Huge stories are always swirling aroundBen AffleckandJon Bernthal. Recently, Affleck has brought to screen the invention of Jordan Nikes inAir, twisted audience minds withRobert Rodriguez’sHypnotic, and played fan-favorite Bruce Wayne for the very last time. Meanwhile, Bernthal isback, baby, as Frank Castle, The Punisher inDaredevil: Born Again, as well as co-starring withRami Malekin the upcomingThe Amateur, andChristopher Nolan’seagerly awaited adaptation ofThe Odyssey. Now, the two actors are back on the silver screen playing the deadly Wolff brothers once more in the wildly welcome sequel to their 2016 thriller inThe Accountant 2.
Somebody close to Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-RobinsonfromLord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) has been murdered by unknown assassins, so she must employ “The Accountant” himself, Christian Wolff (Affleck), to solve the mystery. With help from his estranged and lethal brother, Brax (Bernthal), Chris uses his unique style of thinking to unlock the puzzle, along withnot exactly legalmethods. As the trio inches closer to the truth, more cutthroat murderers pop out of the dark, intending to put an end to Wolff, his family, and his investigation. The movie also starsJ.K. Simmons(Invincible),Daniella Pineda(Jurassic World: Dominion), and is directed byGavin O’Connor(Warrior).
Collider’s ownSteve Weintraubhad the pleasure of sitting down with Affleck and Bernthal to talk about all thingsThe Accountant 2. In this interview, they discuss how easy it is to work with one another, the inside scoop onThe Accountant 3, and whether Affleck owes Steve personally for that whole Dunkin’ Donuts gig.
Ben Affleck Can Thank Collider for DunKings
“Youcertainly,unquestionablywere prescient.”
COLLIDER: I’m gonna start with the most important thing up front. Ben, it’s an individual question for you. Back in 2019,we spoke forTriple Frontier. We did a long interview, and I asked you a harmless question about Dunkin' Donuts being in LA, and you said: “It’s amazing. I have Dunkin' Donuts every day. It’s very weird. I have it every day, and people are always like, ‘Where is that? Is it near here?’ So, I feel like I’m spreading the word.” In the years of Collider, it’s been online for 20 years, that quote was used in 1,000 interviews about you going to Dunkin’. It was one of those bizarre things.
BEN AFFLECK: Really?
100%. So I’m just wondering, do you think there’s a chance, because it was in every magazine, everything, that I am responsible for you booking DunKings?
AFFLECK: I think it’s for sure. I think you did it, and Iprobablyowe you money. I’m not gonna give it to you because we never made that deal, but you could make a case.
Look it up.
AFFLECK: I believe you. Listen, it makes total sense to me, and listen, anything’s possible, but you certainly, unquestionably were prescient.
By the way, Dunkin' Donuts, if no one’s been there, it’s a staple of the New England area.
AFFLECK: There you go.
Ben Affleck Teases ‘The Accountant 3’
“There is gonna be no next movie unless we have the good ideas in this movie.”
Jumping into why I get to talk to you guys. Congratulations on the movie. I’m gonna skip movie two, and we’re gonna ask you about movie three. Gavin told me he always envisioned this as a trilogy. Has he told you guys that, and has he shared anything about a possible third film?
AFFLECK: He told me right when we were doing the first movie that they were making a trilogy, which actually is the kind of thing that usually scares me. I’m usually like,“Let’s worry about this one.” Because what that means to me is people are saving the good ideas for the next movie,butthere is gonna be no next movie unless we have the good ideas in this movie.It actually turned out to be a reflection of the fact that it was just a story that was really interesting to him, and Bill [Dubuque] really got into what you would call the mythology or the canon. They had started to generate this longer story. He’s been talking to me a little bit about constructing it and what he wants to do, but I certainly can’t give anything away. There are a couple of ideas that I really like. What I know is it’s gonna continuethisrelationship, which I think is really what makes this movie an improvement on a movie I really love, which is the first one.
‘The Accountant’ Thrives on Affleck and Bernthal’s Relationship – on Screen and Off
“I don’t think I could have done it with anyone but Jon.”
The reason to care about this movie is because you guys are so great together, the banter and the chemistry. Talk a little bit about what it’s like. You’re both such good actors, but what is it like before you’re stepping on set? Are you doing anything or you just like,we’re both professional, we’re gonna make this work?
JON BERNTHAL: I mean, we’re shooting the shit, man. We’re having a good time. With this one, I’ve only had this experience a few times, and strangely,maybe I shouldrethinkthe way I’m doing everything, because every single time it’s felt like this, I feel like I’ve been equally pleased with the result, which is almost never. But this one really felt easy. There was an ease, there was a level of trust, and there was no squeezing anything out.
AFFLECK: That’s the paradox, right? Strangely, when it feels really easy, my experience tends to be the best. You feel like the one unnerving thing, like, “I should be working harder than this. Am I slacking off?This feels really easy,” and then it tends to really work.When it’s like blood from a stone, and you’re grinding it out, and it doesn’t work, I feel like, “Okay, well that kind of makes sense.” Part of it, honestly, is he’s a brilliant guy and knows how to do this. I’ve been doing movies for a while, and I understand where it wanted to go. Part of it is you just get lucky. You work with somebody great, and then your rhythms and stuff fall in sync.
It’s one of the few things that are very hard to fake, like very close fraternal relationships, spouses, someone’s wife. You put your arm around them without even thinking about it. That’s a hard thing to do with an actor you don’t know. All of these little subconscious things kind of get in the way of that. Then there’s faking really liking one another, even if they drive you crazy, is a very hard thing to do. At least for me. I need it to kind of be real, and that’s why I don’t think I could have done it with anyone but Jon.
