Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal reunite as brothers in ‘The Accountant 2’
Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal discuss their real-life brotherly bond in “The Accountant 2.”
“The Accountant 2” is a love story.
No, Anna Kendrick, the romantic interest of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in the 2016 original, does not return. Nor does Christian find success at a speed dating event, seen in the sequel’s trailer, for which the neurodivergent mathematical genius has hacked the company’s algorithm. The new installment is a revelrous, wave-your-cowboy-hat celebration of brotherly love. (And we don’t mean that in the “White Lotus” Season 3 sense.)
The film, which arrives in theaters April 25, reunites Christian with his younger brother, hitman Braxton (Jon Bernthal). At the end of the first movie, the two estranged siblings (who shared very little screentime) made loose plans to see each other the following week. In “The Accountant 2,” we learn once again they’ve been out of touch for years.
“They really do connect to things we all go through, like the difficulty sometimes with families,” says Affleck, seated next to Bernthal. “These are people that we love most in the world. They’re also the people that can sometimes aggravate us most in the world. So you’ve got that closeness, but sometimes the friction of that. And that can be funny, and that can be maddening.”
Christian and Braxton team up to help Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) solve the mystery of Ray King’s (J.K. Simmons) death, resulting in plenty of deadpan comedy and shoot-‘em-up scenes.
“Violence was always the language which was the easiest way for them to tell each other that they loved each other,” Bernthal, 48, says. “And that’s really what those scenes were.”
Ben Affleck stars in action-packed sequel ‘The Accountant 2’
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Braxton (Jon Bernthal) reunite for “The Accountant 2.”
Amazon MGM Studios
Affleck, 52, and Bernthal require far fewer rounds of ammo to express their affection.
“It sounds cheesy, but I genuinely love him,” Bernthal told USA TODAY on the carpet for the film’s world premiere at South by Southwest on March 8, sporting a black cowboy hat that concealed his buzzed hair for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” “I love him as a guy, I love him as an artist, and I’m super-proud to call him a friend. I’d follow him anywhere.”
Considering that Bernthal keeps his daughter’s headband hanging around his rearview mirror and carries a picture of wife Erin Angle to every gig, his gushing over Affleck seems sincere.
With Bernthal by his side, Affleck describes acting together as “the great joy of the movie.”
“You always have the sense that there’s some sort of lightning in a bottle that you could catch, and that’s what it felt like every day,” Affleck says. “It was like, ‘Something special might happen here.’ I felt very in sync with Jon. He’s extremely intelligent. He’s a writer. He’s a filmmaker, really, and he understands all of what needs to happen on multiple levels.”
Bernthal is protective of “blow your mind”-type stories Affleck shared with the cast, “unbelievable stories” about Affleck’s experiences in the industry.
“Those stories,” Affleck jokes, “are going to go into the autobiography that I’m going to type out, on a typewriter, and then light on fire.”
One of the tenderest moments between the brothers is a scene Bernthal predicted would find a home on the cutting-room floor. To flirt with a woman at a bar, Christian line dances beside her to “Copperhead Road.”
“It had nothing to do with any doubt for this man, his musical abilities,” Bernthal professes as Affleck pretends to be wounded by his costar’s words. “I just really, really was like, ‘Oh, boy, line dancing.’ But I’m telling you, being there, it was electric. It made complete and utter perfect sense.”
Ben Affleck on ‘The Accountant 2’ at SXSW premiere
Ben Affleck opens up about relationships and authentic connections on the red carpet of “The Accountant 2” premiere at SXSW.
In the scene, Braxton lovingly looks at Christian dancing and proudly proclaims to bar patrons, “That’s my big brother up there!” Later the siblings toss a pair of guys, who were mad that Christian was flirting with one’s girl, out the window.
“The best part of that scene for me is Jon’s reaction where you see how much he roots for and wants his brother to be happy,” Affleck says. “And it’s moments like that where you really see that people love each other. Obviously, I’m not a − despite what you may think − a professional dancer, and I’m not an experienced line dancer.
“But I figured that’s sort of part of the charm, and the character’s going to put himself out there. It’s incumbent on me to do that, and it was a lot of fun.”
