The lead actor in *Manchester by the Sea* (2016) is **Casey Affleck**, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Lee Chandler.
Because he is the younger brother of Ben Affleck and has been acting since the late 1980s, you have likely seen him in various high-profile projects ranging from blockbuster franchises to indie dramas.
Below is a detailed list of his filmography, categorized to help you identify where you might recognize him from:
### 1. Major Breakout & Award-Winning Roles
* **The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007):** This was his massive breakout. He played Robert Ford, the young man who idolizes and eventually betrays Jesse James (Brad Pitt). He received his first Oscar nomination for this.
* **Gone Baby Gone (2007):** Directed by his brother Ben Affleck, Casey stars as Patrick Kenzie, a private investigator in Boston searching for a kidnapped girl.
* **A Ghost Story (2017):** He plays a man who dies and returns as a ghost (mostly under a white sheet) to watch over his wife (Rooney Mara).
* **The Old Man & the Gun (2018):** He plays a detective chasing a gentleman bank robber played by Robert Redford.
### 2. Famous Blockbusters & Franchises
* **The Ocean’s Trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007):** He played **Virgil Malloy**, one of the two bickering "Mormon brothers" (alongside Scott Caan) who serve as the mechanics and drivers for Danny Ocean’s crew.
* **Interstellar (2014):** He plays Tom, the adult son of Matthew McConaughey’s character, who stays on Earth to maintain the family farm while his father is in space.
* **Oppenheimer (2023):** He has a chilling, brief role as **Boris Pash**, the military intelligence officer who interrogates Robert Oppenheimer.
* **Good Will Hunting (1997):** He plays Morgan O'Mally, one of the four friends in the South Boston crew (alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck). He is the one who famously gets mocked for his "wicked smart" behavior.
### 3. Supporting & Character Roles
* **To Die For (1995):** One of his first film roles, playing a troubled teenager manipulated by a local weatherwoman (Nicole Kidman).
* **Tower Heist (2011):** He plays Charlie, the concierge and brother-in-law to Ben Stiller's character, who helps plan a heist.
* **Triple 9 (2016):** An action thriller where he plays a clean cop trapped in a web of corrupt officers and Russian gangsters.
* **The Finest Hours (2016):** A Coast Guard drama where he plays a quiet, competent engineer on a sinking oil tanker.
* **Out of the Furnace (2013):** He plays the younger brother of Christian Bale, a war veteran who gets involved in an illegal bare-knuckle fighting ring.
* **Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013):** An outlaw drama where he stars as an escaped convict trying to reunite with his wife (Rooney Mara).
### 4. Recent & Notable Lead Roles
* **Light of My Life (2019):** He wrote, directed, and starred in this film about a father protecting his daughter in a post-apocalyptic world.
* **Our Friend (2019):** A tear-jerker where he plays a husband dealing with his wife’s terminal illness alongside their best friend (Jason Segel).
* **The Instigators (2024):** A recent heist comedy where he reunites with Matt Damon.
### 5. Other Early or Minor Appearances
* **American Pie 2 (2001):** He has a small, uncredited cameo as the brother of Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas).
* **Chasing Amy (1997):** A brief appearance in Kevin Smith's film.
* **Hamlet (2000):** He played Fortinbras in the modern-day adaptation starring Ethan Hawke.
* **Gerry (2002):** A minimalist film he co-wrote and starred in with Matt Damon, where two friends get lost in the desert.
* **The Killer Inside Me (2010):** He plays a psychopathic deputy sheriff in 1950s Texas.
* **I'm Still Here (2010):** He directed this controversial mockumentary about Joaquin Phoenix's supposed retirement from acting.
**Why you likely recognize him:** If you aren't a fan of his indie dramas, you almost certainly know him as one of the two Malloy brothers from **Ocean's Eleven** or as the "quiet" friend in **Good Will Hunting**.