Casey Affleck disclosed Timothy Affleck’s death at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, September 8, saying that he and his brother, Ben Affleck, had lost both parents within the past year. No date or cause of death for Timothy has been made public.
The 51-year-old actor and director shared the news while promoting Company, his latest feature and an unusually personal family project. Both of his parents appear in the film, as do his sons, Indiana and Atticus. According to the Associated Press, Timothy and Chris Affleck died after production but before the film was completed, turning the movie into a final family record that nobody intended to make.
“It’s dedicated to my parents because I lost both my mom and my dad this year, and they were very important to me,” Casey said. “I really wanted to show this movie to them, and I didn’t get to. I think they would have liked it.”
How the Affleck family supported the Venice premiere
Ben Affleck, 54, joined his younger brother on the Venice red carpet, with footage from AFP and UPI confirming his attendance. Casey was also accompanied by his girlfriend, Caylee Cowan, and his sons.
Indiana and Atticus do more than provide family support from a safe distance. Both appear in Company, while Indiana also helped behind the camera by shovelling snow and carrying lighting equipment. Casey described working with his sons as “the best professional experience of my life by far.” An efficient combination of family bonding and unpaid manual labour, apparently.
The premiere also brought Nick Nolte, 85, back to a major red carpet for the first time in four years, according to the Daily Beast. Ben Mendelsohn is among the other cast members.
The 92-minute US-Canadian production is Casey’s third feature as a director, following I’m Still Here and Light of My Life. It is competing at the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
What is Company about?
Company uses three interconnected narratives set in 1975, 1953 and 1903. Reviews describe it as an American Gothic drama with vampire influences, built around grief, forgiveness and stories passed between generations.
Those themes gained additional weight after both of Casey’s parents died before the finished film could be shown to them. Their appearances now sit alongside performances from two of their grandchildren, preserving several generations of the family within the same project.
Critical reaction has been sharply divided. The Moveable Fest praised the way the film’s stories fit together, while Screen Daily found it atmospheric but convoluted. TheWrap was considerably less charmed, calling it a “frustrating slog.” Film festivals do enjoy placing intimate grief beside public scoring systems and waiting to see what happens.
Whatever its reception, Company now carries a significance beyond reviews. Casey conceived it as a story about inherited pain and reconciliation. The deaths of his parents before completion made that inheritance literal.
What is known about Timothy Affleck’s death?
Casey’s remarks remain the only public family disclosure reported about his father’s death. The Associated Press, the Boston Globe and the Daily Beast all reported that Timothy died in 2026, but none provided a date or cause.
Timothy previously worked as an actor and aspiring playwright before struggling with alcoholism and taking a succession of other jobs. After becoming sober in 1990, he worked as a counsellor at an alcohol rehabilitation centre in California.
Ben has spoken openly about the lasting effect of that recovery, calling his father’s sobriety “the principal lesson and legacy of his life.” In a 2020 interview with People, he reflected on viewing his parents more realistically as he grew older.
“Part of being an adult is learning that your parents are just people,” Ben said. “They’re not perfect. They were just doing their best.”
Timothy and Chris divorced when Ben and Casey were young.
Chris Affleck died shortly after a family milestone
Chris Affleck died on June 2, 2026, aged 83. Her family obituary said she had been given six months to live in December 2025 and hoped to survive long enough to watch Atticus graduate from high school.
She attended his graduation with the family on May 31, two days before her death. The obituary said she died peacefully in her sleep. Us Weekly later reported that her death certificate listed cardiopulmonary arrest, with pancreatic adenocarcinoma among the underlying conditions, at an address connected to Ben. The medical cause and the family’s description of her final moments are not necessarily at odds.
Chris taught in public schools for 35 years and had five grandchildren, according to her obituary. Her last months included the graduation she had hoped to witness and a film appearance she never got to see completed.
For Casey, Company has consequently become more than his third directing credit. It contains his parents, his children and a story concerned with what families carry forward. The critics may continue debating whether its nested structure works. The family history inside it is less open to interpretation.
