Ben Affleck’s Challenging Role in ‘The Accountant’

Ben Affleck says it was “nice” not playing a superhero in The Accountant. The 44-year-old actor – who is known for playing the lead role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – enjoyed being able to depict a character who is able to do great things but “within the realm of human possibility and human physicality”.

He said: “It was nice to play a guy who isn’t a superhero. He’s capable of exceptional things – but within the realm of human possibility and human physicality. However, there’s a bittersweet note to it, as Christian’s character emerged from his father’s overly military way to prepare his sons from early childhood – including his older boy, who wasn’t autistic – to handle themselves in what he perceived as a scary and violent world. That’s what made it interesting for me.”

And the Argo star admits it was a “real challenge” preparing to play an autistic character in the movie. He told the Chicago Sun Times newspaper: “It was something like putting on an expressionless mask. It was a real challenge, but also an honor to play him. I hadn’t read an autistic character in a film script like this. So often autistic people are seen as children. Here, I get to play a person with autism all grown up. We learn what happens to that little boy we see in flashbacks. Because it was such an opportunity to play something this fresh and new, I needed him to be as authentic as possible. So, to that end, I met with a lot of people and did a lot of research and read a lot of material so that I could deliver a portrayal that was as realistic and plausible as possible.”

The Accountant was released in theaters on October 14, 2016.