Casey Affleck Calls His Oscar Win 'Mildly Traumatic' and Says 'Company' Isn't Finished

Casey Affleck described his 2017 Academy Award night as "mildly traumatic" during an onstage interview at the Zurich Film Festival on Monday, admitting he forgot to thank the people who mattered most when he won Best Actor for Kenneth Lonergan's "Manchester by the Sea."

"I was expecting Denzel Washington to win [for 'Fences']. It was a terrifying moment to have to stand on that stage. I can't remember anything I said," Affleck said. "But I do remember that I didn't thank all the people you are supposed to thank. I didn't thank Kenneth, didn't thank my kids who encouraged me to make the movie and supported me the whole time."

One moment of relief followed. "I remember walking off the stage and seeing Leonardo DiCaprio standing in the wings. I was still stuck in a moment of terror and disorientation, and he was just laughing and gave me a big hug. Then I felt better."

Affleck also revealed that his new anthology film "Company," which world-premiered in Venice, is still a work in progress. "I thought: Maybe a film festival can be a place where people share their work with the community, get feedback and then finish it?" he said. "As a director, it's scary to bring a movie I'm still working on, but there are things I want to change."

Nolan's phone call

Affleck, who worked with Christopher Nolan on "Oppenheimer" and "Interstellar," recounted one awkward call to the director. "I was driving back from school with my son. We were talking about 'Tenet' and disagreeing. I said: 'Let's settle that,'" he said. "We got him on the phone and asked him something that we could have easily looked up on Reddit. Once he said it, it sounded so obvious I felt embarrassed. That was it. I haven't called him again, and he hasn't called me."

"Maybe he will call now and ask me about my movie ['Company']: 'What were you thinking'?!" Affleck joked.

Working with Nolan was formative for Affleck, who has now directed three films. "When you are on his set, it's different from other movies. He's inclusive, and gives minimal but brilliant directions. He elevates everyone around him," he said. "He makes these gigantic, hugely popular, successful movies, but I don't think he makes things just to please other people. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but he makes things that interest him. If I can do that, I'd be lucky."

He cited his brother, Ben Affleck, as another model. "Ben's smart about making his films successful, but he's not pandering," Affleck said. "I know it because I'm there when he says: 'I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I'm going to like it.' It's not: 'I have an idea, but I am not sure I'll be able to sell it.'"

Family on screen

"Company" stars Affleck's mother, his partner and his sons, alongside Nick Nolte, Ben Mendelsohn, Adelaide Clemens and Scoot McNairy. "Neither one of them really wanted to be in it," he laughed. "Then my son Atticus said: 'It's during my spring break, so if you want me to do it, I'll do it.' Like he was doing me a favor. Strangely, he took all my directions without arguing, which is not the nature of our relationship."

Affleck's parents did not live to see the film, and he dedicated it to them. "I would rather just work with the people I love. I highly recommend it," he said. "For many years, I would leave them, shoot the film and miss them. Now, I plan on including my friends and my family as much as possible."

He paid tribute to co-star Nolte: "As far as I can tell, Nick is 130 years old. Not because he's old, but because I don't remember a time when he wasn't in movies. He's still completely committed. It's really nice to see someone portray, so vulnerably, someone at the top end of life."

The outsider

Affleck pushed back on the "outsider" label applied to him since a 2016 Variety cover story. "I remember that. It made me mad," he said. "I thought: I will forever be thought of as an outsider, no matter what I do. And then I went: Am I crazy? I love that. I don't want to be 'an insider' in Hollywood. It's not a great culture. I don't love the films made there or the system."

He closed with a reflection on career and craft: "There's an illusion of choosing the path you want to be on. The path is choosing you." An actor's advantage, he argued, is turning failure into material. "Make bad movies, take chances and give bad performances, not get the jobs that you wanted and watch other people get jobs that you wanted. You can take all your hard feelings with you and make something with it. It's the best part of the job."