Dazed and Confused

In the comedy written and directed by Richard Linklater, Affleck plays high school senior Fred O’Bannion, who is repeating a year after failing to graduate. After hazing freshmen, O’Bannion is humiliated in front of the rest of the school. Co-starring Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Jason London, and Cole Hauser.

That’s where I learned that an actor could contribute to a movie beyond reading lines. Richard Linklater sent a note to all the actors that said, “If this movie is produced as written, it’ll be a massive underachievement.” We were all 19 and 20 and down in Austin, and all the actors started to write their own ideas and their own little scenes. It demystified the process for me in an important way. And I was in Austin with all those young people that summer, and I was the only person who didn’t have sex.