Casey Affleck perfected his smoldering stare on the red carpet for the LA Confidential party last night in honor of his magazine cover. The adorably smug actor made some big waves this year with his performances in Gone Baby Gone and The Assassination of Jesse James, and he's got the award nominations to show for it, snagging a nod for a Golden Globe, a SAG award, and an Oscar among all the other board award recognitions. In the article, Casey strays from the wisecracking smartass we've come to know and instead gets serious about making his family his number one priority and what projects he has in the works. Here are highlights:

• On getting attention for his nominations and new baby: It doesn’t feel so much that way . . . life just goes on. As your family grows, they wind up being the center of attention. More than anything, I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls of congratulations, which is nice.
• On Aardvark's Art Ark, the animated film he wrote and will executive produce: I just really like those kinds of movies. There ought to be more adult films that are animated — not just kids’ movies. There are really great things you can’t do with live action. Every year Pixar comes out with one of my favorite movies. . . . My project is intended for kids and adults. I’m really excited to be developing it with Warner Bros. I’d heard nightmare stories, but this has been great. It started as a story I was telling to my son and nephews. . . . It happened fast and was fun to do. It’s nice to write and not think about wanting to act in it or direct it.

As much as we love Ben, it seems like Casey is the Affleck to watch right now. Even so, we'll be looking forward to seeing both brothers on the red carpet at the SAG Awards and (hopefully) at the Academy Awards next month. P.S. If you haven't filled out your SAG ballot yet, get on it to win a free year of Netflix!

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