When The Instigators stars Casey Affleck and Matt Damon last appeared on screen together, they played two professional thieves taking part in a multi-million-dollar heist at a Las Vegas casino.
Yet the bumbling crooks at the center of Apple TV’s new comic crime caper couldn’t be more different from the suave and sophisticated characters in the Ocean’s 11 movie franchise.
Set in Boston, the feature film follows the fortunes of Rory, a hapless dad who’s desperate to reconnect with his son, and Cobby, a down-on-his-luck ex-con, who find themselves teaming up to steal the ill-gotten funds of corrupt politician, Mayor Miccelli (Ron Perlman).
However, when the robbery goes wrong, Rory and Cobby are forced to flee, taking Rory’s therapist Dr Donna Rivera (Hong Chau) with them for good measure, with police, crime bosses and bureaucrats pursuing them across Boston.
With a star-studded cast also including Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) and Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark) the film is directed by Hollywood director Doug Liman, who has previously worked with Matt Damon on hit action movie, The Bourne Identity.
Casey Affleck, 48, tells us more about the heist movie and working alongside his childhood friend, Matt Damon, once again...
What can you tell us about The Instigators?
Casey: "It’s a classic buddy action comedy and a heist flick, which is inspired by favorite movies of mine like Midnight Run and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I’ve always wanted to make a movie like this. It’s also a Boston movie, through and through and I think the themes of the film reflect that. It’s a story about resilient people, people forced to act under difficult circumstances. People who use humor to get through certain situations. The key to all of this was that, while we’re trying to tell a meaningful story about disparate people who come together to fight a common enemy, we’re also just hoping that audiences have an incredibly fun time!"
Rory and Cobby couldn’t be more different from the characters you and Matt play in the Ocean’s 11 franchise could they?
"The Ocean’s movies are very much their own thing and all the better for that. We wanted to do something different with The Instigators. Matt plays Rory, a down-on-his-luck guy who’s forced to team up with my character, Cobby, a total stranger to Rory who couldn’t be more opposite to him. Cobby is more experienced, though not necessarily proficient, in the heist game and brings Rory into the fold. We both get the opportunity to share scenes with Rory’s therapist, played by the incredible Hong Chau, and the second half of the movie finds us as an unlikely trio of characters. It was amazing to work with them both."
How does their relationship develop during the story?
"They’re an odd couple for sure, and I think the fun of watching the movie is seeing how these opposing forces find some common ground as a result of the situations they find themselves in. They are definitely frenemies at the beginning of the film!"
You co-wrote the film with Chuck MacLean, where did the idea come from?
"My friend Chuck MacLean, a great screenwriter, shared a script he’d written and it was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to add some of my own ideas to it, and then I shared it with Matt, who got excited about it. I originally wanted him to direct the film, so I first presented it with that in mind, but since it would have been his directorial debut, the scale of it was not what he’s quite looking for at this moment, which I understood. But he liked the script enough to say he would star in it with me and it goes without saying that Matt can play any genre or type of character equally well. When he said he’d play Rory, I knew we were going to make a great film."
What was it like working with Matt again after so many years?
"I’ve known Matt for so long, both in my personal and professional lives, that we have a very quick shorthand with one another. I learn so much acting opposite him and it’s amazing to see up close how he has just continually refined his craft. He’s an impressive guy and a great friend."
What made Boston the right setting for this film?
"I don’t think there’s anywhere else that The Instigators could have been set. We wanted it to have a real Boston perspective and feel, reflected not only in the setting but also in the characters. It’s really a tribute to the working-class people of Boston, who are some of the funniest, most resourceful, most loyal people you’ll ever meet. They struggle and they persevere."
How did you find working with Hollywood director Doug Liman?
"The action sequences are a specialty of Doug’s of course and he’s made so many great action movies. It was just really wild to be able to experience how you prepare to shoot those moments, how he and the entire crew were able to pull off things like car chases and make them feel dynamic and new. Acting in those kinds of scenes is a blast, but the way they turn out is always thanks to the editors!"
You've developed a reputation for taking on hard-hitting drama roles in recent years, winning an Oscar for Manchester by the Sea in 2017, did you enjoy doing comedy again?
"Comedy is something I’m always going to seek out and want to come back to. I’ve had a lot of really transformative experiences in dramas, but for this I was excited to be a part of a story set in my hometown, which made me laugh and was fun to make. It wasn’t hard to find the comedy in this story, because I think all comedy is inherently grounded in dramatic scenarios."
The Instigators comes to Apple TV Plus on Friday, August 9, 2024.
