Ben Affleck Once Had to Resist the Urge to Strangle His Brother Casey Affleck in ‘Gone Baby Gone’
Ben Affleck directed his younger brother Casey Affleck for the 2007 hit film Gone Baby Gone. Although with the older Affleck in the director’s chair, he couldn’t help occasionally clashing with his sibling.
Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck are used to disagreeing
The Affleck brothers confided that they have always been extremely close with one another. Often times, the two spent a lot of their time together given how busy their parents were.
“We kind of only had each other growing up. My dad wasn’t around and my mom worked really early mornings until the evening, so we kind of were together in childhood and shared all that time and all those experiences,” Casey once explained to Us Weekly.
Both of the Affleck brothers have become family men over the years. With their families being so close, the brothers often show their children the full scope of their relationship. But not just the good parts. Casey asserted that he and Affleck often disagreed, and it was important for the Affleck kids to see these arguments.
“I try to let them see those types of things and not just be like, ‘Hey look. Ben and I are great friends. You guys should be great friends too,'” Casey said.
Ben Affleck had to resist the urge to strangle his brother Casey Affleck in ‘Gone Baby Gone’
Gone Baby Gone was an important film for Affleck. The movie marked the Batman V. Superman star’s comeback after taking a slight hiatus from the movie industry. Casey knew a lot was riding on the film, and wanted to make absolutely sure he was right for the part before committing.
“I said I would read the script and I would love to work with him, but I wanted to make sure that I was right for it. I didn’t want to screw it up,” Casey once explained to The Scotsman (via E News). “I know that casting is so important in directing a first movie, and a lot is at stake. If you don’t pull it off the first time, then you rarely get a second shot.”
But the casting also led to a lot of fights between the two brothers. Affleck quipped that he had even wanted to attack Casey at one point.
“You have to treat Casey as you would treat any actor in the movie, which meant trying to swallow the urge to strangle him, or to be really curt with him and just say: ‘Because I say do it that way, that’s why,'” Affleck recalled.
Casey corroborated Affleck’s version of events, noting that he didn’t mince words when it came to sharing his opinions.
“I do remember a couple weeks into the movie, Ben would tell me to do something and I’d say: ‘That’s terrible,'” Casey said.
Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck have learned to avoid being too competitive
With both brothers being in the movie business, some might expect competition to thrive between the two. But the Affleck brothers have avoided getting into a sibling rivalry that’s too intense. Casey once shared that he refused to put business over his bond with the Good Will Hunting star.
“You get to where you have had enough failures and you realize that you’ve got one brother,” Casey said. “You are going to ruin the relationship by being competitive over who gets to be in a movie? Are you kidding me?”
