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Actor CaseyAffleck - Bennsbrother - shines in 'Baby' and tesse Jamgg' ByMrcHAELcrr.rz

Affleck's friends and fellow actors tease him about being insemre and preferring to work from a state of unease At Cmes to promote their movie "Ocem's Thirteen," Matt Damon said, "Be- cause Casey is so neurotic, I read the 'Jes- se James' script about seven times He would want to rehearse for his auditions ife has never been better over the phone And we'd talk and talk md talk Casey would ta_lkfor four hows- Hon- for actor Casey Affleck. estly, I wouldn't say anything; he would E He's got two critically ac- just talk it through in his head. Then I'd fi- nally say, 'Dude, I don't know what else to = claimed movies hitting tell you!' Then he'd call up his brother md c theaters. His wife. Sum- do the sme thing for mother fow hours. He just reallywanted that role G (sister " mer Phoenix of late Affleck laughs when hearing Dmon's c actor River), is pregnant with anecdote "When I like something, when I get their second child. And there's excited creatively, it's hild to tum my brain off," he admits. "It doesn't happen o 3 even the animated movie he that often " u But he didn't feel my unease when z wrote, about a family of ani- cy around it, which involves a neglect- guy with the gun >' working with his brother ful mom (Amy piles mals left behind by Noah's Ark, Ryan), of cash and a "Keuie doesn't go looking for trou- "I felt he was looking out for me and a high-ranking official in the police force ble," says Affleck, who first read Lehane's that was comforting," says Affleck, who going into production. (lV1organFreeman) Ed Harris also stars book when his dad sent him a copy, and flrst read the script for "Gone Baby Gone" Of course, the molies themselves are a The 32-year-old Affleck plays Patrick never had an interest in playing the usual when Ben brought it to him on the set of little less sunny. Kenzie, a Boston PI who prefers a smart N straight-arow movie hero "JesseJames " o Affleck co-stars with Brad Pitt in the remark to getting into o scrapes, but is of- "I never thought of KeMie as a thug or a "Ben was carefully watching lhe per- N curr ent release "The Assassination of ten bailed out of them by his capable paft- brawler The thing I love is that this is not formance, so that memt I could tate risks JesseJitmes bv the Coward Robed Ford" ner Angie Gemaro lMichelle Monaghan) your ry?ical PI movie or film noir There's and do whatever I wanted; that I could be (Pitt's Jarnes,Allleck rs the coward;, and For AJfleck - who has shone in suonofi- always something about a priyate investi- *Good-Will 'bad,"' Affleck says "FeeLing like I could ! on Friday comes "Gone, Baby, Gone," a ing r olcs in movies including gator o that I Iove - they're really cerebral be bad is really liberating and helped me drama directed by his brother. Ben Hunting" and "Ocean's Eleven" and its se- and disconnected and they're such cool o be better I wanted to make sure that I'm Based on the novel by "Mystic River" quels, and has starred in quirky indies characters He's hying to put a puzzle to- good in it because I know [as a director] author Dends Lehane, 'Baby" is a con- like "Gerry"' (with Matt Damon) and Steve gether Sometimes the audience ! is a little he'1l go on to get better and better and temporarv cnme drama about a child's Buscemi's "Lonesome Jin" - it's the first step ahead, and sometimes they're a little do better and better movies I thinh he's ta- abduction and lirc swirling conspira- stab at leadine;-maDglot) and plaling the behind " found one of his true callings " c