With something of a sporadic acting career, making just five movies since the turn of 2008, Casey Affleck is now becoming more of a presence in contemporary cinema, as following on from a wonderful performance in Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, he now returns in Scott Cooper’s Out of the Furnace – and we had the pleasure of speaking to the actor about his role.
Affleck plays Rodney, the younger brother of Christian Bale’s Russell, discusses what attracted him to the project, and how much of a luxury it was working alongside someone of Bale’s calibre. He also tells us about his research into the world of bare-knuckle boxing, and tells us of his confidence in the forthcoming Christopher Nolan feature, Interstellar.
Rodney is something of a liability, and he’s an incredibly flawed character. Yet he manages to be endearing and we can’t help but root for him at all costs. Was it a challenge for you to strike that balance?
Um, honestly I wasn’t thinking about it in those terms. If that happened I guess it’s kind of a happy accident for that to work out, for that balance to be struck. I just sort of focused on what was bothering him and that kind of thing.
The world of backstreet, bare-knuckle boxing seems as rife today as it ever has, or at least we’re more exposed to it now with YouTube. Did you watch many fights online to delve into that whole world?
I watched those fights online and they’re just gruesome and brutal and I didn’t like watching them. There’s something about that kind of violence that really upsets me. Doing it for a movie, of course, it doesn’t feel real. Movies are so artificial in some ways, and as an actor scenes of two people having a conversation in a cafe feel much more real than love scenes or fight scenes, or something that is so technical that it just feels nothing like what real love, or a real fight feels like. It doesn’t involve stop and go, and you have to keep repositioning yourself and starting again… So the fights didn’t really feel as horrible as real fights do, or as watching those fights do. What we had going for us, was that a lot of those fights were kind of messy and sloppy and they don’t have to look polished and choreographed, the fights don’t have great technique or years of training, they’re just tough guys who can throw a punch and take a punch, who have been draw to the violence for some reason. So yeah, the short answer is yes, I watched a lot of that stuff online so that I could see what the world was like and what they look like.
The film speaks volumes about modern America, was that something that attracted you to the project?
What attracted me to the project, I guess, was Christian Bale and the idea that of playing a character who had all these dark things inside of him that he couldn’t talk about, I thought that would be a really interesting thing to play, because no matter what scene you put him in, if it’s a scene where Rodney goes to get ice cream, or a scene where Rodney is cutting grass, there’s a conflict no matter what. He has a powerful, internal conflict and I thought that would make him an interesting character.
There is that really unforgettable, powerful monologue Rodney has when he talks to his brother in the house – there was so much emotion in your performance, I was wondering if you had any friends in the army or people you spoke to for research purposes that you could relate to in that instance?
No, I mean, I didn’t. I think everybody is totally capable of expressing things with emotion, it’s just a matter of ignoring the set and lines – you’re talking about something in your life and forget the camera and all that stuff, and become emotional. Working with Christian made everything easier, because he is extremely present as an actor and he’s very, very focused. He’s so patient and generous and giving as an actor. More than anything he just seems like he is the person that he’s portraying. You just feel like you’re standing in the room with the character and it makes everything so much easier.
There’s a wonderful scene when he’s on the bridge with Zoe Saldana, and he portrays devastation and elation in one facial expression. When you watch the film back, are you able to get emotionally caught up in moments like that, or are you almost too involved in the project?
I really don’t like watching movies that I’m in at all, because it really blackens the memory of the experience and all the joy. It’s like seeing a funhouse mirror, you know one of those weird, twisted mirrors of something you did in your life, and I don’t really like it. But watching Christian in that scene, I was totally sucked in to the performance and I was completely able to watch that as an audience member and yeah, that scene on the bridge… He and Zoe are both just fantastic.
Director Scott Cooper is still at the very early stages of his career, and you’ve worked alongside the likes of other young, relatively new filmmakers such as David Lowery, Andrew Dominik, and your brother Ben, too. Is there a freshness that comes with that territory that appeals to you?
I dunno, they’re probably the only people that’ll hire me. Once directors get older, you know, they move on to greater pastures.
You’ve delved into the world of directing yourself with I’m Still Here – is that something you’d like to revisit?
I might do that again, yeah, that was fun. I might do it again, for sure, I just have to find the right thing. But i’m really enjoying acting right now.
Talking of acting, we can see you in Interstellar at the end of the year, which we’re very excited about. How was that experience for you?
You know, I did that last summer and I believe Nolan is still working on it, editing it, and i’m sure it’s coming along marvellously because he’s a brilliant guy and he seems like somebody who can foresee hiccups and bumps and I’m sure everything is working out.
Out of the Furnace is out on January 29, and you can read our review here.
