Don’t bother calling Christopher Nolan to ask about his movies; Casey Affleck has already called in, telling the audience in an on-stage interview at the Zurich Film Festival on Monday that “it was probably a mistake.”
“I was coming home from school with my son. We were talking about ‘Tenet’ and we disagreed. I said, ‘Let’s get this done,'” Affleck said. He worked with Nolan on “Oppenheimer” and “Interstellar.”
“We called him on the phone and asked him something we could easily find on Reddit. When he said it, it was so blatant that I felt embarrassed. That’s it. I never called him again, and he never called me back.”
“Maybe he’ll call now and ask about my movie [‘Company’]: ‘What were you thinking’?!”
He said working with Nolan was special. “It was truly an honor. Everyone feels that way. Being on his set is different than other movies. He’s inclusive and gives minimal but amazing instructions. He elevates everyone around him.”
Affleck has directed three films now and appreciates Nolan’s approach to the work.
“I don’t have a career-oriented mindset, which is not a humble boast. I just don’t know where to start. Nolan is a great example of that. He makes huge, hugely popular, successful movies, but I don’t think he does things just to please other people. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but he does things that interest him.”
“I’d be lucky if I could do that,” he added.
His brother Ben Affleck is another example of “someone who is very smart about the movies he chooses.”
“Ben is smart about making his movies successful, but he’s not obsequious. I know this because I’m there when he says: ‘I have an idea, but I’m not sure if I’ll like it.’ It’s not, ‘I have an idea, but I’m not sure I can sell it.’”
This wasn’t the only time Affleck mentioned his loved ones during the discussion. His latest anthology, “Company,” stars his mother, partner and sons.
“None of them actually wanted to be involved,” he laughed. “Then my son Atticus said: ‘This is during my spring break, so if you want me to do it, I’ll do it.’ It was like he was doing me a favor. Strangely, he took all my instructions without discussion, which goes against the nature of our relationship.”
Unfortunately, Affleck’s family was not able to watch the film before he passed away. Still, he dedicated it to them.
“I prefer to work with people I love. I highly recommend it. For years I would leave them and make the movie and miss them. Now I plan to include my friends and family as much as possible.”
“Company” also stars Nick Nolte, Ben Mendelsohn, Adelaide Clemens and Scoot McNairy.
“As far as I can tell, Nick is 130 years old. Not because he’s old, but because I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t in movies. He’s still completely committed. We have a lot of actors in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It’s really nice to see someone play someone in the prime of their life in such a vulnerable way.”
Although “The Company” had its world premiere in Venice, it is not yet completed.
“I thought: Maybe a film festival could be a place where people share their work with the community, get feedback, and then finish it? As a director, it’s scary to bring up a movie I’m working on, but there are things I want to change.”
Despite his successes as an actor, Affleck has always been viewed as an “outsider.” It was tagged as such in 2016 Diversity also the cover story.
“I remember that. It made me angry,” he said.
“I thought: No matter what I do, I will forever be thought of as an outsider. The public thinks of people the same way, and it takes a lot to change that perception. Then I thought: Am I crazy? I love it. I don’t want to be an ‘insider’ in Hollywood. It’s not a great culture. I don’t like the movies made there or the system.”
He won an Academy Award for Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea,” but Oscar night was a frightening experience in itself.
“I expected Denzel Washington to win” [for ‘Fences’]. It was a scary moment having to stand on that stage. I don’t remember anything I said. But I remember not thanking the people you should have thanked. I didn’t thank Kenneth, I didn’t thank my children, who encouraged me to make the film and were always supportive. “It was a little traumatic,” he recalled.
“I remember coming off the stage and seeing Leonardo DiCaprio standing in the wings. I was still in awe and shock, and he was just laughing and giving me a big hug. Then I felt better.”
He said: “There’s an illusion that you get to choose the path you want to take. The path chooses you.”
“You have to find your way and make all these mistakes. Make bad movies, take risks and give bad performances, don’t get the jobs you want and watch other people get the jobs you want. The thing about being an actor is that you can take all your hurt feelings with you and do something with it. That’s the best part of the job.”