What Casey Affleck Had to Say About Good Will Hunting


good will huntingCasey Affleck (Morgan), Matt Damon (Will), Cole Hauser (Billy), and Ben Affleck (Chuckie) outside the L Street Tavern in Good Will Hunting. (Photo courtesy of Miramax)

When I started putting together this month’s oral history of Good Will Hunting, I had a few things I needed to accomplish. First: Get Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to talk to me. Second: Line up chats with Robin Williams, Gus Van Sant, and the producers and crew that worked on the film. And third: Get Casey Affleck to say “Chuck I had a double burger” when I spoke with him, like so:

 

 

Casey Affleck’s portrayal of Morgan O’Mally is one of the most quotable characters ever to hit the streets of Boston. (Remember “I swallowed a bug” or “My boy’s wicked smart”?) I was sure his interview would be the funniest, most forthcoming of the bunch.

Unfortunately, I was wrong, and I came up short on my third goal—but not for lack of trying. Casey Affleck’s publicists are lovely people, and they tried their hardest to snag me some time with him. When I got his brother Ben on the phone, I told him that Casey had been been dodging my attempts to connect. “That’s my brother’s personality,” Ben Affleck told me. “If Matt did an hour and a half [-long interview with you], my brother is sort of the opposite of that. But my brother’s performance, in retrospect, I think can be seen as complete genius.”

When I finally got word from his reps, they said he’d answer my questions … over email. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but I did send him a half-dozen questions. I hoped he’d be profound, witty, and verbose. Below, you’ll find Casey Affleck’s thoughts on Good Will Hunting in their entirety:

“When Gus came aboard there was some excitement about what the script could become.  Everyone knew that Gus was a great director. Gus wanted to do it because he responded to the material. It was a great group of people and everyone had a lot of fun.”

Casey, if you still feel like chatting, you know where to find me.