What if your therapist was so committed to your well-being that they were willing to put themselves in the middle of a criminal caper in order to keep your sessions going? That offbeat premise, which anchors the heist dramedy "The Instigators" ( ), convinced to get on board the project co-written by his good friend Casey Affleck. Well, that and a nudge from , Luciana. Or so word has it.
"Wow, word travels," says Affleck in mock shock. "But, no, that is not an exaggeration. She did help.
" Damon shrugs and smiles. "My wife is a lot smarter than me." Affleck can't resist.
"Well, that is not an exaggeration." The two old friends break up laughing. But Affleck, 48, who co-stars in "The Instigators" along with Hong Chau, 45, says in a joint interview with all three actors that he is always trying to get his Boston buddy to work with him, at least when Damon isn't planning something with Affleck's older brother Ben, 51.
(The duo most recently and together run the production company Artists Equity.) "We're always looking for things to do together," says Affleck. Then he pauses.
"OK, so maybe it's 70/30 me looking for something to do with Matt. I sent a lot of things to Matt, and somehow he just takes a really long time to get back to me." Damon waves off the joke and gets serious.
"It is such an advantage to have someone you really admire and trust who happens to be an old friend thinking of you because we're all just making it up as we go along," he says. "You're always asking (of a.