Casey Affleck Says He Had ‘No Doubt’ Matt Damon Would Become a Huge Star

Affleck, who has known Damon for around four decades, recently reflected on their teenage years and the early signs that suggested his friend was destined for a career in the spotlight.

Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, the 51-year-old actor recalled how he, his older brother Ben Affleck and Damon were connected through their school’s theatre programme.

“We all had the same theatre teacher, and lots of actors came through this one theater department. We were in a big public school, and we just had this great theatre teacher, and he made kids fall in love with theatre and acting,” Casey said.

He remembered Damon as particularly confident and outgoing even at a young age.

“Matt was always a bit of a showoff. (He was) outgoing and would do talent shows and stuff. And there was no doubt where he was headed, but the rest of us were trying to figure it out,” he added.

Casey and Ben were encouraged to pursue acting by their parents, with their father working as a stage manager. Casey and Damon later appeared together in films including *Good Will Hunting* and *Ocean’s Eleven*.

Reflecting on Damon’s qualities as a performer, Casey said his friend possessed both strong acting ability and the kind of screen presence traditionally associated with movie stars.

“Matt is a super talented actor. He’s a funny case because he’s a very talented actor who has a kind of movie star persona, a matinee idol appeal, at the same time, which Ben and I don’t really have,” he said.

Casey also discussed the different paths he and his brother took within Hollywood. He noted that Ben appeared to embrace the traditional leading-man image early in his career.

“Ben seems more like a movie star and has leaned into the leading man thing right from early on,” Casey said.

For himself, however, Casey has come to embrace being viewed as an outsider within the film industry. He said he believes audiences often form fixed perceptions of actors, and changing those perceptions can be difficult even after major professional achievements.

“I saw that and I thought, ‘Man, I’ll forever be thought of as an outsider, no matter what I do’. You can win an Oscar, or you can do a big giant studio movie, and I think the public just thinks of people one way, and then it takes a lot to change that,” he said.

Rather than resisting that perception, Casey said he eventually realised that being an outsider was something he preferred.

“I was sitting with it for a second, and I thought, ‘Am I crazy? I love that’. I don’t want to be an insider. I love being an outsider. I would much rather be an outsider in Hollywood than be an insider in Hollywood,” he added.

Casey also expressed his reservations about the Hollywood system itself, saying he does not particularly admire the culture or many of the films produced within it.

“I don’t think it’s a great culture. I don’t love the movies that are made by Hollywood. I don’t love the system of Hollywood, and I’m very happy being thought of as an outsider,” he said.