Character Backstory: James Michael Breslin
Actual Person: Ben Affleck
Name: James Michael Breslin
Nicknames: Jimmy
D.O.B.: March 5, 1978
Hair: In between short and long, although he favors the shaggy look, mostly because he gets too preoccupied to remember to get a haircut. Dark brown.
Eyes: Dark brown
Height: 6’2
Build: Average
Complexion: Fair
Hometown: South Boston, Massachusetts
Parents: Harry Breslin - social worker
Miranda Breslin - school teacher
Siblings: Casey Breslin - one year older, forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, DC
Abigail Breslin - three years younger, student at Syracuse University, studying English Literature
Ethnicity: English, Irish, Welsh, French
Religion: He believes in a higher power, but he’s not too sure about organized religion
Orientation: Straight
Personality: hard worker, a bit of a wild/reckless streak, loyal, easy-going, doesn’t like opening up to people, determined
Interests: photography, writing, baseball, travel
Graduated from: New York University, class of ’00 for undergrad, ’03 for grad; now has his masters degree in journalism and media communications, as well as photography
Career: Photographer/Journalist for CNN. He travels a lot - mostly combat zones - which suits his restless personality.
Style: Rugged / functional.
Friends: Matt Winston - best friend since they were kids
Other important people: Emma Allen - his first and only serious girlfriend. Even though they were both looking for something not at all serious, what was first based on mutual attraction grew into something more. He never admitted it to himself, but he fell in love with Emma, and she’s the one regret that he has in his life.
Hates: getting shot, getting arrested, lying, alcoholism
Goals: win a Pulitzer Prize, actually stay in a relationship for more than a year, get married, have a family, become an editor at a small-town newspaper once he retires from professional journalism
Fears: dying in one of the combat zones he photographs without anyone to mourn his passing, not having a family or someone to come home to, fire
Character flaw(s): focuses too much on the negative, sometimes fails to see good in the world, reckless, afraid of commitment
Background: James Michael Breslin was born in Sacramento, California but raised in South Boston, Massachusetts. He has always been close with his family, although his relationship with his father is strained because of the alcohol problem he had while he was growing up. He is rather over-protective of his little sister Abigail, and constantly watches her back. He was the one that always greeted her dates with a shotgun in hand. He taught her some self-defense, though she never actually needed it. He and Casey are close, although not as close as they could be - Casey is a man who favors stability, and James just doesn’t have that going for him. James grew up in a working class neighborhood with a working class family. Sadly, his rough homelife was part of the norm, and he never really had a sanctuary until he got to high school and was introduced to writing and photography by a teacher. While growing up, James befriended Matt Winston, a boy who lived across the street. They instantly became attached to each other and were inseparable. When they got into high school, James’ dad’s problems got a lot worse, and Matt was always there for him, which meant a lot to James. In fact, Matt is the one person James can always count on to be there, and he tries to do the same. They now work in generally the same field - both are professional photographers/journalists - with Matt working for National Geographic and James with CNN.
James never really had any serious relationships until he got to grad school, although not for lack of desire for one. He was always too preoccupied with what was going on in his own life to deal with meshing somebody else into it. His first and only serious girlfriend was Emma Allen, whom he met purely by accident while visiting a former professor. While in the beginning their relationship was strictly about having fun - and boy, was the sex great - James eventually grew to care about Emma a great deal, maybe even fall in love with her, but he wasn’t ready for that back then, and as soon as he graduated NYU, he accepted a job offer from CNN and left on assignment to Africa soon after. He always thinks about Emma, and she is the only regret that he has in his life. James never thinks things through all the way, it’s the restless streak in him - he’s always making decisions in a half-cocked sort of way; he isn’t very cautious, which is where Matt comes in - he’s James’ voice of reason. However, James is finally growing up and wanting to settle down, which has finally brought a sense of level-headedness to his life. What James wants more than anything is to never be like his father - sometimes, it feels like he can never fully escape the past.
Casey Breslin
Abigail Breslin
Matt Winston