At the Zurich Film Festival, Casey Affleck called winning the 2017 best actor Oscar for Manchester by the Sea “mildly traumatic”: he expected Denzel Washington to win, felt terrified onstage and said he did not thank director Kenneth Lonergan or his children.
Affleck’s Oscar win came amid renewed attention to earlier sexual harassment allegations. Two women who had worked with him sued him in 2010, alleging harassment; the lawsuits were settled out of court, and Affleck did not admit guilt. The parties are barred from discussing the case. The following year, Affleck withdrew from presenting at the Oscars.
Affleck is promoting Company, which he directed and co-wrote and which stars his sons and partner Caylee Cowan. The film does not yet have a release date.
