, things got a little too close for comfort when he and his 4-year-old daughter, Seraphina, were swarmed by some particularly aggressive paparazzi outside her school.

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A source close to the "Argo" star tells Us Weekly that photographers were "all over" the actor and his little girl -- to the point that it was actually scaring Seraphina. "She was asking for them to stop," the insider says, noting that Affleck asked them repeatedly to back off. "The paps said they needed to be 'that close.'"

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"They were really swarming his daughter and yelling at her -- yelling at a 4-year-old," the source adds. Affleck, for his part, tried to protect Seraphina by picking her up and then using his leg to illustrate how much space he needed, but the "menacing" paps continued to close in.

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The director and his wife, Jennifer Garner, are generally pretty accommodating when it comes to being photographed, even with their kids. (Seraphina is the middle child, between 7-year-old Violet and 12-month-old Samuel.) But this particular incident crossed a line, the Affleck source says.

"It's terrible ... This is a 4-year-old we're talking about," the insider tells Us. "This is a preschooler on her way to school, not a star outside a nightclub."

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