Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons and More Talk THE ACCOUNTANT

I recently had the opportunity to take part in a press conference for THE ACCOUNTANT, new action drama from Warner Bros. Below are some of the highlights of the interesting exchange with cast members and the director of the film.

THE ACCOUNTANT opens today in theaters nationwide.

Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff)

“It was a very challenging role. It required a lot of research. Gavin and I talked to a lot of people in different places of the Autism spectrum, about their daily lives, and even what kind of movie they would like to see with an autistic character. The value of that was learning how to ground this guy in real life, instead of going with an image of what it should be. I anchored my performance with those experiences. […] Gavin worked very hard on the action side, bringing on board great experts.”

Director Gavin O’Connor

“It started with figuring out what his fighting style would be. Dissecting the character we arrive to the conclusion that he would eliminate people in the most efficient, mathematical way. We discovered an Indonesian martial arts style called Pencak Silat; It’s very cinematic and flashy but efficient at the same time. Ben started training every single day. It was fun!”

Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina)

“I really appreciate the originality of the main character. It felt very different from what we see nowadays. And of course, the opportunity to work with these great people. I am just excited to be part of it all.”

J.K. Simmons (Ray King)

“It was a real treat to contribute to this movie in every level. My function was to help tell the story of this character, and being part of the puzzle. There are many interesting and smart things that surprise you about the characters. All of them and multifaceted.”

Christian Wolff is a math savante with more affinity for numbers than people. Behind the cover of a small-town CPA office, he works as a freelance accountant for some of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. With the Treasury Department’s Crime Enforcement Division, run by Ray King, starting to close in, Christian takes on a legitimate client: a state-of-the-art robotics company where an accounting clerk has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars. But as Christian uncooks the books and gets closer to the truth, it is the body count that starts to rise.