Caleb Casey Affleck (born August 12, 1975 in Falmouth, Massachusetts) is an American actor. Affleck spent his youth in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and briefly attended Columbia University before dropping out to concentrate on acting. He is the younger brother of actor Ben Affleck.
Casey Affleck was born Caleb Casey Affleck on August 12, 1975 to Chris, a school district employee, and Tim, a former actor with the Theater Company of Boston. When Casey was five, he broke his arm and almost had to have it amputated, spending 12 hours in surgery as the doctors worked to repair his severely infected compound fracture. As a child he had numerous pets, including cats, snakes, guinea pigs, turtles and a dog named "Pepper". Later in his life he would become a vegan.
Casey went to George Washington University. Casey then transferred to Columbia University in New York City and majored in Physics, Astronomy, and Western Philosophy. After attending for a brief time, Casey dropped out to focus on his acting career.
Casey's first movie role was in Gus Van Sant's 1995 dark comedy film To Die For, alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Nicole Kidman as a troubled teenager. After starring the following year in the box office flop Race the Sun (co-starring Halle Berry), he then appeared in two films featuring older brother Ben Affleck: Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting. In the latter film, Casey again worked under Gus Van Sant, where he plays a friend of both his brother and fellow actor Matt Damon. The movie was a major hit and jump-started the careers of Damon and the Affleck brothers. Ben and Matt co-wrote the screenplay and were later rewarded with an Oscar.
After co-starring in two of his older brother's movies, Casey aimed to escape his brother's shadow. He starred in the underground movie Desert Blues, a film which met with limited success, and which also featured rising star Kate Hudson.
After Desert Blues, Casey decided to take time off from acting before playing another role. He next starred in the black comedy Drowning Mona, which also starred Bette Midler, Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell, and Danny Devito. The movie did poorly at the box office and with critics. Seeking out more experimental roles, he starred in the 2001 psychological horror movie Soul Survivors, co-starring Luke Wilson, Wes Bentley, and Eliza Dushku. Casey later admitted in an interview to Nylon Magazine that he was ashamed to have been involved with both films.
Next on Casey’s billing list was a re-make of the Rat Pack movie Ocean's Eleven, directed by Steven Soderbergh. The 2001 release had a star-studded cast, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts. In his most famous role to date, Casey played Virgil Malloy, one of the pair of brothers hired to drive the getaway vehicle. Affleck would return to this character in Ocean's Twelve in 2004, and Ocean's Thirteen, released in June 2007.
After achieving success in his movie career, Casey followed in the footsteps of his older brother and turned to screenwriting. Casey teamed up with Matt Damon to write the 2002 film Gerry about two friends who get lost while hiking in the desert, directed by Van Sant. More recently, Casey starred in the film The Last Kiss as a friend of Zach Braff's character.
Casey Affleck recently married Summer Phoenix, fellow actress and girlfriend of six years. The couple were introduced by Joaquin Phoenix, Affleck's best friend and Summer's brother. After it was discovered that Summer was pregnant, Affleck proposed to her at the end of 2003. Five months later, son Indiana August was born in Amsterdam. They wed two years later in a private ceremony in Georgia. Guests included Joaquin Phoenix, and Ben Affleck with his wife, Jennifer Garner, and daughter, Violet.
Casey is now involved with many animal rights movements and campaigns for PETA and Farm Sanctuary. He is a strict vegan.
Casey made a cameo in the Joaquin Phoenix directed video "Tired of Being Sorry" for Balthazar Getty's band Ringside.
