Casey Affleck emerged from the Sundance film festival in January with Oscar buzz surrounding his devastating portrayal of a bereaved father in Kenneth Lonergan’s ecstatically received drama Manchester By the Sea. The film’s rapturous reception at the Telluride film festival on Saturday cemented the picture – and Affleck’s performance – as surefire awards contenders this season. But as revealed during a discussion following the screening with Lonergan, hosted by his You Can Count On Me star Laura Linney, Affleck wasn’t the film-maker’s first pick for the role.
According to Lonergan, Matt Damon was initially going to play the part of Lee Chandler, a quiet janitor reeling from a family tragedy. However due to scheduling conflicts, Damon had to bow out and instead signed on as producer, which led Lonergan to consider Affleck for the part. Ironically enough, Lonergan had worked with the pair on a 2002 London production of his play This Is Our Youth.
“Casey and I had stayed in touch – it’s much easier staying in touch with Casey than with Matt,” Lonergan said, laughing.
Lonergan said that at Sundance, Damon told him: “Casey is the only actor I would give this part to.”
Elsewhere during the conversation, Lonergan was prodded by Linney, about the running theme of the “consequence of death” that she feels pervades each of this three features (You Can Count On Me, Margaret and Manchester By the Sea). Lonergan at first appeared reluctant to examine his work in that context but eventually relented.
“I have been forced to notice this similarity,” he said. “It never starts that way. In a way it feels a teeny bit like a cheap trick. As far as the repercussions of death go, I don’t mean to do that - it just comes up every time. Maybe [death] is not something I cannot personally process. It just feels to me that I don’t have anywhere to put these unimaginable things.”
With only three movies under his belt over a 16-year span, Lonergan admitted that he doesn’t feel like an “experienced director” despite the praise his latest has received. “Three movies is not that much,” he said.
“There’s so much I could get better at that,” he continued. “I’d like to find a way of working where I’m not so anxious all the time.”
Lonergan did express regret at not giving his actors “more latitude” earlier in his career. Speaking directly to Linney, Lonergan admitted to feeling “stupid” for not allowing her to explore more while making the 2000 drama You Can Count On Me.
“We didn’t get along perfectly,” Linney attested. “We locked horns a few times - but nothing too dramatic.”
Her performance as a single mother in the film earned Linney her first Oscar nomination. She’s since been nominated for Kinsey and The Savages.
“If you don’t want your actors to swim,” Lonergan added, “you might as well be a novelist.”
- Manchester By the Sea opens 18 November in the US and 13 January 2017 in the UK
