# Casey Affleck
**Casey Affleck** (born Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt, 1975, in Falmouth, Massachusetts) is an American actor, director, writer, and producer known for understated performances in independent drama and for winning the [Academy Award for Best Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-actor) for *Manchester by the Sea* (2016)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/casey-affleck/) • [2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017). He is the younger brother of actor and director [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/casey-affleck/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975, Falmouth, Massachusetts; birth name Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/casey-affleck/) |
| Academy Award | Best Actor, *Manchester by the Sea* (2016), at the 89th Academy Awards[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017) |
| Earlier nomination | Best Supporting Actor for *The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford* (2007)[3](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/08/17/casey-affleck-subtle-one/5Wq27EgwwMzB0MqPQMo9gI/story.html/) |
| Directing | *I'm Still Here* (2010), a mockumentary about Joaquin Phoenix that was later revealed to be a hoax; *Light of My Life* (2019), which he also wrote and starred in[4](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/casey-affleck) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits) |
| Production company | The Affleck/Middleton Project, founded in 2013 with John Powers Middleton[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits) |
| Box office | 13 films from 1995 to 2018 tracked by Box Office Watch: $800.9 million domestic and $1.84 billion worldwide lifetime[6](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/casey-affleck) |
## Early career
Affleck grew up in Massachusetts as the second son of Tim Affleck and Christine Boldt, and is the younger brother of Ben Affleck[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/affleck-casey-1975). His early screen work included [Gus Van Sant](https://www.edgepedia.org/gus-van-sant)'s *To Die For* (1995), in which he played Russel Hines, and a role in *Good Will Hunting* (1997), which his brother co-wrote[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/casey-affleck/) • [6](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/casey-affleck). Through his twenties he built a reputation in small, eclectic character parts rather than studio leads, appearing in Van Sant's endurance experiment *Gerry* (2002), [Steve Buscemi](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-buscemi)'s *Lonesome Jim*, and David Lowery's *Ain't Them Bodies Saints* (2013)[9](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/08/17/casey-affleck-subtle-one/5Wq27EgwwMzB0MqPQMo9gI/story.html/) • [10](https://www.martincid.com/people/casey-affleck/).
## Breakthrough in 2007
Two 2007 releases changed his standing. In Ben Affleck's directorial debut *Gone, Baby, Gone*, he played a Boston private detective searching for an abducted girl, a performance the *Boston Globe* praised as that of "a leading man of richly watchable savvy and intelligence"[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits) • [3](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/08/17/casey-affleck-subtle-one/5Wq27EgwwMzB0MqPQMo9gI/story.html/). In [Andrew Dominik](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-dominik)'s *The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford*, he played Robert Ford, the outlaw's disillusioned follower who moves from admirer to killer opposite [Brad Pitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/brad-pitt)'s Jesse James; the role earned him Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits) • [3](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/08/17/casey-affleck-subtle-one/5Wq27EgwwMzB0MqPQMo9gI/story.html/).
Rather than follow the nominations with mainstream leads, he directed *I'm Still Here* (2010), a mockumentary following his close friend [Joaquin Phoenix](https://www.edgepedia.org/joaquin-phoenix)'s announced transition from acting to a rap career. The project was presented as a documentary, and Affleck later said Phoenix's retirement from acting had been a performance; the *Los Angeles Times* reported Affleck describing the film as a hoax, while Affleck himself framed it as a film rather than a hoax[4](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/casey-affleck) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/24-frames/story/2010-09-16/casey-affleck-now-says-phoenix-movie-was-really-a-hoax) • [12](https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/casey-affleck-levels-about-im-still-here). The same year he played the murderous small-town sheriff Lou Ford in [Michael Winterbottom](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-winterbottom)'s *The Killer Inside Me*, adapted from Jim Thompson's 1952 novel[13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/may/22/casey-affleck-interview).
## Manchester by the Sea and the Oscar
In [Kenneth Lonergan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-lonergan)'s *Manchester by the Sea* (2016), Affleck played Lee Chandler, a taciturn handyman who returns to his North Shore hometown after a family tragedy to care for his orphaned nephew. *Time* called him "both the soul and the anchor of the movie," noting a performance built on restraint rather than expressive display[14](https://time.com/4575255/manchester-by-the-sea-movie-review/). At the 89th Academy Awards, held February 26, 2017, he won Best Actor, defeating nominees including [Ryan Gosling](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-gosling), Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen, and [Andrew Garfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-garfield); the film also won Lonergan the Oscar for Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017).
