NBC Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
NBC Insider Late Night

Casey Affleck Saved Seth Meyers' Family from a Stranded Boat Last Week

The Instigators star told the Late Night Host he looked like "a nautical leader of men" when he spied Meyers shirtless on deck.

By Christopher Rudolph

Casey Affleck starred in Manchester By the Sea — and last week he performed an actual water rescue when he saved Seth Meyers' family.

How to Watch

Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC weeknights at 12:35/11:35c and next day on Peacock.  

The Instigators actor stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers on August 14, and while Meyers noted that it had been a while since Affleck had been on the show, the two recently ran into each other off the shores of New England.

"I was visiting my mom in Cape Cod. I was coming down here to do your show," Affleck told Meyers and the Late Night audience, "and I stopped at a friend's for a day to be at the beach and he took me out on his little boat."

"So I go out on this very small, little, teeny little boat. And we're zipping out, launching out into the water. We see this family — an older gentleman, this lovely woman and a little baby, and they're sort of waving, but it became clear they were waving for help," Affleck said.

"So we went over to this family, and they said, 'Our boat's dead. We're adrift," he continued.

RELATED: John Mulaney Brought Olivia Munn's Mom to His Seth Meyers Interview

Casey Affleck speaks to Seth on Late Night With Seth Meyers on August 14, 2024.

Casey Affleck rescued Seth Meyers' father-in-law and sister-in-law on the water

Affleck went ashore to get a battery before returning to jump the family's boat. Later in the day, Affleck saw another boat out on the water — and standing on the bow was Seth Meyers.

"Shirt off, tan, svelte," recalled the Oscar winner about how Meyers looked. "Your chest was up. It was like Leo [DiCaprio] on the Titanic."

"I don't know what you were doing out there, but you looked great. You looked fantastic! Like you were a nautical leader of men," recalled Affleck, saying that the two "had a brief moment" and waved at each other.

After some water skiing, Affleck said he was "with someone who gets a phone call, and they say, 'That was Seth on his boat, and he's stranded.' And I said, 'What do you mean?' And they were like, 'Yeah, he's run out of gas and he can't get back in.'"

RELATED: Natalie Portman, The Lonely Island, & Seth Meyers Talk "Natalie's Rap" on SNL

"So they went out and they got you, and then they told me that the first boat of people, that was your family," said Affleck. Meyers confirmed that Affleck had indeed helped Meyers' father-in-law and sister-in-law that day.

As for his own boat rescue, "We were just puttering around," Meyers joked. "We like just to go out until we run out of gas and then have someone save us."

"Don't do it anymore," advised Affleck. "I can't be out there every day."