Teacher has an Oscar gold touch

Gerry Speca isn’t sure what about his high school drama lessons stuck. But clearly, something worked. On Sunday, Casey Affleck will be his third former student to vie for an Academy Award.

The first two -- Matt Damon and Affleck’s brother, Ben -- won.

“It’s a wonderful thing. It’s a humbling thing,” Speca said in an interview. “I remember when these kids were talking about that stuff and it was a dream.”

All three say Speca played a large part in making those dreams a reality.

Casey Affleck says Speca guided him to a career in acting, starting at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Boston. Damon cites him as an example of truly great teachers. And Ben Affleck even thanked him in the credits of his directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone” -- after giving Speca a cameo in the film.

Speca left the high school in 1995 to pursue other interests, including writing. He returned to the classroom in 2000 and now teaches English, screenwriting and public speaking at Bentley College in suburban Waltham, Mass.