The awards campaign also revived two sexual harassment lawsuits filed against Affleck by producers of *I'm Still Here*, which he settled in 2010. The controversy drew renewed attention as the #[MeToo movement](https://www.edgepedia.org/metoo-movement) gathered force months later, and Affleck addressed it obliquely in his Golden Globes acceptance speech, referring to the "noise" that surrounds public life; [Brie Larson](https://www.edgepedia.org/brie-larson), who presented his Globe, did not hug or shake his hand[15](https://time.com/4645846/what-to-know-about-the-casey-affleck-oscar-controversy/).
## Later work
Affleck continued to move between independent film and larger productions. He appeared in [Christopher Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-nolan)'s *Interstellar* (2014), Scott Cooper's *Out of the Furnace* (2013), the action thriller *Triple 9* (2016), and Disney's *The Finest Hours* (2016)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits). In 2013 he established The Affleck/Middleton Project with [John Powers Middleton](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-powers-middleton) to develop film and television projects[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits). David Lowery's *A Ghost Story* (2017) cast him for most of the runtime under a white bedsheet as a figure watching time pass[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits) • [10](https://www.martincid.com/people/casey-affleck/).
His second directorial feature, *Light of My Life* (2019), a psychological thriller in which he starred opposite Elisabeth Moss, was also written by him[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits). In Christopher Nolan's *Oppenheimer* (2023) he appeared in a supporting role that drew widespread praise[4](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/casey-affleck). He starred in the space thriller *Slingshot* (2024) opposite Laurence Fishburne[16](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/).
## Acting style
Critics have consistently described Affleck's approach as restrained and unsentimental. Roger Ebert's contributor Patrick McGavin wrote that where an actor's instinct for a tortured psychological condition is usually a heightened use of body or voice, Affleck "violates those principles emphatically" in *Manchester by the Sea*[17](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/if-we-picked-the-winners-2017-best-actor). Affleck has said he looks for characters who could easily be two-dimensional and tries to make them "real humans," and he credits Lonergan's writing for the believability of his Oscar-winning role[18](https://time.com/4574491/casey-affleck-manchester-by-the-sea/).
## References
1. [Casey Affleck, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/casey-affleck/)
2. [The 89th Academy Awards (2017), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017)
3. [Casey Affleck, the subtle one, The Boston Globe (2013)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/08/17/casey-affleck-subtle-one/5Wq27EgwwMzB0MqPQMo9gI/story.html/)
4. [Casey Affleck, Research Starters, EBSCOhost](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/casey-affleck)
5. [Casey Affleck full credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/fullcredits)
6. [Casey Affleck Box Office: Every Movie Ranked, Box Office Watch](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/casey-affleck)
7. [Affleck, Casey 1975–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/affleck-casey-1975)
8. [Casey Affleck, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/)
9. [Casey Affleck, the subtle one, The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/08/17/casey-affleck-subtle-one/5Wq27EgwwMzB0MqPQMo9gI/story.html/)
10. [Casey Affleck, Martin Cid Magazine](https://www.martincid.com/people/casey-affleck/)
11. [Casey Affleck now says Phoenix movie was really a hoax, Los Angeles Times (2010)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/24-frames/story/2010-09-16/casey-affleck-now-says-phoenix-movie-was-really-a-hoax)
12. [Casey Affleck levels about "I'm Still Here", RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/casey-affleck-levels-about-im-still-here)
13. [Casey Affleck: Killer instincts, The Guardian (2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/may/22/casey-affleck-interview)
14. [Review: Casey Affleck Is the Anchor and Soul of Manchester by the Sea, Time (2016)](https://time.com/4575255/manchester-by-the-sea-movie-review/)
15. [Casey Affleck Just Addressed #MeToo and the Harassment Allegations Against Him, Time (2017)](https://time.com/4645846/what-to-know-about-the-casey-affleck-oscar-controversy/)
16. [Casey Affleck, IMDb main page](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000729/)
17. [If We Picked the Winners 2017: Best Actor, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/if-we-picked-the-winners-2017-best-actor)
18. [In a Tragedy, Casey Affleck Finds Triumph, Time (2016)](https://time.com/4574491/casey-affleck-manchester-by-the-sea/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames A to At*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license