Oppenheimer: Why Boris Pash Looks So Familiar
"Oppenheimer" is practically overflowing with famous, familiar faces. The new film from writer-director Christopher Nolan stars one of his frequent collaborators, "Peaky Blinders" actor Cillian Murphy, as its eponymous real-life scientist. Over the course of its three-hour runtime, "Oppenheimer" packs in more small details, awe-inspiring images, and tragic turns than audiences will likely be able to see coming. Despite spending most of its runtime rooted firmly in the mind and perspective of its lead, though, a considerable number of recognizable stars appear in the film in supporting roles.
Some of the drama's other cast members have been heavily featured in its marketing materials, including Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt. However, around its midpoint, the film also introduces Boris Pash, a staunchly anti-communist military intelligence officer who makes his distaste for Oppenheimer's left-wing political ties very clear during a quasi-interrogation with the theoretical physicist. His presence shakes Murphy's Oppenheimer, and odds are, the film's viewers will likely be taken aback by his two impactful appearances as well.
That's partly due to the fact that Pash is played in "Oppenheimer" by none other than Academy Award winner Casey Affleck. He, notably, hasn't been featured in any of the film's trailers, but that doesn't mean that "Oppenheimer" is the only acclaimed, high-profile production that Affleck has starred in throughout his career. On the contrary, it isn't even the first Nolan-directed movie he's appeared in.
With that in mind, here are some of the films that "Oppenheimer" viewers may have seen Affleck in before.
Casey Affleck played an eccentric mechanic in Ocean's Eleven
Casey Affleck scored one of the biggest early roles of his career when he appeared as Virgil Malloy in 2001's "Ocean's Eleven." Led by high-profile movie stars like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts, the Steven Soderbergh-directed film is one of the most star-studded heist movies that's ever been made. Despite that fact, Affleck still stands out as one of the film's funniest and most eccentric supporting characters.
That's due in no small part to his banter with co-star Scott Caan, who plays Turk Malloy, the brother of Affleck's Virgil. The two men are recruited early in the film by Clooney's Danny Ocean and Pitt's Rusty Ryan to help them rob Terry Benedict (Andy García), the wealthy owner of a Las Vegas casino. A pair of talented mechanics, Turk and Virgil spend most of their scenes finding different ways to tease and poke fun at each other, and Caan and Affleck's chemistry make the characters' numerous comedic bits land with surprising force.
In the years since its release, Affleck, who reprised his role as Virgil in both of the film's sequels, has opened up about what it was really like filming "Ocean's Eleven" and has spoken highly of how well its set was run. Taking that into account, it's not hard to see why he and Caan felt like they could have so much fun on-screen together.
He gave an Oscar-nominated performance in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Six years after he appeared in "Ocean's Eleven," Casey Affleck gave one of the most notable and acclaimed performances of his career in 2007's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." Directed by Andrew Dominik, the film not only dramatizes the lives of its two real-life leads, but it also reunites Affleck with his "Ocean's Eleven" co-star, Brad Pitt. The latter appears in the film as Jesse James himself, while Affleck plays Ford, the young man who killed the legendary Western outlaw only to wind up a national pariah for his actions.
When it was originally released, the movie didn't make much of an impact. However, in the years since its debut, a passionate fanbase for "The Assassination of Jesse James" has slowly but surely grown. Affleck has, in turn, earned more and more acclaim for his tortured lead performance in the film. Together, Affleck and Pitt establish a relationship between Jesse James and his eventual killer that is as layered, enigmatic, and intense as the movie itself.
After spending the majority of his early career turning in quietly great supporting and lead performances in a succession of little-seen indies and star-studded blockbusters, it was his work in "The Assassination of Jesse James" that truly announced Affleck as one of the most promising and distinct screen performers of his generation.
He played a private detective in Gone Baby Gone
The same year he starred in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," Casey Affleck played the lead role in "Gone Baby Gone," the feature directorial debut of his brother and fellow screen actor, Ben Affleck. Based on Dennis Lehane's 1998 novel of the same name, the film follows a pair of Boston-based private detectives as they look into the kidnapping of a young local girl. Affleck stars in the film as one of its lead investigators, Patrick Kenzie, who gradually gets caught up in a conspiracy that's far greater and more complex than he ever could have imagined.
By the time the truth of the kidnapping case has been revealed to him, Patrick has found himself confronted with a moral dilemma that he doesn't quite know how to deal with. Like his character in "The Assassination of Jesse James," Affleck's investigator is ultimately left to contemplate the ramifications of his actions without ever truly knowing one way or the other whether he's made the right decisions. As Patrick, Affleck proves to be the perfect actor for the role. His quiet, magnetic presence not only turns his character into a surprisingly formidable figure, but also grounds his inner conflict and makes the themes of "Gone Baby Gone" feel all the more compelling and real.
All in all, 2007 ended up being a pretty impressive and important year for Affleck.
Affleck had a small but noteworthy role in Interstellar
Christopher Nolan and Casey Affleck collaborated for the first time in 2014's "Interstellar." The film, a mind-bending science fiction thriller, remains one of the most ambitious movies that Nolan has ever made. While he doesn't have quite as big of a role as Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain, either, Affleck does make a lasting impression with his subdued, emotionally exhausted turn as Tom Cooper, the adult son of McConaughey's Joseph.
The character is originally played in the thriller by "Dune" star Timothée Chalamet. However, once "Interstellar" reaches its midpoint time jump, Chalamet is replaced by Affleck. Mackenzie Foy is similarly replaced in the film's second half by Jessica Chastain, who plays Tom's sister, Murph. For his part, Affleck is featured prominently in the movie's now-iconic video message scene, which sees McConaughey tearfully watch as both Murph and Tom grow up via the recordings they've sent to his character's technologically advanced spaceship.
Unlike Chastain's Murph, though, who is fueled by her intense bitterness toward her father, Affleck's Tom has been so clearly devastated by the losses he's suffered that he barely seems alive by the time "Interstellar" catches up with him. Fortunately, that aspect of his character, which is powerfully communicated by Affleck, only makes Murph and Tom's third-act reconciliation all the more cathartic. Nearly 10 years later, Affleck has reunited with Nolan for "Oppenheimer," a film that asks him to play a similarly small but pivotal role.
He won an Oscar for his turn in Manchester by the Sea
In 2016, Casey Affleck gave the most critically lauded performance of his career to date in writer-director Kenneth Lonergan's award-winning drama, "Manchester by the Sea." One of the most acclaimed titles of its year, Affleck stars in the film as Lee Chandler, a grief-stricken, isolated man who is forced out of his comfort zone when his brother dies and he is named the new legal guardian of his teenage nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Throughout the movie, Lee is made to grapple with both the responsibility he feels to his brother and his nephew and his own self-destructive impulses.
Affleck, who had already established himself as someone capable of giving despondent yet emotionally turbulent performances, was an obvious choice to play Lee. It wasn't, consequently, much of a surprise when he received unanimous praise and acclaim for his performance — emerging early in 2016 as one of the year's biggest award contenders. It was even less of a surprise when he then won the Oscar for best actor in 2017. (The film itself only took home one other Oscar statuette that year when Lonergan won the best original screenplay award for writing its script.)
Suffice it to say, "Manchester by the Sea" remains one of the biggest and most important films that Affleck has ever starred in, which makes it a must-have entry on any list discussing his career.